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."

This report describes the design, construction, and application of an electrical analogue for solution of the steady state problem. Teledeltos paper (an electrically conductive paper) was used to construct this analogue, and although this and other sheet materials has been used for heat transfer analogues in several previous investigations, it is believed that the present work is unique in the application of Teledeltos paper to three dimensional problems of radial symmetry.

This procedure is intended to be used as: 1. An instruction and guide for operation of the KER loops. 2. To aid in familiarization and understanding of the general operation of the loops. 3. To prevent lost time due to errors in loop operation. The procedure is not meant to be completely comprehensive in all details of loop operation.

This document will be concerned with the design, operation and maintenance of an automatic fuel element stamping machine. In order to take advantage of automatic unloading and length checking at the Acme-Gridley lathes in the 313 Building, automatic stamping of fuel elements is desirable. This, along with the need for a permanent canning line identification, resulted in a request for a machine to automatically stamp HAPO fuel elements on a production basis.

During normal operation the NPR will function as a closed system and the coolant will be maintained at a high degree of purity. Periodically, however, the system will have to be opened for fuel element discharge and/or decontamination. During these periods the reactor will be operated on single pass cooling. The use of deionized and deoxygenated water as the single pass coolant is not economically feasible due to the large quantities of coolant that will be required. At present it appears that filtered water will be used for this purpose. Since filtered water contains substantial amounts of dissolved solids (approximately 100 parts per million), and since it is saturated with air, this type of operation will have to be investigated with regard to corrosion problems. A particularly serious problem will be present after the system has been decontaminated, since the high temperature oxide films will have been removed and the bars metal surfaces will be exposed to the coolant.

Considerable work has been done on decontamination procedures for both corrosion products and fission products. Testing of promising procedures under typical rupture conditions is an important phase of this work. The Irradiated Rupture Prototype (IRP) has been used since August in this evaluation work. This document is one of a series reporting these data.

One of the problems encountered in the design of the EGCR has been the possibility of bowing in the outer six rods of the seven rod cluster. The power distribution in an outer rod is asymmetrical with respect to the center of the rod. This causes a variation in the cladding temperature, and might result in unven thermal expansion, or bowing.

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.

An ex-reactor test stimulating the charging of a tubular fuel element in a Zircaloy-2 process tube showed a problem of severe process tube scratching and galling may occur if metal sliding contact fuel element supports are used. Both the fuel supports and the process tubes were autoclaved. Although the conditions of this test were severe in that the sharp edges rather than a flat surface of the supports were in contact with the process tube, it pointed out the potential problem of galling by point on small area contact supports on heavy fuel elements. This difficulty had not been observed with the lighter tubular or cluster fuel elements used in KER irradiation. In addition to the loss of metal and thinning of the process tube after a number of charge-discharge operations, these scratches may lead to localized corrosion or act as points of stress concentration.

High speed data handling and computing systems are coming into increasing use in the automatic control of complex industrial processes. One of the next significant developments in reactor design is believed to be the application of high speed data handling and control systems to nuclear reactors. This document is a study of such a system intended for use with the Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor.

During an experiment involving alpha phase annealing (at 610 to 655 deg C for 5 and 10 min) of beta-quenched uranium, it was determined that the relatively coarse, irregular shaped grains (0.08 to 0.150 mm in diameter) in the beta-quenched structure, were replaced by fine equiaxed grains (0.04 to 0.09 mm in diameter).

Experimental studies on continuous denitration performed in 321 Building resulted in the development of an agitated-through-type calciner. The performance of a paddle-agitated 4-in.-diameter by 44-in.-long reactor was sufficiently promising to warrant construction of a 16-in.-diameter by 8 ft.-long semi-plant scale model. This progress report summarizes the results of studies to date employing the semi-plant scale calciner.

The purpose of this investigation is to make a preliminary study and evaluation of the application of ultrasonic equipment and associated handling equipment to the problem of decontaminating reactor tube dummy pieces. Reactor Section is currently planning the construction of batch process nitric acid facilities for dummy decontamination. It was felt that use of ultrasonics together with a solution less corrosive than nitric acid might provide adequate decontamination at lower project cost than the presently proposed nitric acid facilities. This report gives the progress of the investigation to date.

This twenty-fifth quarterly report of the research and development activities of the Radiological Sciences Department, Hanford Atomic Products operation, as before, includes some items charged to control but included for general interest. The previous report of this series was numbered: HW-39624, October 11, 1955. Progress is reported in the following studies: a radiobiological-ecological survey of the Columbia River; the toxic effects of continuous low-level exposure to I¹³¹ in pigs; Pu metabolism in miniature pigs and rats; the tissue distribution and retention of Ru¹⁰⁶ and Cs in rats and mice; the radiosensitivity of the intestine of rats; the pulmonary absorption of radioactive particles and the pathological effects of such particles in the lungs of mice; the uptake of I¹³¹ and other fission products from the soil and from air by plants; determinations of the relative biological effectiveness for yeast cells of Po²¹⁰ alpha particles and P³² beta particles; the development of chemical and radiological monitoring methods; the separation of fission products from waste streams; and improvements in instruments for monitoring and low-level radiation counting. The status of the research programs of the department is reviewed.