The High-Field Magnetic Resonance Facility in the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory includes this 750-MHZ nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, as well as the world's first 900-MHZ instrument, to be installed in late 1997.

The environment presents many of the world's most complex technological challenges: develop practical and effective solutions to clean up nuclear waste, create new, environmentally friendly materials for industry, design industrial processes that minimize waste or prevent pollution, evaluate and respond to global environmental changes. Teams of Battelle's scientists and engineers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy for more than 30 years, serve DOE by helping them fulfill their national missions. They develop science-based solutions to these critical problems. In 1996, Pacific Northwest took another important step toward becoming the world's premier laboratory for environmental solutions. The opening of the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory established Pacific Northwest at the forefront of environmental research. Discoveries at the $230 million, 200,000 square-foot facility will help solve complex contamination problems at government and industrial sites across the United States and around the world. Research in this new facility will further advances in new materials, sensor development, and materials and chemical property characterization and will be applied to transportation, medical, and agricultural technologies. One of the primary benefits of EMSL research will be the expansion of ongoing cleanup work at the Hanford site in Washington state, as well as other sites. For example, ERACE, a new Battelle-developed soil-heating process, removes 99.9 percent of contaminants from soil 40 feet below the surface faster and cheaper than conventional methods. Meeting another crucial challenge through the Department of Energy's International Nuclear Safety Program, Pacific Northwest scientists are improving nuclear power plant safety in Russia and Ukraine, including implementing safety measures used at U.S. nuclear power plants. Battelle also played a prominent role in establishing the Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Waste and Radioecology in the Ukraine. Pacific Northwest helps industry improve energy efficiency and reduce waste through the development of new lightweight materials and superplastic forming techniques that will give vehicles higher fuel efficiency. To support decision-making in a changing global climate, Battelle conducts advanced measurement and modeling studies to measure the effects of greenhouse gases and clouds in the atmosphere for the U.S. Department of Energy. Battelle researchers also are developing models that will improve forecasts of greenhouse gas emissions and their effects. Battelle provides science-based solutions to our customers' most complex and difficult problems in environment and energy.

In 1996, Thomas Dunning won the Lawrence Award, given annually to an outstanding researcher at a federal laboratory. A breath test for ulcers that uses near infrared absorption spectroscopy is in preclinical trials. Researchers use microorganisms to clean soil and groundwater tainted with nitrate and carbon tetrachloride, an industrial solvent and suspected carcinogen. Plant personnel at Soviet-designed reactors receive training in plant maintenance and operations. Pacific Northwest developed this resource-efficient water filtration system that washes 25,000 pounds of laundry a day and cuts water consumption and gas bills in half. Pacific Northwest's fundamental research in the chemistry of mixed radioactive and chemical waste leads to solutions for safety issues and processing strategies.