NEWSBridge, a Service of the Hanford Technical Library

09 May 2008

Today's Categories: PNNL in the News / Hanford Site / Energy/Science Policy / National/International Science and Technology / Security / Workforce - Health and Safety / State and Regional /

PNNL in the News

Bioscience lab dedicated at WSU Tri-Cities

The sun was shining ... at Washington State University Tri-Cities on Thursday as more than 200 people turned out for the dedication of the new Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory. The 24.8 million [dollar] building was finished in March and is a joint project of WSU Tri-Cities and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. (w/video)

Tri-City Herald09 May 2008R

Top businesses take pride in work

The employees sitting at the Pasco Vision Clinic table shared smiles, fist pumps and a few hugs as they realized their business had won the 2008 [Mid-Columbia] Small Business of the Year award Wednesday night. ... Silver [award]: Randolph Construction Services, Pasco. Provides construction and design services. ... Nominated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Tri-City Herald08 May 2008R

Hanford Site

Lawmakers make plea for more Hanford money

Members of Congress representing states or communities adjacent to former nuclear weapons production sites have made another plea to restore cleanup funds in the fiscal year 2009 budget. The bipartisan effort was led by Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., as chairman of the Nuclear Cleanup Caucus.

Tri-City Herald09 May 2008R

DOE fills key management position at the Office of River Protection

The U.S. Department of Energy today named Stacy Charboneau as the Assistant Manager for Tank Farms at the Office of River Protection. In this role, she will be responsible for the continued safe storage and removal of 53 million gallons of chemical and radioactive waste from 170 underground tanks at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. (press release)

Hanford News08 May 2008R

Energy/Science Policy

U.S. Department of Energy Announces Completion of 500 Industrial Energy Saving Assessment

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy today announced that it has completed the 500th Energy Saving Assessment (ESA) at the nation's largest industrial facilities. These assessments have helped companies identify opportunities to save over an estimated 80 trillion British Thermal Units of natural gas ... [and] more than 800 million [dollars] in potential energy savings.

DOE Press Release09 May 2008

IDC, US Energy Department join forces

The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya this week signed an agreement with the United States Energy Department to cooperate on energy research. The sides said they hope to develop new energy sources, increase fuel efficiency and decrease dependence on Arab oil and other imported fuels.

business.jpost.com (The Jerusalem Post, Israel)08 May 2008

National/International Science and Technology

Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley Lands 26 Million [dollar] Biofuels Grant

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley has taken another leap forward in the race to build a sustainable biofuels industry with the announcement that the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a 26 million [dollar] grant for a one-tenth scale cellulosic ethanol facility here.

SunHerald.com (Biloxi Sun Herald)08 May 2008

NASA Supercomputer Looks to Blast Off

NASA ... has signed an agreement with Intel and SGI to update its supercomputer at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. NASA hopes the project, dubbed "Pleiades," will produce a supercomputer capable of breaking the petaflop mark-1 quadrillion calculations per second-by 2009. By 2012, SGI, Intel and NASA plan to increase the performance to 10 petaflops.

eWeek.com08 May 2008

New Report on Methods for Calculating Solar Capacity

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Photovoltaic Capacity Valuation Methods, released today by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) in consultation with project partners, and funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar America Initiative, examines the variety of capacity calculation methods in use, and lays the foundation for building consensus within the solar industry, electric utility, and research communities.

InvestorIdeas.com08 May 2008

Security

N Korea hands in nuclear records

North Korea has handed over more than 18,000 pages of records on its nuclear weapons programme to the US. The documents log activities at North Korea's plutonium reactor at Yongbyon, which is thought to have produced the material for nuclear tests in 2006.

BBC News09 May 2008

Nev. test site reassessed

ST. GEORGE - Kevin Rohrer, director of public affairs for NNSA/NSO, said in 1996 a full environmental impact study was conducted [on activities at the Nevada Test Site]. Every five years, there is a supplementary analysis that outlines the work taking place and the possible environmental impacts.

TheSpectrum.com (St. George Daily Spectrum, UT)08 May 2008

New Ideas Sought for Protecting Crowded Places From Terrorist Threat

LONDON (PRNewswire) - At present, governments and industry are looking for more effective ways to respond to the huge challenges posed by securing crowded places. The Global Security Challenge (http://www.globalsecuritychallenge.com/) is advancing a theory that proposes competitions can be the most effective method of reaching a broad audience of innovators.

The EarthTimes (UK)08 May 2008

Program Tracks Nuclear Materials Worldwide

An interagency program established in 2006 by a classified Presidential directive is working to gather information on the status and security of nuclear materials around the world and to characterize them for forensic purposes. Remarkably, such a thing had never been done before in a rigorous way.

Secrecy News08 May 2008

Workforce - Health and Safety

Exercise well-suited for the workplace

Corporate Games gives employers a unique opportunity to enhance teamwork and build camaraderie among their employees. It's a terrific way to kick-start an employee wellness program, which should be an integral part of any organization's employee benefits plan, because, after all, when employees are healthy, they are not only happy, they're productive.

Ventura County VCReporter Online (CA)08 May 2008

NanoRisk: What Can You Do About It?

The American Industrial Hygiene Association estimates that 4 million people in the United States are expected to be exposed to nanometer-diameter particles on a regular basis as these industries grow. ... As nanomaterial issues have broadened to include corporate liability and reputation, more organizations are looking into worker exposure and how to better reduce it.

Environmental Protection08 May 2008

OSHA Spring 2008 Agenda Published in Federal Register

OSHA's most recently published semiannual regulatory agenda listed 7 hazard topics on the Federal Register, many of which have garnered much public interest in recent years.

Occupational Hazards (OH)08 May 2008

'The Business of Forgiveness' Offers Tips for Job Satisfaction and a Happier Work Environment

The new booklet from Charlette Manning, "The Business of Forgiveness," offers tips and advice to help employers boost employee job satisfaction and to help employees handle challenging employers. (press release)

NewsReleaseWire.com08 May 2008

State and Regional

Company offers to drop lawsuit as states consider waste plan

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Representatives from eight Western states met privately Thursday to discuss a lawsuit filed by a company that wants to bury a portion of 20,000 tons of Italian radioactive waste in Utah. When they emerge, they could set a policy that governs foreign shipments of waste to Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Hanford News09 May 2008R

Bush signs Wild Sky Wilderness into law

WASHINGTON - For the first time in more than two decades, Washington state is getting a new wilderness area because President Bush signed legislation Thursday to protect more than 106,000 acres of forests and streams in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. ... Wild Sky ... is unique in the type of land it protects - low-elevation old-growth forests and 25 miles of salmon-bearing streams.

seattlepi.com (Seattle Post Intelligencer)08 May 2008R

Caution flag raised in race to embrace biofuels

Local officials behind the enthusiastic rush toward biofuels are tapping the brakes, thanks to mounting concerns about the impact on food supplies and the environment. Representatives of Seattle, King County and the University of Washington this week said they wanted to take a closer look at where the fuel comes from and what effect it's having on the planet.

seattlepi.com (Seattle Post Intelligencer)08 May 2008R

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