Carbon-14 is by far the most popular of the labeled isotopes because of its adaptability to so many chemical compounds and its relatively harmless characteristic beta radiation. Because the inert gas atmosphere contains up to 30% nitrogen, carbon-14 is generated within the K Reactors by the conversion of nitrogen-14, and if not immediately oxidized, carbon-14 may remain in the reactor core for some time. It is eventually oxidized and escapes when the outward gas leakage from the reactor is vented to the stack. Production Test 124 was authorized to determine if carbon-14 could be extracted from the K gas as a profitable by-product. It was concluded that as much as 500--600 curies per year of carbon-14 could be recovered if both K Reactors were provided with relatively simple extraction facilities. This is about twice the amount of this product for which there is a current market at the present price level of approximately $3,000/curie. The grade (as specific activity) of the product recovered in the production test was low -- ranging from 3 to 26 millicuries per mol. Substantial upgrading (perhaps by a factor of 10X to 100X) is possible by skimming techniques and reduced oxidation of normal carbon at …

This proposal is submitted in response to Request for Proposal No. 438468, dated 27 May 1969, from the Power Procurement Section of the NASA Lewis Research Center, to design, fabricate and test Primary NaK Loop (PNL) valves for use in ground testing of the SNAP-8 Power Conversion System.

Young chinook salmon held in live boxes were drifted through Hanford reactor discharges in the central Columbia River, with the objective of evaluating the affect of heated effluents on fish survival. No significant mortalities of fish were recorded from 12 drifts during the spring (March--April) when base river temperatures were low, ranging from 4 to 7.6 C. Some mortalities occurred, however, in 3 of 24 drifts conducted in late summer (August--September) when base river temperatures extended from 17 to 19.6 C. None of the mortalities resulted from passage through midstream discharge plumes, which were characterized by relatively moderate temperature increase and short duration of exposure to maximum temperatures. Mortalities occurred only when fish were drifted along the south bank of the river through areas receiving heated water via intragravel seepage from shoreline retention basins and experimental subsurface disposal of reactor effluents. The shoreline areas were characterized by impeded river flow, which restricted horizontal and vertical mixing and prolonged the exposure of drifted fish to excessively warm temperatures. The extent of thermal shock sufficient to cause death in the field is primarily an integrated function of temperature increase and exposure duration, as has been demonstrated in laboratory experiments. The numerous possible …

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