Abstract. A summary of the effect of metal, carbon, silicon, and oxygen impurities upon the various sulfide refractories is given and the proper procedures for elimination of the impurities are discussed. CeS which is properly prepared can be handled in air without danger of catching fire or appreciable oxidation. 650 satisfactory crucibles have been made to date using sulfides which were screened and pressed in air with less than 0.5% oxygen pickup. The other cerium and thorium sulfides are even more inert to oxidation than is CeS. Phase diagram possibilities are discussed for the cerium and thorium sulfide and oxy-sulfide systems. Further study of the ThS has shown that ThS crucibles are the highest melting and least volatile of the sulfide crucibles and ThS may be used for remelting of some metals up to 2000 degrees C. ThS crucibles appear to be the most suitable containers for metal reductions.

Technical report abstract. The present state of knowledge concerning the effect of pile radiation on a variety of solid materials is reviewed. Radiation corrosion will not be a serious hazard for aluminum or stainless steel but it can be for iron or lead if either are exposed to water. Apart from corrosion the principal uncertainty is in regard to the Wigner effect on the behavior of metals. There is at present no ground for optimism regarding the behavior of tuballoy. The effect on aluminum or a bonding material while less severe must also be considered serious. The expectation in regard to graphite is that its behavior will not cause trouble during the first 100 days of operation although serious troubles will probably arise within two years of operation. Organic materials can be used safely only in regions of limited exposure.

Technical report: The apparatus for the low pressure combustion method of determining carbon in iron and steel has be redesigned to increase the speed of manipulation. It has been tested by running several thousand determinations and found to yield results in good agreement with Wooten's form of the apparatus. A detailed description of the equipment and its manipulation is given together with an account of experimental studies on the method. Results are also shown for the carbon content of copper.

Technical report. The extent of the Wigner effect in graphite at any point in a pile is sensitive to the local structural situation. It is greater near a slug. These control experiments give information on changes in graphite to be expected in selected places in the pile.

Abstract. A portion of the liquid-solid phase equilibrium region of the system U-UBr3 has been investigated by the method of thermal analysis. Uranium tribromide was prepared by introducing bromine vapor into a bulb containing finely divided uranium formed from the hydride. Cooling curves were obtained with tribromide and then with various compositions of tribromide and uranium. the information obtained showed that no solid sub halide exists but that the metal was soluble in the halide.

Abstract. Methods of analysis for thorium, calcium, and nitric acid in solutions from thorium extraction purification columns are described and the results and errors are outlined. A brief description of methods of analysis that were not successful is included.