The following memorandum outlines the procedures used on the neutralization of HNO3 in redox ICU and IAW streams, and the factors influencing their choice. The procedures involve a) hexone removal by evaporation in the presence of a retardant, b) destruction of the retardant, c) nitric acid elimination by boiling with aluminum and d) concentration of the remaining solution by evaporation.

Abstract: "The sensitivity to fast neutrons of a CP Meter ionization chamber of the type used for health physics beta and gamma survey measurements has been investigated."

The following report describes polarographic methods that determine saturated aliphatic carbonyl compounds.

Introduction: "The adoption of aluminum nitrate as salting agent in the Redox process made it imperative that a method be available for determining plutonium in the presence of aluminum. However, large amounts of aluminum have been found to interfere with the determination of plutonium by the lanthanum fluoride procedure. Previous attempts to increase the accuracy of the lanthanum fluoride method, by precipitating LaF3 from 4 M HF (rather than 2 M), have been successful only when the initial plutonium level was high."

The following report describes methods used to determine tributylphosphate in a deodorized shell base. An infrared absorption method is developed to emphasize toward determination of TBP in RCW streams, the organic waste streams.

Objective: The objective of this study is to develop a simple method of either removing the C1- ion from the RAW or converting the ion into a less corrosive valence state.

Feasibility of conversion of uranyl nitrate to uranium trioxide by the continuous addition of concentrated uranyl nitrate solution to hot, agitated UO3 powder.

The following report records a total of forty-nine graphite core samples that have been bored from process tube blocks in the Hanford piles with the intention to provide results to indicate that core boring is an entirely practical operation over bore scraping in obtaining powder samples.

The following report calculates pile reactivity changes that result from different pile loadings where it is desirable to have available values of (flux)2 d(volume) for various flat zone radii. This information was found for a cylindrical pile having circular flat zones and an effective radius of 598 cm., by integrating over a cross sectional volume of one cm. thickness.

From introduction: "The purpose of this report is to summarize some of the observations on the dispersion and rate of disengaging of liquid-liquid systems and suggest some possible lines of future work."

This report discusses the the surface characteristics of virgin and irradiated artificial graphites and the changes which occur upon irradiation.

This report discusses the calcination or heating of UO₃. When UO₃ is heated, it loses ionic impurities and can produce uranyl peroxide.

Thermal spikes occurring during the life of a slug in a pile cause a momentary destruction of the original configuration of atoms in the metal. This process occurs at such a rate that in a thermal neutron flux of 10(13) neutrons per square centimeter per second each atom in the metal will be subject to temperatures above the melting point of uranium every 40 minutes.

This report discusses the production of plutonium metal through the reduction of plutonium tetra fluoride with calcium metal and sulfur. It elaborates that iodine, which was originally used instead of calcium metal, presented several practical problems, but reductions completed with calcium were unsatisfactory.

In 1949 Barad presented two solutions to the general diffusion equation. Basic in both solutions is the assumption that in very stable atmospheres a point source may be replaced by a vertical area of uniform concentration at a short distance downwind. This vertical area is considered to exist at the distance at which the plume finally "levels-off" and assumes a flat ribbon-like appearance. In addition if the distance over which diffusion takes place is limited to one or two miles and if only the stable atmosphere with its narrow range of eddy sizes is considered, the average diffusion co-efficient (K) has a signficance which it does not have in the case of neutral equilibrium.

Removal of particles from air is discussed in terms of three classes of filtering media--air-sampling, respirator, and air-cleaning. Plots of efficiency versus filtering velocity are presented. The pressure drop characteristics of the filters are discussed in terms of initial pressure drops of the clean filters, variations in pressure drop of the individual filters, and comparison of loading rates.

Plankton collected from the Columbia River by the net method and by the centrifuge method were compared. The centrifuged plankton (nannoplankton) exceeded the net plankton in weight, in abundance of organisms and in radioactivity. Similar seasonal trends were present in both types of plankton.

The automatic polarograph is ideally suited for the analysis of waste streams for uranium in the Metal Recovery Process, and with modification, it is applicable to other processes, pilot plants, and even to laboratory set ups. The instrument is simple, dependable, and relatively trouble free in operation. It provides an immediate record of the uranium in the waste and, through better control of the process, lower processing costs.

Various non-linear calculations for heat conduction in an istropic, homogeneous medium are presented.

It is anticipated that neptunium will be recovered in the Purex process by solvent extraction or ion exchange methods as a nitric acid solution of greater than 0.1 g. Np/1 and containing varying amounts of fission products, plutonium, uranium, and thorium, including Th234 (UX1). At the present time this solution is thermally concentrated in the Purex L-cell package to several grams of neptunium per liter. In this operation the solution is contaminated rather badly with plutonium and stainless steel corrosion products. The present specifications are for the neptunium final product to contain less than 0.1 weight percent plutonium, to be relatively free of gross metallic contaminates, and to be low enough in fission product game activity and Th234-Pa234 (UX1-UX2) beta activity to be handled without resorting to remote techniques.

In conjunction with the fuel element development program at Hanford, it is desired to determine the effects of cladding and core temperatures, cladding thickness, and exposure upon the swelling behavior of unalloyed uranium. To obtain this information, it is proposed to irradiate several fuel rods, clad by coextrusion with Zr-2, in NeK filled stainless steel capsules. The central uranium temperatures are to be monitored by axial thermocouples. Irradiation tests in the MTR and ETR using capsules of similar design have been and are now being conducted. GKH 3-31, a fuel rod, clad with 0.030" Zr-2, operated in the MTR at an average center fuel temperature of 425 C to an exposure of 2100 MWD/T. GKH 3-57, 3-58, and 3-59 are presently undergoing irradiation in the ETR.

Crib evaluation studies showed the soil uptake of plutonium from the Recuplex process (CAW) waste to be low. Preliminary studies of the low soil adsorption of plutonium revealed the presence of a plutonium nitrate anion complex which could be removed by adsorption on a strong base anion exchange resin.

Thermal Resistance of the contact between to core and the jackets or unbonded fuel elements may easily be the largest source of error in core temperature predictions. The object of this work is to improve contact conductance predictions by measuring conductance of the joint between reactor fuel and cladding materials at joint pressures, temperatures and thermal flux levels approaching reactor service conditions.

A means for decontaminating the primary system of recirculating type reactor is necessary to insure operation and maintenance. This recirculation system can be contaminated by fuel element rupture products and induced corrosion product activities.