Abstract: The data obtained from the radioassay of fish collected in vicinity of the Hanford Works between April, 1948 and June, 1950 are presented. Most of the radioactivity in the fish resulted from the concentration of p32 in the scales, bone, and certain visceral organs. The level of activity density in the fish was influenced by size, feeding habits and metabolic rate in addition to the activity density of the water. Changes in operation of nuclear reactors have resulted in progressive increases in activity densities of fish from one year to the next. The levels of radioactivity are not sufficiently high to be hazardous to either the fish or persons eating them.

The construction and operation of a fission gas generator, containing about 25 grams of uranium in the form of a powder with a high specific surface, are described in detail. The purpose of the work discussed in this report was to examine the feasibility of producing, separating, and assaying samples of Xe135 in preparation for a proposed measurement of the neutron cross section of this isotope. Krypton and xenon are separated by selective adsorption on charcoal at reduced temperature while iodine is removed by charcoal sorption at room temperature.

The stability of fluorothene (polytrifluorochloroethylene, Kel-F) to gamma radiation has been investigated to estimate the probable life expectancy of fluorothene equipment exposed to Purex process solutions. Samples of fluorothene were exposed to total gamma radiation dosages up to 10 degree R. The results of these tests substantiate the findings reported by Sisman and Bopp in their compilation of data on the affects of radiation on plastics.

The effects of oxidation and irradiation on the microsurface structure of pile graphite have been investigated by measuring the surface area and pore size distribution of several samples. The results obtained for both oxidized and irradiated graphite samples indicate that changes in surface characteristics which occur are determined by the flux, temperature of irradiation, and gaseous atmosphere in which the radiation takes place.

Ionization measurements of water vapor in vapor-liquid equilibrium were made with a series of chambers on a tritiated water sample which was prepared by burning T2 to T2O and diluting it with H2O. A correction was made for the difference of vapor pressures of HTO and H2O. The effect of HTO adsorbed on chamber walls and electrodes was eliminated from the final result. Using Gerbes data on the number of electron volts to produce an ion pair in air, agreement obtained between the measured source strength and the source strength as computed from pressure, temperature, volume, purity, and dilution data on the original gaseous T2 sample.

A design study has been made of a graphite superheating reactor, a graphite moderated reactor with a heat rating of 305 Mw which produces superheated steam. It is designed for the production of plutonium and electrical power or for the production of electrical power only. The fuel elements for dual- purpose operation are U metal, while for single purpose action, they are uranium oxide. The fuel elements are cooled by a 7-pass system in which preheated water enters the bottom of the first pass and is discharged as superheated steam at the top of the seventh pass. The reactor control consists of shim control by the gas system, vertical gas-cooled control rods, vertical safety rods, and a ball safety system. Rough cost estimates indicate that the capital cost of the reactor should be comparable to other reactors of similar heat output.

The primary objective of the tests described herein was to determine if the standard five bend connector (drawing H-1-23475) and/or the T. F. Robinson three bend connector (drawing SK-1-20855) fabricated from Type 304 stainless steel tubing would satisfy the requirements of the K reactors. Results of the tests show that the standard five bend connector made from Type 304 stainless steel 0.065 inch wall tubing, in the as bent condition, with either cadmium plated Parker brass nuts and sleeves or cadmium plated high carbon steel nuts and sleeves, is suitable for installation of the K reactors.

A new type of flexible hose connector consisting of a Teflon tube enclosed in a stainless steel wire braid sheath was proposed for use on 105-C rear face in late 1954. A test was initiated to determine the suitability of Teflon, and specifically Fluoroflex Teflon compound for rear face application. Probable useful life limit is estimated at 10⁶ R, which would be attained in about three years in contact with fresh effluent.

Fillerwelding is a fusion welding process that provides for the automatic addition of controlled amounts of fillerwire during inert-gas-shielded tungsten-arc welding. Fillerwelding aluminum jacketed fuel elements has been successfully demonstrated and is being used on a routine basis. This manual was written to provide the necessary information to operate and maintain the fillerweld equipment.

Values of copper tubing pressure drops as determined by test for low flow rates of air, helium, carbon dioxide and water are contained herein. The work was performed in order to provide original data, useful for design work at Hanford Atomic Products Operation, and not available in any known handbook or other publication.

This report constitutes the Quarterly Progress Report covering April-June 1955, for the Health Instruments Division research and development activities. Most of the studies described concern the biological fate, environmental transport of radioactive effluents, or development of instrumentation for radiation detection.

A method for determining the appropriate isotopic content of uranium-235 in uranium slugs has been investigated. In the conduct of the experiment it was found that there was a background counting rate several times the counting rate of the phenomena under study. Methods are suggested for improving the counting rate and reducing the background. The conclusions at this time are that reactivity determinations will provide the most rapid and precise measure of U-235 content in uranium.

Reactivity measurements conducted in the Hanford Test Pile are interpreted to yield resonance integrals for uranium, uranium oxide, thorium and thorium oxide. The experiments were made using cadmium filters and are discussed in terms of the multiplication factor of the Hanford Test Pile.

This report is a manual describing the methods developed by Stokes (1) and Warren and Averbach (2) (3) for the determination of the effects of cold work by x-ray diffraction methods. Only the method of mathematical analysis is presented while the method of obtaining the necessary x-ray diffraction patterns is not mentioned. This manual will be used for an experimental study of irradiation damage to uranium.

A new model High Range Beta-Gamma Survey Instrument, refer to blueprint numbers H-4-2760 and H-4-2761, was designed which utilizes a circuit similar to that of the older model but incorporates three ranges of 0-5 R/hr, 0-50 R/hr, and 0-500 R/hr.

This report describes the results of evaluation tests made on several glass-coated bayonet heaters supplied to Separations Equipment Development by the Pfaudler Company. The glass-coated heaters were found to be resistant to thermal shock, mild mechanical shock, and chemical attack by boiling 60% nitric acid.

This paper presents values of the constant B², commonly called the buckling, when 0 vanishes on the surface of a right elliptic cylinder.

Apparent excessive concentrations of atmospheric contamination which were reported to be associated with an inert-gas-shielded consumable electrode arc wielding operation were studied to evaluate the potential health hazards. A study was made of the concentrations of metal fume and gaseous products of the operation as well as the spectrum of ultraviolet radiation. Recommendations for necessary controls were made.

A preliminary report has shown the potential importance of organic reactor coolants to Hanford technology. The salient points are complete avoidance of corrosion problems and accomplishment of DPR performance with low pressure technique. The recommendation of the report that loop tests be made at Hanford is to be acted upon by Recirculation Technology Unit as soon as organic coolant material is received. To insure starting this experimental work fully abreast of the information available, a trip to sites working with organic coolants was made. Specifically, data were sought on practical details of design for handling organic coolants, heat transfer and fouling characteristics, corrosion of materials, and hazards of handling organics.

Contemplated higher tube power for future reactor operation will probably require a fuel element jacketing material more corrosion resistant than presently available aluminum alloys. Zirconium and its alloys are generally regarded as the most promising jacketing candidates for high temperature operation, particularly for exposures of long duration. In order to obtain assembly, welding, and corrosion data, twenty Al-Si bonded and twenty unbonded Zircaloy fuel elements were prepared for KER loop testing. This report describes the technique developed to weld Zircaloy jacketed fuel elements and presents the results of end closure corrosion testing and metallographic examination.

The dependence of the resonance integral for thorium upon geometry and thorium temperature has been determined through reactivity coefficient measurements performed in the Hanford Test Pile. The geometry dependence was investigated using thorium cylinders of various diameters in the form of solid elements and shells. The temperature dependence (Doppler broadening) was studied by heating thorium elements and permitting them to cool while observing the change in pile reactivity.

Description of Invention: Chloride-induced corrosion is a serious problem in the Purex acid recovery operation and in the evaporative concentration of process streams and waste solutions. In the case of Purex acid recovery, it has been shown that trace chloride will volatilize with the nitric acid and reflux in the acid fractionator, thus causing especially severe corrosion at that point. These traces of chloride may enter the process form several sources, i.e., as an impurity in the technical grade chemicals used in making up the various aqueous process streams, by hydrolysis or radiation decomposition of carbon tetrachloride (a promising diluent for tributyl phosphate), or by incomplete removal of the hydrochloric acid employed in some flowsheets for effecting the dissolution of certain difficulty soluble nuclear reactor fuel elements.

Neutron attenuation in the old pile shields is dependent more and more on the slowing down characteristics of the iron as the hydrogen is baked out of the masonite. For neutrons above 1 or 2 Mev, iron does a good job by inelastic scattering. However, below this energy attenuation can be done only by the gradual moderation by elastic scattering to thermal energies with subsequent capture in the iron. Since iron is heavy and thus a poor moderator, there is a good possibility that many neutrons of intermediate energy will leak out of a burned out shield. Also, iron has a large dip in its cross section at 25 Kev which might allow a large burst of neutrons at this energy to leak out. Measurements using a lucite moderator with gold foil detectors indicate a large leakage of neutrons of intermediate energy, but interpretation of these measurements is difficult. These considerations prompted an attempt to get a rough idea of the energy distribution of the leakage neutrons through pure iron using a simple qualitative theory.

In connection with studies of the chemical reactivity of PuO_2 to hydrofluorination, samples were examined by X-ray diffraction for crystallite size and perfection. The PuO_2 was formed by thermal decomposition of the oralate. The reactivity of this oxide, as well as that of other solid oxides is affected by the conditions of preparation. Besides the obvious influence of surface, including lattice strain and other structural irregularities in the particles. Each particle is composed of a number of crystallites. The extent of crystallites size and perfection will be indicated by the width of a diffracted X-ray beam. Since separation of these two caus4es would require a detailed analysis, the observed broadening was interpreted on the assumption of crystallite size effects alone. However, the variable factor in preparation method was temperature, and it is to be expected that crystallite growth with annealing will occur in part at the expense of energy stored in nonequilibrium states of the crystal, i.e., imperfections. The objectives of this study were to establish a convenient method for determination of PuO_2 crystallite size and to obtain estimates of the crystallite sizes of seven given samples.