The following report describes the process of the determination of nitrous oxide with the infrared spectrometer.

Abstract: This report gives the results of a radiochemical analysis of particles collected by electrostatic precipitation from ventilation air of the "B" plant at Hanford Works.

The following report covers the construction materials selected for laboratory corrosion studies and the determination of their corrosion rates in process solutions.

The following report describes two rapid, micro methods for the determination of UNH in Redox waste samples that had been developed fir the concentration range 0.2 to 100 g/l.

This report examines a uranium slug that has been produced by powder metallurgical methods and exposed in the 100-DR Pile and was deformed during pile exposure.

The following report provides the results of an accelerated corrosion test that was performed to compare the effect of two coagulants on the corrosion rates of aluminum slug jacket alloy and 72S. Additionally, some analytical data on the water from the two treatments were obtained and are presented in this report.

Objective: "Production Test 235-1 and an amendment, were written to outline the procedures for reducing the outgassing time and evaluating the effects of these reductions."

From introduction: "The following recommendations represent the best estimate, based on present knowledge, of the requirements for generally applicable or "universal" instrument for the continuous monitoring of radioactive process streams in terms of their gamma activity."

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.

This report follows work that is meant to determine the settling rate and viscosity of Hanford Waste metal slurry as a function of prolonged agitation and shear, and to repeat these determinations on a synthetic incubated material similar to that used in the acidification studies, HW-18367, and to make a direct comparison between the genuine and simulated wastes.

Abstract: "This is the preliminary report of a radiological-ecological survey of the invertebrate fauna that inhabit the Columbia River within the confines of Hanford Works and downstream to the site of McNary Dam. The survey was carried out during the period of October, 1948 through February, 1950. Materials and methods are discussed and the results of extensive radioassays, qualitative and quantitative biological determinations, and hydrographic studies are given and analyzed. Twelve figures and twenty-three tables are included. All aquatic invertebrates were found to be concentrating radioactivity from the river water. A maximum activity density of 4.4-10-(-3) μc/g wet weight was found in the larvae of midges (Hydrobaeninae) collected near Hanford during September, 1949. Radioactive wastes were not found to be causing any apparent deleterious effects to the natural invertebrate fauna. Existing population variations are caused by biological and hydrographic conditions."

An inventory of the contaminated materials accumulated since the initiation of this project in June 1958, revealed a larger variety and quantity of materials that could be burned, than was specified for the initial scope. Therefore, it is desirable to revise the scope to permit handling the majority of these materials with the initially installed equipment.

By radiation dosimetry, we will mean the determination of the energy deposited per unit mass of irradiated material by ionizing radiation. Usually the material of interest in tissue and the results are to be applied to a radiobiological experiment, a radiotherapy treatment, or the protection of personnel from radiation hazards. The same methods, however, are applied to such engineering problems as the production of heat by reactor radiations, the use of radiation in chemical reactions or food processing, etc.

The chemical processing industry relies heavily on the use of rotary pumps to move massive quantities of liquids. The rotating elements of these pumps, generally of the deep-well turbine type, are submerged in the solution being pumped. This singular factor sometimes imposes a severe limitation on the choice bearings because the liquids are frequently corrosive and have poor lubricity. At the Hanford Atomic Products Operation a further complication arises from the effects of radioactivity in the solutions being transferred. Radiation and temperature can and will cause physical damage to many substances, including certain potential bearing materials such as plastics. These factors, coupled with the economics of remote operation and maintenance, have lead to the need for a test program to screen and evaluate potential bearing and journal materials.

The moderator fluid will be injected into the PRTR calandrin through injectors located between the shroud tubes and at the bottom of the calandrin. It is important that the size and arrangement of the injectors be such that complete mixing of the moderator will occur and prevent hot sports from forming in the moderator. Such hot spots could lead to undesired changes in the moderating characteristics due to boiling within the moderator. Also of importance is the requirement that the injector should not produce excessive turbulence at the moderator surface thereby complicating moderator level control. To determine the extent of moderator mixing within the calandrin, experimental studies were made employing a full scale PRTR calandrin mockup.

A knowledge of the surface tension of metals is a valuable tool in many aspects of physical metallurgy. Surface tension is a prime factor in such phenomena as swelling, nucleation and growth, and corrosion by liquid metals, and is also of importance in brazing. casting, and sintering. This survey was initiated to facilitate the selection of an experimental technique for determining the surface tension of uranium in support of current swelling studies of irradiated uranium. It is believed that swelling in uranium in support of current swelling; studies of small bubbles of fission gases (krypton and xenon), and the forces resisting the expansion of these bubbles are the elastic and plastic flow energies and surface tension of the metal. Experimental techniques for the determination of surface tension of solids are still in the development stage, but three techniques appear to be most feasible. These methods are: (1) the mechanical method, in which a tensile lead is used to counterbalance the contractile force of surface tension; (2) the thermal etching method, involving measurement of the dihedral angle at the root of etched grain boundaries; and (3) the electron diffraction method, which analyzes surface tension by the amount of lattice distortion it …

Two Zircaloy-clad capsules (GKH-14-19,20) containing two compacts each of high density PuO2-UO2 mixed crystal oxides were shipped to the MTR in December 2, 1958. The compacts contain 0.026 a/o PuO2, have densities of 91 percent of the theoretical value, and will generate the same specific power as an Al-1.8w/o Pu alloy rod of the same diameter would produce. Two capsules (GKH-14-21,22) have been prepared and contain three compacts each of low density, about 65 percent of the theoretical value, PuO2-UO2 mixed crystal oxides. It is tentatively planned to ship the last two capsules during January 1959.

The solids in Purex lww were first observed during flowsheet tests for recovery of fission products from plant wastes. Since the nature of this solid was not apparent from the flowsheet composition of lww, some work was performed to characterize this material. Although this work has been conducted over a period of about one year, it has been subordinate to the main one of testing flowsheets for fission product recovery. The solids have been observed in each of about six samples of plant lww that have been studied, and the centrifuged volume of solids has been about four percent in each case.

The discharge of cooling water from the Hanford reactors introduce radioactive contaminants to the Columbia River. These materials may subsequently bring about exposure to human populations either through the direct use of the water for sanitary purposes or transfers of the radioisotopes into the food chains. It is therefore desirable to keep to a minimum the amounts of radioisotopes released to the river.

This article presents data on the effects of gamma radiation on the physical properties of a number of different classes of plastics materials of construction which were screened to determine their capabilities and limitations for service in applications where ionizing radiation exists. The irradiations were carried out in air at ambient temperature at normal atmospheric pressure to various gamma radiation doses up to 1*10^9 r depending upon the stability of the materials to radiation exposure. The different classes of materials and materials within a class are compared.

This report describes and evaluates the Hanford 105 reactor building structures' ability to withstand an internal pressure increase. The means by which their roof and wall surface would contain a pressure buildup 0.3 psi, and prevent contaminant release which might accompany a nuclear incident are discussed. Prototypes of the B, D, DR, F, and H reactor block wall configuration, the corrugated transite roof of the K reactors, and the corrugated transite walls of the K and C reactors are evaluated. Methods of securing certain building components are described, and a comparison of several candidate sealant coatings presented for consideration. These tests were performed at the request of the Design Operation, as part of CG-791, an existing reactor containment program. This series of tests represents only a part of the overall modifications program. A study of the reactor building containment design criteria is available in a Hanford document, HW-59236, by T. O. Brown.

In some engineering applications it has become necessary to operate equipment containing small diameter rods or tubes oriented parallel to flow stream. In the case of several nuclear reactors such as the Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor and the S. S. Savannah Maritime Reactor, bundles of small diameter rods are used as the fuel elements. The situation also has application to heat exchangers. A method for accurately predicting the pressure drop characteristics of various bundle configurations would be helpful in the design and selection of equipment. Some progress has been made toward gaining a greater knowledge of the bundle characteristics under low temperature conditions. This report includes the development of relationship for the effect of temperature on pressure drop.

The Biology Operation, Hanford Laboratories, required plutonium dioxide particles in five different micron and sub-micron size ranges. These were to be supplied as a water suspension in small containers. It was necessary to design equipment, suitable for hood operation, which would give a satisfactory separation of these particles.

To insure a full evaluation of the effects of in-reactor loops with respect to all phases of the Plutonium Recycle Program, a separate study of each loop has been undertaken. An initial study was carried out which analyzed the effects of in-reactor loops using the design criteria for the gas loop as a basis. As soon as the design criteria for the H2O high pressure loop became available, a more detailed evaluation was completed for that loop. Recent completion of the scope description of the PRTR fuel element rupture test loop now permits an individual evaluation of this loop.