FIGURE 2.1 Schematic outline of the screening procedure used to identify a recommended alternative for cesium removal. SOURCE: Westinghouse Savannah River Company.

backup has been conducted, the committee understands that the current plans by WSRC appear to include an evaluation of several other highly ranked process alternatives.

The initial literature and patent search, conducted by WSRC (Poirier, Hunt, and Carlson, 1998), interrogated 11 large databases of scientific, engineering, and patent information:

• Chemical Abstract Services

• National Technical Information System (NTIS)

• American Geological Institute's GeoRef Database

• Nuclear Science Abstract

• Engineering Information, Inc.

• Inside Conferences

• Energy Index

• Information Services in Physics, Electronics, and Computing (INSPEC)

• Analytical Abstracts

• World Patents

• The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Homepage