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At least 307 records · Page 17

TA-18-1 Slotin Building Restoration – Summary of Work to be Performed

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires LANL to identify, evaluate, record, and protect eligible historic properties like TA-18-1 Slotin Building. The Environmental Protection and Compliance-Environmental Stewardship (EPC-ES) Cultural Resources program consults with the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) on undertakings that may affect these properties. TA-18-1 Slotin Building is an exceptionally significant Manhattan Project Property that has been determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and is included within the boundary of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The building was constructed in 1946 and served as laboratory space for criticality testing. It is the location of the May 1946 criticality accident that resulted in the death of Louis Slotin. As a result of the accident, new procedures and designs for criticality experiments were implemented to prevent further accidents.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

Performance Assessment for the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (Annual Status Report FY 2021)

DOE O 435.1 and DOE M 435.1-1 require that a determination of continued adequacy of the performance assessment (PA) (CP-60089), composite analysis (CA), and disposal authorization statement (DAS) be made on an annual basis, and that the determination must consider the results of data collection and analysis from research, field studies, and monitoring as well as the need to update any Radioactive Waste Management Basis (RWMB) documents. Beginning in 1996, the Environmental Disposal Facility (ERDF) started accepting low-level radioactive, hazardous, and mixed wastes that were generated during cleanup activities at the Hanford Site. ERDF is composed of a series of cells or disposal areas and can accommodate future design expansions as needed. Currently, there are eight cells and two supercells in ERDF. Each supercell is the equivalent of two cells. During this reporting period (fiscal year 2021, extending from October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021), approximately 9.14E+04 metric tons (1.01E+05 U.S. tons) of waste was disposed at ERDF. From ERDF inception through September 30, 2021, approximately 16.9 million metric tons (18.9 U.S. tons) of waste has been disposed of at ERDF, which equates to consumption of approximately 88.7% of the currently constructed disposal volume. According to the design of ERDF, the facility has the ability to be expanded as needed. As a condition of the DAS, disposal operation within ERDF must be in accordance with the waste acceptance criteria (ERDF-00011) that provide specific radionuclide disposal limits, waste form restrictions, and descriptions of acceptable waste packages in compliance with the requirements of DOE M 435-1.1. The ERDF waste acceptance criteria stipulate that waste destined for disposal at ERDF be controlled based on source, physical form, and contaminant concentration and activity levels. There have been no changes to the physical configuration of ERDF or to the waste forms (source, physical form, etc.). No new unreviewed disposal question screenings or evaluations have been generated in this reporting period. Therefore, there are no noted impacts to the PA, CA, DAS, or RWMB resulting from the evaluations and screenings. Sum-of-fractions analysis shows that the disposed inventory meets both the concentration and inventory threshold requirements. A sum-of-fractions value is computed for ERDF sensitive radionuclides contributing to the all pathways and the air pathway inventory limits. Computed values were 7.63E-03 and 1.49E-03, respectively. The disposed waste inventory remained well under the PA imposed limits, as shown in Table 4 and Table 5 in the main text of this report. Required monitoring was satisfactorily completed during the fiscal year reporting period. Compliance with performance objectives were met as each of the reported values were well below the established limit. Overall, there are no substantive changes to primary PA assumptions or changes to the PA analysis conclusion; therefore, compliance with DOE O 435.1 and the DAS is maintained.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Restoring Homes After Wildfires, Interviews with Practitioners about Common Cleanup Approaches and Knowledge Gaps

This document summarizes the key themes from our interviews with 10 remediation companies regarding common approaches used to remove odor and contaminants from homes impacted by fire and smoke damage Remediation companies are in agreement that thorough cleaning is the first step. Cleaning and removing contaminants from homes impacted by wildfires may be sufficient to eliminate smoke odor, which is the most important step when it comes to reducing exposure to any residues that may pose health risks to residents. Remediation companies differ in their approaches to addressing odors, such as using ozone generators, hydroxyl generators, chlorine dioxide treatment, thermal fogging and applying sealants. Their opinions of what works and why differs. There is little consensus on efficacy, safety, or application protocols. For example, some view ozone very favorably, while others would prefer using other methods. The influence of insurance companies in their coverage for some methods but not others also impact the decision about the approaches used. Remediation companies differ in their view on laboratory testing for contaminants, which may be partly influenced by insurance companies as well.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Micro-Hydropower and Aquatic Restoration on Lands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Rural and Tribal communities in Southern Appalachia face persistent challenges in energy access owing to rugged terrain, dense forest cover, and limited infrastructure. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is a federally recognized Tribe whose ancestral homelands include much of Southern Appalachia. The Tribe’s present-day homeland, termed the Qualla Boundary, lies in the heart of the region, where the extreme ruggedness of the Blue Ridge Mountains exacerbates challenges to energy access. For the EBCI, these challenges also intersect with a deep cultural commitment to stewardship of land and water. The Tribe has explored multiple energy solutions, with hydropower serving as an existing and realized source of energy for the region’s communities. However, the EBCI’s commitment to protecting aquatic systems has led not only to a historical lack of endorsement of new conventional hydropower on Tribal lands but also to ongoing efforts to remove the area’s only existing hydropower facility at Ela Dam.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Unveiling the Occupational Exposure to Microbial Contamination in Conservation–Restoration Settings

Assuring a proper environment for the fulfillment of professional activities is one of the Sustainable Development Goals and is contemplated in the One Health approach assumed by the World Health Organization. This particular study is applied to an often neglected sector of our society—the conservators/restorers—despite the many health issues reported by these professionals. Three different specialties (textiles, paintings and wood sculpture) and locations were selected for evaluation by placement of electrostatic dust cloths. After treatment of the samples, bacterial and fungal contamination were assessed, as well as mycotoxin determination, the presence of azole-resistant strains and cytotoxicity of the microorganisms encountered. Bacteria were only present in one of medias used and showed relatively low numbers. The highest level of contamination by fungi was identified in one of the textiles settings. The textile area also showed the highest variability for fungi. Aspergillus sp. are one indicator of possible environmental issues, and A. sections Fumigati and Circumdati were particularly relevant in two of the settings and identified in all of them. No mycotoxins were detected and the large majority of the fungi identified were non-cytotoxic. Overall, these can be considered low-contaminated environments but attention should be given to the Aspergillus sp. contamination. Additional studies are needed not only to make these results more robust, but also to test if the environmental sampling alone is the best approach in a setting where there is very little movement and dust displacement and where professionals are in very close proximity to the artefacts being treated, which may suggest the existence of a micro-atmosphere worth evaluating and comparing to the obtained results.

Viegas, Carla (ORCID:0000000215456479)↗

Ovine Herpesvirus 2 Glycoprotein B Complementation Restores Infectivity to a Bovine Herpesvirus 4 gB-Null Mutant

Ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) and bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) are gamma herpesviruses that belong to the genera Macavirus and Rhadinovirus, respectively. As with all herpesviruses, both OvHV-2 and BoHV-4 express glycoprotein B (gB), which plays an essential role in the infection of host cells. In that context, it has been demonstrated that a BoHV-4 gB-null mutant is unable to infect host cells. In this study, we used homologous recombination to insert OvHV-2 ORF 8, encoding gB, into the BoHV-4 gB-null mutant genome, creating a chimeric BoHV-4 virus carrying and expressing OvHV-2 gB (BoHV-4∆gB/OvHV-2-gB) that was infectious and able to replicate in vitro. We then evaluated BoHV-4∆gB/OvHV-2-gB as a potential vaccine candidate for sheep-associated malignant catarrhal fever (SA-MCF), a fatal disease of ungulates caused by OvHV-2. Using rabbits as a laboratory model for MCF, we assessed the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of BoHV-4∆gB/OvHV-2-gB in an immunization/challenge trial. The results showed that while BoHV-4∆gB/OvHV-2-gB was safe and induced OvHV-2 gB-specific humoral immune responses, immunization conferred only 28.5% protection upon challenge with OvHV-2. Therefore, future studies should focus on alternative strategies to express OvHV-2 proteins to develop an effective vaccine against SA-MCF.

Moré, Daniela D. (ORCID:0000000237606757)↗

Suspended and Restored Activities of a Nearby Supermassive Black Hole

The discovery of spectral type transition of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), the so-called “changing-look” (CL) phenomenon, challenges the widely accepted AGN paradigm, not only in the orientation-based unified model, but also in the standard disk model. In past decades, only a couple of nearby repeat changing-look active galactic nuclei (CL-AGNs) have been identified. Here we report spectroscopic observations of UGC 3223 over the course of 18 yr, from 2001 onwards. Combining the spectrum taken in 1987 by Stirpe, we have witnessed its type transitions from 1.5→2.0→1.8 over 32 yr, and captured a long-lived (at least 10 yr) thorough “turn-off” state with a spectrum typical of a Seyfert 2 galaxy. The long-term thorough turn-off state probably suggests a once-dormant and an awakening central engine in UGC 3223. We argue that the (dis)appearance of the broad Balmer emission lines can be explained by the disk–wind broad-line region model given the evolution of the calculated Eddington ratio of accretion of the supermassive black hole.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Late-life restoration of mitochondrial function reverses cardiac dysfunction in old mice

Diastolic dysfunction is a prominent feature of cardiac aging in both mice and humans. We show here that 8-week treatment of old mice with the mitochondrial targeted peptide SS-31 (elamipretide) can substantially reverse this deficit. SS-31 normalized the increase in proton leak and reduced mitochondrial ROS in cardiomyocytes from old mice, accompanied by reduced protein oxidation and a shift towards a more reduced protein thiol redox state in old hearts. Improved diastolic function was concordant with increased phosphorylation of cMyBP-C Ser282 but was independent of titin isoform shift. Late-life viral expression of mitochondrial-targeted catalase (mCAT) produced similar functional benefits in old mice and SS-31 did not improve cardiac function of old mCAT mice, implicating normalizing mitochondrial oxidative stress as an overlapping mechanism. These results demonstrate that pre-existing cardiac aging phenotypes can be reversed by targeting mitochondrial dysfunction and implicate mitochondrial energetics and redox signaling as therapeutic targets for cardiac aging.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

ON LANDAU DAMPING RESTORATION WITH ELECTRON LENSES IN SPACE-CHARGE DOMINATED BEAMS

It is shown that the Lorentz forces of a low-energy, magnetically stabilized electron beam, or “electron lens”, can introduce transverse nonlinear focusing sufficient for Landau damping of transverse beam instabilities in accelerators. Unlike other nonlinear elements, the electron lens can provide the frequency spread mainly at the desirable range of particle amplitudes, thus permitting to avoid the beam lifetime degradation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗