During the spring 1952 atomic weapons tests a nationwide network of weather stations, supplemented by 16 foreign stations, collected samples of settled and airborne dust which were counted radiologically. The data are reported as bases for estimating possible health hazards.

Many factors are responsible for the rapid growth of analytical chemistry during the past ten to fifteen years (This report was written in 1953). One of the most important of these factors is the greatly increased significance to present day chemistry of many elements that in the recent past were principally chemical curiosities. Since the Atomic Energy program is concerned with many such elements, it is of interest to discuss the cause for this concern and the resulting effect on the field of analytical chemistry. A number of pertinent analytical research problems at Hanford are cited as examples.

Preliminary results are reported on the coating of U by immersion in nonreacting molten Mg saturated with Zr, Ni, or Si. A corrosion analysis of the resulting Mg-- Zr outer coat was performed on one failure occurring in boiling water. Further experiments are described on the corrosion testing of Cu-plated and Zn-dipped U. Improvements in the Zn-dip process are uncertain, however, because hot-dip Zn coats show comparable corrosion characteristics. Investigations have been conducted on the casting of U in cans of Zr,U, and Nb-- U alloys. Information was accumulated on the nature of the bonding characteristics, thermal treatment, and corrosion testing of such canning techniques. A new series of U-Nb alloys has been prepared for the purpose of studying the phase transformations of U. Data are given for the fabrication, phase characteristics, and physical and chemical properties of the series. Resistance-temperature curves were determined for U--Mo alloys, in addition to studies of corrosion and grain size in U--Zr--Hb alloys. A method is proposed for determining the thermal conductivity of U from diffusivity measurements. (C.H.)

None

None

None

None

This memorandum discusses four photographs of Failure 250, from Tube No. 2179-C, which are presented to show the type of failure as viewed in the 111-B cave. The first three photographs are successive rotations of the slug, illustrating the split-out portion at the base end of the piece. The fourth photo was focused on the split to show the bulging of the slug and the width of the opening.