NEWSBridge, a Service of the Hanford Technical Library

06 Nov 2009

Today's Categories: PNNL in the News / DOE around the U.S. / Energy/Science Policy / National/International Science and Technology / Security / Workforce - Health and Safety / State and Regional / Community / Other /

PNNL in the News

Class-ing Up Uranium

Primitive: that's how Dr. John Bargar describes the state of knowledge of the reactivity of biogenic uranite in ground water. Biogenic uranite is a form of uranium, produced by bacteria, that is fairly immobile in groundwater. Bargar discussed his work to turn this primitive knowledge into a sophisticated understanding at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Frontiers in Biogeochemistry Seminar Series. (press release)

PHYSORG.com05 Nov 2009

Michigan Tech heads 2.8M [dollar] clean diesel research

HOUGHTON, Mich. (AP) - A new 2.8 million [dollar] research project will look for ways to cut the pollution from diesel exhaust without reducing fuel economy. Michigan Technological University engineers are leading the three-year study, funded largely by the U.S. Department of Energy. ... Scientists from Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., also are participating.

seattlepi (Seattle Post Intelligencer)05 Nov 2009R

DOE around the U.S.

Calif. wants Boeing, NASA to clean up of toxic lab

LOS ANGELES - California environmental regulators have proposed forcing the Boeing Co. and NASA to clean up chemical and radioactive pollution at a 2,800-acre research site in eastern Ventura County. The draft of a revised cleanup plan for the Santa Susana Field Laboratory was announced Wednesday. ... The draft plan names Boeing, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy as the responsible parties.

MercuryNews.com (San Jose Mercury News)05 Nov 2009R

Livermore Lab hires national security expert

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory hired Penrose Albright to oversee work on security research. Albright starts work Nov. 30 as Principal Associate Director of Global Security. In the past he was assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, and the lab hired him from Civitas Group, a national security consulting business in Washington, D.C.

San Francisco Business Times05 Nov 2009

Energy/Science Policy

Agreement on climate change looks unlikely ahead of Copenhagen

Berlin - The world is moving toward December climate change talks that have been described in some quarters as "pivotal." But a European Union agreement, signed last week, sheds light on how tenuous the prospects are for a comprehensive deal any time soon.

The Christian Science Monitor05 Nov 2009

Lack of global climate deal won't crush green tech

More significant is the amount of money and political commitment made by national governments around the world. Over the next few years, the United States will spend tens of billions of stimulus dollars to develop clean-energy industries, such as solar, wind, and plug-in vehicles. China, too, has made economic development around clean energy a national priority.

cnet news05 Nov 2009

Using Prizes to Drive Energy Innovation

The Department of Energy announced two prize competitions this year: The 10 million [dollar] L Prize would award a company that designs a long-lasting lightbulb bright enough to substitute for the ubiquitous 60-watt bulb, while consuming 10 watts or less. ... And the agency's first H Prize, announced in August, would award 1 million [dollars] to the designer of a lightweight hydrogen storage material suitable for cars.

The New York Times05 Nov 2009

National/International Science and Technology

Carnegie Mellon Engineering Researchers Receive Grant to Improve Awareness of Electricity Consumption in Buildings

PITTSBURGH - Carnegie Mellon University's Lucio Soibelman, H. Scott Matthews and Jose M.F. Moura received a three-year 1.5 million [dollar] grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to identify inexpensive ways to track energy consumption in buildings. (press release)

AScribe Newswire05 Nov 2009

Phononic Devices Selected for ARPA-E Award to Commercialize Advanced Thermoelectric Devices

CARY, N.C.(Business Wire) - Phononic Devices, Inc. has been selected for a 3 million [dollar] grant from the Department of Energy's new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The grant will enable the company to further develop its new class of highly efficient thermoelectric devices that convert waste heat from industrial and commercial processes into usable electric power. (press release)

REUTERS05 Nov 2009

Researchers study bacteria's use in solar energy

In the future, bacteria could harness solar energy to provide power for automobiles if an ASU project recently granted 5.2 million [dollars] by the U.S. Department of Energy succeeds.

statepress.com (Web Devil)05 Nov 2009

Social Networking for Nuclear Decommissioning

Faced with the challenges of delivering the right training to the right people, the IAEA's International Decommissioning Network (IDN) has begun using popular social networking tools to connect with more than 400 nuclear professionals in 60 countries all year round.

IAEA.org05 Nov 2009

Symposium on 'Accelerators for America's Future'

There was a large turnout last week on the first day of a three-day symposium entitled "Accelerators for America's Future." The attendance, as well as the presentations from a diverse range of speakers, demonstrated the great interest there is in the potential of accelerators in areas such as medicine, industrial applications, and energy, as well as in new accelerator technologies.

FYI: The AIP Bulletin of Science Policy News05 Nov 2009

Security

7 Practical Steps for Federal Cyber Security and FISMA Compliance

The number of security breaches of federal information systems and cases of improper access to these systems continues to grow at an alarming rate. ... So where and how do we address the challenge for ensuring the security of federal information systems?

techweb digitalibrary (InformationWeek)05 Nov 2009

Defense Study: Predicting 9/11- Type Catastrophes Not Possible

Predicting the occurrence of a terrorist event using a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is not possible under any approaches identified to date, concluded a recent report from a federally funded research corporation, making it extremely difficult to foresee a massively catastrophic event like the 9/11 terrorist attack.

HSToday05 Nov 2009

House Panel Approves Cyber-security Awareness Act

Legislation would mandate that National Institute of Standards and Technology develop a plan to ensure cyber-security coordination within the U.S. government.

eWEEK.com05 Nov 2009

Russia Receives New START Offer From U.S.

The United States presented Russia with an offer last week that could dramatically improve the likelihood of agreement on a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty ahead of the 1991 pact's expiration on Dec. 5, Moscow indicated today. (press release)

NTI Global Security Newswire05 Nov 2009

Workforce - Health and Safety

'Indoor plants help boost performance levels at work'

LONDON (The Daily Telegraph) - Not only do they brighten up the office, indoor plants could save an employee's life too, say researchers. ... Lead researcher Stanley Kays of University of Georgia said some indoor plants have the ability to effectively remove harmful volatile organic compounds from the air and not only improve physical health, but also someone's well-being.

Business Line (Hindu Business Line)06 Nov 2009

Top Names in Safety Share Timely Ideas

As the largest U.S. safety show, NSC's annual Congress and Expo usually attracts some of the most illustrious names in the industry. ... Acting OSHA chief Jordan Barab ... said OSHA is looking to team with progressive companies - businesses with "spine and spirit" - in its work on forming an effective and lasting ergonomics standard.

OH&S Occupational Health & Safety (TX)05 Nov 2009

State and Regional

Gov. Gregoire approves Recovery Act funding for five clean water projects in state

OLYMPIA - Gov. Chris Gregoire and the state Department of Ecology today announced five new clean-water construction projects that are ready to receive a total of 11.4 million [dollars] in Recovery Act funding. The funding will pay for improvements and efficiencies at wastewater treatment plants, expansions of wastewater collection systems, and projects to re-use or "reclaim" wastewater. (press release)

Governor Chris Gregoire05 Nov 2009

Community

Energy initiative should spark broader dialogue

It's encouraging to hear Tri-City business leaders talking about plans to capitalize on the Mid-Columbia's energy industry. ... About 60 square miles of the Hanford site, most of it near Richland, could be available for industrial uses within a few years. But big questions need to be answered. (editorial)

tricityherald.com06 Nov 2009R

Other

Nov. 6, 1944 & 1971: A Double Nuke Anniversary

1944: Weapons-grade plutonium, for the very heart of the Fat Man atomic bomb used to obliterate Nagasaki, Japan, is first produced at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in south-central Washington state. Twenty-seven years later, in 1971, the Atomic Energy Commission detonates the largest U.S. hydrogen bomb, during underground testing in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.

WIRED05 Nov 2009

Remarks by The First Lady at Department of Energy Event

Mrs. Obama ... As you know, Secretary Chu isn't just a brilliant scientist, he's also an inspired leader, and he's bringing new ideas and perspectives to Washington, challenging all of you, all of us, to look at your own work, at our own work, in a whole new way. And we are so incredibly grateful for his leadership.

DOE Press Release05 Nov 2009

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