An experimental solar energy plant in Daggett, Calif., was declared a success recently by US officials who said the technology is immediately applicable to sun-drenched markets where energy costs are high. The plant, known as Solar Two, uses nearly 2,000 giant mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a centrally located 300-foot tall receiver. Molten salt, which flows through the receiver, is heated to 1,065 degrees Fahrenheit and transferred to a storage tank. When electricity is needed, the liquid churns a steam generator.

The solar thermal facility generates 10 megawatts of electricity -enough electricity to power 10,000 homes. Since the molten salt retains the sun's heat long into the night, the plant can generate electricity after the sun sets, said Christopher Powers, a spokesman from the Department of Energy.

Synthetic sludge may help taxpayers save millions

Fake radioactive sludge that mimics the gunk found in underground nuclear wastestorage tanks may help federal researchers save taxpayers millions of dollars, a scientist said at a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Huge vats of radioactive sludge can be found in the wastelands of national laboratories all across the country. 180 tanks alone reside on the Hanford Reservation in the state of Washington.

"At this point there is no hesitation to clean up the sites due to cost, but if we can we leave it (the sludge) there, let's do that," said Neal Singer, a spokesman at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. Without knowledge of the threat posed by the nuclear waste, cleanup measures that pose no threat to the environment average about $65 million for every tank. However, the researchers think that some tanks can be simply decommissioned on-site at a cost of $10 million.

The synthetic sludge, developed by Jim Krumhansl at Sandia National Laboratories, is chemically similar to radioactive sludge; it just isn't radioactive.

Robotic arm for checkingradioactive waste

Engineers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory are testing a robotic arm that will be used to get a detailed look inside one of the 11 liquid high-level radioactive waste storage tanks at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant tank farm. The INEEL is required to close the underground storage tanks as part of a settlement agreement between the Department of Energy and the state of Idaho.

Inspections of the tank with the robotic arm will lead to the tanks' closure by 2012. The Light-Duty Utility Arm will carry a variety of specialised tools that will allow engineers to take video, pictures and samples of the inner tank walls and the high-level waste residue. The residue, called a "heel," is left in the tank after the liquid waste is removed and converted into calcine, a granular solid.

UNESCO to assess `Education for All' project

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has said various academics, donors and UNbodies would undertake an assessment of its 10 year programme `education for all' (EFA) early next year.

Announcing this recently in Delhi, UNESCO director Moegiadi said the programme launched in 1990 would come up for critical review at the world forum in Dakar in April 2000.

The EFA 2000 assessment is a major global endeavour and is being conducted in more than 130 countries with an objective to help participating countries to construct a comprehensive picture of their progress towards their own EFA goals since 1990 Jomien Conference in Thailand, he said.

He said the assessment would also help member countries to identify priorities and promising strategies for overcoming obstacles and review their national plans of action.

Lauding the efforts of India in promoting universal elementary education in the country, Moegiadi said that there was political will to address the problems at the grassroot levels.

K S Sharma, additional secretary in the Human Resource Development Ministry, said efforts werebeing made to induct private sector and various non-governmental organisations into the education field to give boost to the spread of education.