The following documents are progress reports that follow chemical research studies in subjects such as ruthenium tetroxile distillations, extraction-scrub studies of zirconium and niobium, and oxidation of plutonium and stabilization of plutonium(VI) during extraction of IAF solutions.

This document reports progress during the month of February, 1961, recording investigations and studies of a flow rate using a curved pipe or S-tube and documenting measurements of mass flow, tube design and construction.

Report discussing a study on the number of radioactive particles in the atmosphere by Hanford Works. The study's l procedures and results are included.

Report discussing the practice of using methyl methacrylate as a coating for platinium dishes in fluorescence method of uranium analysis. The experimental procedure described in this report to evaluate this practice indicates that the sample would be sufficiently protected from contamination and would not need to be stored in a desiccator.

The following report follows a test for remelting and casting uranium scrap specified that a pressure of 25 microns or less must be attained within the furnace before a charge is melted. The report was made to evaluate the effect of furnace pressures upon the quality if recast uranium metal.

Abstract: Processes are described for preparing small samples of 42 wt. % U-Al alloy (uranium enriched with U235) for pile irradiation studies. In the course of this work it was found that the size of the massive Al-U grains remains substantially unaltered during hot rolling.

From introduction: "This is the eighteenth in a series of quarterly reports which cover the progress and results from the conceptual designs, economic evaluations and research and development work performed by the General Electric Company as part of Contract AT(01-3)-189, Project Agreement No. 13."

One of the problems involved in the design of NPR is the method to be used for decontamination, Considerable effort has been made in both laboratories and pilot plants in developing and evaluating decontamination processes under ideal conditions. Promising processes must be tested under prototypical conditions of velocity, water quality, manner of make-up, type and degree of contamination, addition of decontaminating solutions, and so on.

A plutonium solution of known Pu-241 content was purified by solvent extraction techniques to remove uranium and americium impurities. Portions of this purified solution were then analyzed for U-237 as a function of time. Since the growth of U-237 occurs directly by the alpha decay of Pu-241, these measurements provided sufficient data for calculation of the Pu-241 alpha half-life, which was found to be 2.91 ± 0.50 x 10⁵ years.

Introduction: This is a final report on the evaluation of Kanigen electroless nickel plating for surfaces in contact with water and steam i a sodium heated AISI Type 316 stainless steel steam generator. The purpose of the coasting was to afford protection from stress corrosion cracking originating on the water-steam side of the unit. It has been concluded that the kanigen coating does not afford adequate protection for the services condition intended. This work was performed as part of the research and development program for the United States Atomic Energy Commission sodium Components Design Project.

This report details an experiment undergone to determine the amount of radioactive strontium, barium-lanthanum, fission mixture, and sodium accumulated by and distributed within non-feeding goldfish. The report includes tables detailing the findings.

Abstract: The caustic permanganate-rinse decontamination treatment was investigated. Loop and metallurgical studies were performed to determine optimum operating conditions as well as the metallurgical effects of the treatment. A treatment with 10 percent sodium hydroxide and 5 percent potassium permanganate solution followed by a rinse with a 5 percent ammonium citrate, 2 percent citric acid and 1/2 percent Versene solution was chosen for the decontamination of a stainless steel steam generator. Decontamination factors of greater than 50 were obtained in loop tests using the above treatment. Corrosion and metallurgical results indicated a total penetration of less than 0.01 mil on annealed Type 304 stainless steel with no evidence of any deleterious effects.

Abstract: A study has been made of the radiochemical composition and the specific activity of insoluble corrosion products (crud) removed from the primary system of the APPR-1. This report presents the results of analysis of twelve crud samples collected during the interval from September 3, 1957 to December 1, 1957. The samples were radiochemically analyzed for long-lived gamma emitting nuclides only. Data are presented on the measured values of the specific activity of crud, the ratios of the nuclide specific activities, and the concentration of crud (crud level) in the circulating primary water. Also included in data, based on the analysis of a single sample, comparing the specific activity of the deposited and circulating corrosion products.

Experimental techniques are described for the spectral measurement of a collimated fast neutron beam. A hydrogen filled cloud chamber, proton recording nuclear plates, and threshold fission foils were used as neutron detectors in the measurements. As an application of the above technique, the energy distribution and absolute flux of the fast neutron beam emerging from port 5W of the Los Alamos fast rector has been measured from 0.1 Mev to 18 Mev. The result show a spectral curve possessing a maximum between 9.25 and 0.30 Mev and having an exponential decrease at energies above 1.5 Mev. The mass energy of the distribution is at 0.55 Mev and the slope of the exponential section is 3.1 - 0.1 Mev per decade of intensity decrease.

"This is the third quarterly report on Task II dealing with Methods Development for Radio-Tracing of Coal Product Hydrocarbons With Tritium. The problem of accurate low-level tritium assay for tagged hydrocarbons has been resolved and attention is now primarily directed at the questions of tritium mobility and radio-chemical purity in tagged tracers."

PuO2-UO2 Irradiation Capsules. Four capsules of Zircaloy-clad, sintered PuO2-UO2 mixed crystal oxides in a UO2 matrix are awaiting irradiation in the NTR.

A new method to procure RaLa sources was proposed by Group CMR-10, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. This method depended upon irradiation of small-diameter U235 wire in the Materials Testing Reactor, Arco, Idaho. A procedure for cladding and sealing U235 wire in stainless steel tubing, by drawing, plugging the tube ends, and welding, was developed, tested, and proved to be satisfactory.

A preliminary soil column experiment with a waste sample from the 207-S-11 well, which monitors the 216-S cribs, indicated that cesium was absorbed almost completely by the soil but that strontium breakthrough to ground water in the near future seemed likely. Accordingly, it was suggested that the 216-S wastes be discharged to a new disposal site, and that samples of the wastes which are currently being discharged to the 216-S cribs be obtained for soil absorption tests. The primary purpose of these tests was to obtain data which could be used to suggest ways and means of improving the absorption of strontium by soil from the process condensate stream (D-2_ and the cell drainage stream (D-1), both of which have been discharged to the 216-S cribs for the past several months.

This is the seventeenth quarterly report on our echelle project, as numbered above. Our work this quarter has to some extent been directed towards the Spectroscopy Symposium held at Argonne National Laboratory on February 15, 16, and 17. This report consists principally of brief abstracts of the two papers given at this meeting. Progress since the last quarterly report included completion of the echelle comparator calibration, and the successful production and photographing of the desired spectra of praseodymium and erbium in strong magnetic fields. Considerable interest was aroused by these papers, not only because rare earth spectra are being analyzed, but because of the general applicability of our experimental techniques in producing the spectra.

A stainless steel autoclave for superheated water corrosion test was installed and "conditioned". Tests were begun to investigate the feasibility of densifying slip cast stainless steel by means of liquid phase sintering. Attempts to prepare tubular fuel elements by vacuum forming were resumed. Although thick-walled vacuum formed casting have been sintered on the aluminum mandrels without cracking, this has not yet been accomplished with the think sections of interest.

Thorium Procedure: As was mentioned in the last report, ammonium nitrate was substituted for ferric nitrate as a salting agent. Also, the acidity of the nitrate solution was reduced from 3.0 molar to 0.5 molar. the revised thorium procedure is described in the report. Radium Procedure: Work has ben initiated on the procedure of Petrow, Nietzel and DeSesa (Winchester Procedure) to determine if the procedure is suitable for very low level concentrations of radium.