This document presents a summary of work and progress at the Hanford Engineer Works for March 1954. The report is divided into sections by department. A plant wide general summary is included at the beginning of the report, after which the departmental summaries begin. The Manufacturing Department reports plant statistics, and summaries for the Metal Preparation, Reactor and Separation sections. The Engineering Department`s section summaries work for the Technical, Design, and Project Sections. Costs for the various departments are presented in the Financial Department`s summary. The Medical, Radiological Sciences, Utilities and General Services, Employee and Public Relations, and Community Real Estate and Service departments have sections presenting their monthly statistics, work, progress, and summaries.

This is a progress report of the production reactors on the Hanford Reservation for the month of February 1951. This report takes each division (e.g., manufacturing, medical, accounting, occupational safety, security, reactor operations, etc.) of the site and summarizes its accomplishments and employee relations for that month.

The following modifications are planned to facilitate greater usefulness of available target space in the west tangent tank: (1) A 3/32-inch x 6-inch x 106-inch aluminum window is to be added to the outer radius tank wall. (2) One 12-inch x 6-inch air lock is to be added on the inside centerline of the reentrant section on the west tangent tank. (3) Two 24-inch x 30-inch openings are to be cut on the beam centerline in the top of the west tangent tank, one at each end. These openings will accommodate photographic plate wells of various kinds and also a large air lock that is being designed. It is suggested that any other modifications to the target area be presented to E. Lofgren as soon as possible so that the modifications can be programmed with respect to operations. The same general policy holds for target location, viz: (a) Small targets - allocations in west tangent tank; and (b) Large targets - allocations in south tangent tank. The design of two general purpose magnets is in the final stages. Copper for the coils will be ordered soon. The characteristics of these magnets are given. Results of magnetic field measurements on the …

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A study was made of the performance of an orifice plate pulse column which is essentially a spray column containing internal constrictions in the form of orifices. The chemical system studied was acetic acid-waterhexone, and the variables considered were pulse frequency, throughput, phase continuity, and direction of solute transfer. For comparison purposes, several runs were made with a conventional spray column. Curves are presented showing the effect of the column variables on the column efficiency (HTU). The trends observed are explained as being due principally to the competing effects of the area for mass transfer and back-mixing. Photographs of a typical column section show qualitatively the effect of the important column variables. (auth)

The purpose of this document is to present in graphical form a current picture of the quality of the Hanford plutonium product.

This report descrirs Chemical Properties of Elements 99 and 100

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This study summarizes work by the Industrial Hygiene Unit of the penetration by ruthenium compounds of certain respirator filters and canisters used at the 202-S facility at the Hanford Engineer Works. (JL)

Since start-up of the Redox Plant, different types of decontamination difficulties have been experienced and corrective measures taken. Current decontamination performance is superior to that ever experienced before. However, with the apparent need for the for elimination of the permanganate Head-End process for the IAF oxidation, several modifications to the plant flowsheet and equipment have been planned in order to obtain satisfactory overall decontamination without permanganate Head-End. The objectives of the memorandum are: to summarize generally and briefly the decontamination experience of the Redox process operating on IAF oxidized by sodium dichromate; to indicate the decontamination which probably can be obtained with the new Phase 2 equipment and its improved performance; and to re-evaluate the timing and feasibility of the current approaches for solving the long-range Redox decontamination problems arising as a result of oxidation of IAF by sodium dichromate (vice potassium permanganate).

A scavenging process for the TBP Plant wastes has recently been installed and is expected to result in a considerable reduction in the waste tankage required for storage of TBP Plant Wastes. A similar process has been developed for scavenging the first cycle waste from the BiPO{sub 4} Plants. A study of future requirements and availability of tank storage space indicates that in order to avoid an overall plant critical tank shortage, or the necessity of construction of new tanks, a T-Plant waste scavenging program should provide cribbing facilities by February, 1955. Since tank storage space is critical ad the cost of such storage is a sizable factor in the overall plant operating costs, an investigation of the feasibility of the installation of this waste scavenging process in T-Plant has been undertaken.

A description of some of the chemical properties and of the methods used in the separations of elements 99 and 100 is given. The new elements exhibit the properties expected for the tenth and eleventh actinide elements. Attempts to produce an oxidation state greater than 111 of element 99 have been successful. In normal aqueous media only the 111 state of element 100 appears to exist. The relative spacings of the elution peaks of the new elements in some separations with ion exchange resin columns are the same as the relative spacings of the homologous lanthanide elements. The results of experiments involving cation exchange resins with very concentrated hydrochloric acid eluant show that the new elements, like the earlier actinides, are more strongly complexed than the lanthanides. The new elements also exist partially as anions in concentrated hydrochloric acid, as do earlier actinide elements, and they may be partially separated from each other by means of ion exchange resins. With some eluants interesting reversals of elution positions are observed in the region Bk-Cf-99-100, indicating complex ion formation involving unusual factors.

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