The overall testing of the vertical sheet rod system is a comprehensive program which has been divided into several phases. These phases are presented here, with a short resume of the testing required under each phase, to enable the formulation of the project proposal for the complete test program. It is intended that very detailed test requests will be issued for the separate phases as data from previous tests and further design studies indicate the exact information or data desired from a particular test.

The basis feed to the Redox plant is 5,000 lb/day of uranium, supplied both as current irradiated uranium metal slugs in jackets, and as uranium compounds from the existing metal waste storage tanks. The proportions of the two feeds are chosen according to the enrichment level of the irradiated metal, so as to give a plutonium production of about 650 gm/day. The design basis has been taken as 0 to 1,500 lb/day U from the waste storage system and 2,000--5,000 lb/day of irradiated metal. Only the feed preparation from irradiated metal is discussed in this process description, and a basis of 5,000 lb/day is used throughout. The metal feed has associated with it 172.5 lb. Al and 2.5 lb. Si as slug jackets, and contains about 650 gpm. plutonium and 3 {times} 10{sup 5} curies of gamma-emitting fission products (FP). The purpose of the feed preparation section is to remove the aluminum and silicon, and to dissolve the uranium as an aqueous solution for feed to the Redox extraction battery. Secondarily, it is tentatively proposed to provide equipment in this section to achieve a preliminary decontamination from ruthenium, which is poorly handled by the Redox extraction system, and from FP …

This report details events of importance reported by the Hanford Operations Office for the week ending May 25, 1949.

There is definitely a technical possibility that atomic power may gradually develop into one of the principal sources of useful power. If this expectation will prove correct, great advantages can be expected to come from the fact that the weight of the fuel is almost negligible. This feature may be particularly valuable for making power available to regions of difficult access and far from deposits of coal. It also may prove a great asset in mobile power units for example in a power plant for ship propulsion. On the negative side there are some technical limitations to be applicability of atomic power of which perhaps the most serious is the impossibility of constructing light power units; also there will be some peculiar difficulties in operating atomic plants, as for example the necessity of handling highly radioactive substances which will necessitate, at least for some considerable period, the use of specially skilled personnel for the operation. But the chief obstacle in the way of developing atomic power will be the difficulty of organizing a large scale industrial development in an internationally safe way. This presents actually problems much more difficult to solve than any of the technical developments that are necessary, …