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At least 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Contamination control monitoring at the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Plutonium Facility

Plutonium airborne contamination creates a particular hazard because of the possibility of intake by inhalation. To preclude excursions of radioactive materials into the operator’s breathing zone, controls are used to prevent contamination. Measures to control radioactive contamination include eliminating or minimizing the spread of contamination and preventing cross-contamination. Contamination control philosophy at the plutonium facility is conveyed in one simple statement: Detect the contamination closest to the source as possible! Speed and distance when self-monitoring is critical to detecting plutonium contamination. Responding correctly to an alarm or monitor not working properly minimizes the consequences of plutonium contamination. Performing a full body frisking correctly and using the Peerchecking tool also minimize the consequences of plutonium contamination.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2020

Early Career Paths at Los Alamos National Laboratory

We represent a selection of early career staff at LANL with backgrounds in mathematics. There are many possible paths to a position at LANL. The lab has very active graduate research and postdoctoral programs, and it is not uncommon for graduate students to become postdocs, who can then be “converted” to staff. Conversion from being a postdoc is not the only route to a position at LANL, nor is it a guarantee, but most of us did postdocs here before becoming staff. Being a postdoc here also gives you an idea of whether you’d like living in northern New Mexico, a rugged, beautiful, and somewhat remote area. It is important to say here that citizenship is not a requirement for many of the positions at the lab. The lab historically and currently welcomes investigators from all over the world. LANL offers a broad spectrum of mathematical challenges that are largely problem driven. Particularly to those who feel that academic mathematics can be stove-piped, with a focus on deep but not necessarily broad expertise, the LANL environment gives the flexibility to move and grow in many different directions. The lab encourages a team-based approach to problems, which not only enhances the breadth of our approach to solving problems, but also gives team members access to new fields. From the outside (academia), however, it can be difficult to see how fields map between academia and the lab. This is one of the reasons that having interaction with the lab as a graduate student or postdoc can be helpful in understanding if the environment would be a good match for you. An important advantage of working at the lab is our high visibility both in academia, as well as in industry and the government. Because of its mission-driven projects, LANL, and more broadly the Department of Energy Laboratories, help set research directions that are picked up by researchers in academia. For this reason, many lab staff have worked at LANL for a number of years, then have transferred into academia after having set the agenda for their field of expertise. Below, we will share some of our experiences, opinions, and reflections in order to give the reader a feel for our own early career experiences.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Analysis of urinary excretion data from three plutonium-contaminated wounds at Los Alamos National Laboratory

The NCRP-156 Report proposes seven different biokinetic models for the wound cases depending on the physicochemistry of the contaminant. Because the models were heavily based on experimental animal data, the authors of the report encouraged application and validation of the models using bioassay data from actual human exposures. Each of the wound models was applied to three plutonium-contaminated wounds, and the models resulted in a good agreement to only one of the cases. We then applied a simpler biokinetic model structure to the bioassay data and showed that fitting the transfer rates from this model structure yielded better agreement with the data than does the best-fitting NCRP-156 model. Because the biokinetics of radioactive material in each wound is different, it is impractical to propose a discrete set of model parameters to describe the biokinetics of radionuclides in all wounds, and thus each wound should be treated empirically.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Plutonium Sustainment Monthly Program Report September 2012

In September of 2012 the Plutonium Sustainment program at LANL completed or addressed the following high-level activities: 1) Completed assembly, inspection, packing, and approvals for Pollux. Completed shipment to DAF in early October in accordance with the Gemini Core Team’s schedule. 2) Delivered the draft Program Implementation Plan and revised repeatedly. 3) Met with Kansas City Plant staff to “kick-off” the non-nuclear pit-component production mission. All MRT L2 Milestones 4195-4198 or the relevant PBIs associated with Plutonium Sustainment have been met and evidence packages submitted. The year-end budget/performance indices were 0.96 (S.P.I.) and 1.00 (C.P.I.). Table 1 identifies all Baseline Change Requests (BCRs) that were initiated, in process, or completed during the month. The earned value metrics overall for LANL are within acceptable thresholds, so no high-level recovery plan is required. Note that the planned (budget) and earned value for September includes planned carryover holdbacks (no allocation) with no associated FY12 costs. This has a minor (positive) impact on S.P.I. and a significant (positive) impact on the C.P.I. For Pu Sustainment overall, the C.P.I. in September neglecting the $10.75M holdback is 0.90. Likewise, the C.P.I. for FY12 is 1.004. With the facility infrastructure element removed, the C.P.I. in September becomes 0.92. Likewise, the C.P.I. for FY12 is 0.992. Again neglecting the holdback, the S.P.I. numbers for Pu Sustainment overall are 0.94 (Sept) and 0.96 (FY12) and with the facility infrastructure element removed 0.95 (Sept) and 0.95 (FY12).

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Annual Report on the Activities and Publications of the DHS-DNDO-NTNFC-Sponsored Post-doctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory

This report is a summary update on the projects Magen Coleman is working on as a postdoctoral fellow funded by DHS. These research projects are designed to explore different radioanalytical facets of nuclear forensics, including destructive and non-destructive analysis, chronometry measurements and modeling, spectral analysis, and actinide separations. Method development and instrumental analysis are integral parts of these projects, along with strong radiochemical knowledge. The current projects discussed here include method development for 232U analysis, the assembly of a gamma mapping system, the testing of neutron bubble detectors for neutron spectrometry, and continued work on the chronometry of plutonium and uranium materials. This report documents the work that has been performed since April 2011.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2012

From Bombs to Breast Cancer Imaging: Los Alamos National Laboratory

In the United States, one in eight women will be affected by breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed - as well as the second most fatal - cancer in American women. It is estimated that there will be nearly 200,000 diagnoses of breast cancer this year; more than 40,000 of these will be fatal. Although advances in medical technologies have greatly increased the odds of surviving the disease, the increase in screenings has not resulted in a significant reduction in the breast cancer mortality rate. Moreover, recent studies have even suggested that an increase in these methods might, in itself, cause cancer. A new tool for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, supported by an award from the Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs of Department of Defense, could give women a new advantage in the fight against breast cancer. This LANL-led project will integrate ultrasound tomography (UST) with recent discoveries in the field of cell and tissue biomechanics to improve breast cancer detection and characterization. UST uses ultrasound waves instead of X-rays to identify and characterize breast tumors. This technology reveals small mechanical-property changes within the breast. These changes are often the earliest signs of breast cancer. Additionally, UST is effective for women with dense breast tissue, who have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Because the technology does not use radiation, UST can also be used as frequently as needed for women with a high risk of developing breast cancer. In contrast, mammography, the only routine breast-cancer screening tool currently available, is not effective for women with dense breast tissue and may come with unwanted side-effects caused by ionizing radiation. UST has great potential to become an alternative breast-cancer screening tool because of UST's advantages and benefits over mammography. Currently, there is fierce debate surrounding the age at which breast cancer screening should begin, and once begun, how often it should occur. The American Cancer Society recommends yearly mammograms starting at age 40. On the other hand, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends against routine so early. Rather, the Task Force recommends biennial mammography screening for women aged 50 to 74 years. The ten-year discrepancy in the onset of screening results from recent data suggesting that the frequent use of X-ray radiation during screenings could potentially increase the likelihood of developing cancer. This danger is increased by the low sensitivity and accuracy of mammograms, which sometimes require multiple screenings to yield results. Furthermore, mammograms are often not only inaccurate, but average appalling misdiagnoses rates: about 80% false positives and 15% false negatives. These misdiagnoses lead to unwarranted biopsies at an estimated health care cost of $2 billion per year, while at the same time, resulting in excessive cases of undetected cancer. As such, the National Cancer Institute recommends more studies on the advantages of types and frequency of screenings, as well as alternative screening options. The UST technology developed at LANL could be an alternative option to greatly improve the specificity and sensitivity of breast cancer screening without using ionizing radiation. LANL is developing high-resolution ultrasound tomography algorithms and a clinical ultrasound tomography scanner to conduct patient studies at the UNM Hospital. During UST scanning, the patient lies face-down while her breast, immersed in a tank of warm water, is scanned by phased-transducer arrays. UST uses recorded ultrasound signals to reconstruct a high-resolution three-dimensional image of the breast, showing the spatial distribution of mechanical properties within the breast. Breast cancers are detected by higher values of mechanical properties compared to surrounding tissues. Thus, high-resolution breast images obtained using LANL's novel UST algorithms have the potential to detect breast cancer at its earliest stage. The goal of this Multi-Team Award project is two-fold: (1) develop a novel, safe and cost-effective breast-imaging technique, and (2) improve the specificity and sensitivity of breast cancer imaging. The project is expected to integrate basic research with clinical studies, perform substantive cross-disciplinary training among scientists on the teams and involve participation of consumer advocates. Those involved in the project are optimistic about future developments.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2012

Shock and Detonation Physics at Los Alamos National Laboratory

WX-9 serves the Laboratory and the Nation by delivering quality technical results, serving customers that include the Nuclear Weapons Program (DOE/NNSA), the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies. The scientific expertise of the group encompasses equations-of-state, shock compression science, phase transformations, detonation physics including explosives initiation, detonation propagation, and reaction rates, spectroscopic methods and velocimetry, and detonation and equation-of-state theory. We are also internationally-recognized in ultra-fast laser shock methods and associated diagnostics, and are active in the area of ultra-sensitive explosives detection. The facility capital enabling the group to fulfill its missions include a number of laser systems, both for laser-driven shocks, and spectroscopic analysis, high pressure gas-driven guns and powder guns for high velocity plate impact experiments, explosively-driven techniques, static high pressure devices including diamond anvil cells and dilatometers coupled with spectroscopic probes, and machine shops and target fabrication facilities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

P24 Plasma Physics Summer School 2012 Los Alamos National Laboratory Summer lecture series for students [Slides]

This report covers the 2012 LANL summer lecture series for students. The lectures were: (1) Tom Intrator, P24 LANL: Kick off, Introduction - What is a plasma; (2) Bruno Bauer, Univ. Nevada-Reno: Derivation of plasma fluid equations; (3) Juan Fernandez, P24 LANL Overview of research being done in p-24; (4) Tom Intrator, P24 LANL: Intro to dynamo, reconnection, shocks; (5) Bill Daughton X-CP6 LANL: Intro to computational particle in cell methods; (6) Kirk Flippo, P24 LANL: High energy density plasmas; (7) Thom Weber, P24 LANL: Energy crisis, fission, fusion, non carbon fuel cycles; (8) Tom Awe, Sandia National Laboratory: Magneto Inertial Fusion; and (9) Yongho Kim, P24 LANL: Industrial technologies.

Astronomy & Astrophysics(79)↗