A chemical burnup procedure incorporates the ion-exchange separation of uranium, plutonium, and total rare earth fission products (as the fission monitor) followed by the spectrophotometric determination of each. The separation involves retaining uranyl and plutonyl chloride complexes on a macroporous anion exchange column from 12 M HCl, whereas the rare earths and most fission products pass through. Subsequently, plutonium is eluted with 0.1 M HI-12 M HCl and uranium with 0.1 M HCl. From the initial effluent of the first column, the rare earth group is separated on a second column of either (1) macroporous anion exchange resin from HNO/sub 3/-CH/sub 3/OH, or (2) pellicular cation exchange particles from HCl-C/sub 2/H/sub 5/OH. The HNO/sub 3/--CH/sub 3/OH system normally is used to separate the rare earth group from fuel cladding elements and other fission products. The HCl--C/sub 2/H/sub 5/OH system additionally separates the rare earth group from americium. Arsenazo III is the chromogenic agent for the spectrophotometric determination of the separated uranium, plutonium, and rare earth fractions.

Because of the increase in cost of foreign oil, ethylene costs have increased markedly within the last several years. There is presently a sizable incentive to reduce raw material cost for basic polymer manufacture. The polyketones, synthesized from ethylene and CO, and the polysulfones, synthesized from ethylene and SO/sub 2/, utilizing high energy radiation, offers one such possibility. The process has the additional advantage in that CO and SO/sub 2/ usually considered as wastes and pollutants from fossil fuel burning power plants are converted to useful materials. The polyketones and polysulfones formed from the gas phase below 100/sup 0/C have been found to be high molecular weight polymers which, depending on composition either melt with difficulty, or decompose at temperatures of 250/sup 0/C or higher. The higher temperature (greater than 100/sup 0/C) catalyst-induced reaction produces low molecular weight waxes. Design calculations indicate that for a G value of 10,000 and 50 percent energy deposition efficiency, it would take 331 M Ci of /sup 60/Co to conserve 2 billion pounds of ethylene or 25 percent of the overall U.S. market by substituting CO and SO/sub 2/. This savings amounts to as much as $280 million at today's market price. Electron machine …

Two recent widely circulated reports on the subject of inhaled plutonium have provoked concern among the press and in Congress. These reports, The Cancer Hazard from Inhaled Plutonium, CNR Report 1975-1R, May 14, 1975, and Estimated Production of Human Lung Cancers by Plutonium from Worldwide Fallout, CNR Report 1975-2, July 10, 1975, were written by John W. Gofman and issued by the Committee for Nuclear Responsibility, P. O. Box 2329, Dublin, California 94566. Gofman's reports do not present an objective analysis of the hazard of inhaled plutonium; his arguments, in fact, contradict many conclusions drawn in the scientific literature and supported by experimental data. Because the reports are skillfully written, however, they could easily mislead readers who are not well versed in this area. The purpose of this review, therefore, is to examine Gofman's reports in the light of recent research studies and to identify errors of fact and logic in his arguments.

The basic notions of Bayesian reliability estimation from attribute lifetest data are presented in an introductory and expository manner. Both Bayesian point and interval estimates of the probability of surviving the lifetest, the reliability, are discussed. The necessary formulas are simply stated, and examples are given to illustrate their use. In particular, a binomial model in conjunction with a beta prior model is considered. Particular attention is given to the procedure for selecting an appropriate prior model in practice. Empirical Bayes point and interval estimates of reliability are discussed and examples are given. 7 figures, 2 tables (auth)

A shielding study in support of the sealed storage cask concept for the Retrievable Surface Storage Facility has been completed. This study consists of an analysis of dose rates from solidified waste under various shielding conditions. The radiation sources considered were high level radioactive wastes from PWR-uranium cycle, PWR-Pu recycle, LMFBR, and HTGR fuels. The types of shielding considered include massive shields of steel, concrete or water for the cylindrical solidified waste canisters, end shielding of the canisters, streaming through the air cooling inlet and outlet ports of the shields, and large distances through air from a waste storage array.

Information is presented under the following chapter headings: executive summary; LWR plant outages; LWR plant construction delays and cancellations; programs addressing plant outages, construction delays, and cancellations; need for additional programs to remedy continuing problems; criteria for government role in LWR commercialization; and the proposed government program.

Progress is reported for a program to demonstrate by 1976 an experimental gas turbine powered automobile which meets the 1978 Federal Emissions Standards, has significantly improved fuel economy, and is competitive in performance, reliability, and potential manufacturing cost with the conventional piston engine powered, standard size American automobile. The endurance engine was modified to incorporate a power turbine drive to the regenerators in order to simulate free rotor (upgraded) conditions. A portable baseline engine fixture complete with controls, intake, exhaust, and transmission is being assembled for odor evaluation. An additional 502 engine hours were accumulated on ceramic regenerators and seals. No core or seal failures were experienced during engine test. Initial fixture tests of zirconia seals show torque levels comparable with nickle oxide seals against the same matrix. An ambient compensation schedule was devised for the upgraded engine integrated control, and the integrated control system specifications were updated. A proposed hydromechanical automotive continuously variable ratio transmission (CVT) was evaluated and approved for preliminary development. Tests of heat rejection to the oil for lined versus linerless insulated engine assemblies indicated no heat loss penalty in omitting the metal liners. A study was made of various power turbine rotor assemblies and a …

Absolute spectral measurements were made of electrons escaping from plasmas produced by focusing 5-10 J, 50-100 picosecond, 1.06 ..mu..m laser pulses on 10 ..mu..m thick Parylene disk targets. Nine spectral bands with 3 to 7.5 keV resolution were obtained from 30 to 190 keV using a 90/sup 0/ focusing permanent magnet spectrometer and appropriately positioned silicon electron detectors.

Information is presented concerning fault tree analysis;fault tree quantification; parametric studies of the effect of repair on long term failure probabilities; PWR fault trees; and BWR fault trees.

This paper is a discussion of curved crystal x-ray spectrometry of laser induced plasmas for h..nu.. < 4 keV. The plasmas were produced by a short pulse (<200 ps) of 1.06 ..mu.. (neodymium glass) radiation on glass shells on the order of a hundred ..mu..m in diameter and a micron thick. Total absorbed laser energy is of the order of 10 joules and x-radiation .01-.1 joule/sr. The shells were filled with DT gas under compression.

The first quarterly report on the status of the Susanville Geothermal Energy Project outlines the research plan, institutional plan, utilization plan, and program plan. Each task includes a description of scope; a definition of current status; an identification of key results or findings; a definition of problems and solutions being undertaken or recommended; and a highlighting of key future activities. The first quarter effort has concentrated in organizing for and initiating data collection and analysis. (LBS)

Shredded or ground rubber absorbs mercury from aqueous solutions. Mercury concentration was reduced from 100 ppm to less than detectable levels (5 ppm) by passing the solution through a column of finely divided tire rubber. Treatment of the rubber with sulfide solutions increases mercury removal capacity by 25%. Mercury cannot be eluted quantitatively, but may be recovered by destructive distillation of the rubber. (auth)

Yield and water relations in the Los Alamos supply wells were evaluated because of the increasing demand for water. Water-level declines were extrapolated for 10 yr, to 1983, on the basis of past records. On the basis of current pumpage, the extrapolations indicate that nonpumping water levels in individual wells will decline from 10 to 30 ft. Well characteristics were compiled to provide an individual history of each well, and recommendations for improving water production are presented. (auth)

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The major effort in the high-energy nuclear chemistry program was the study of cross sections and kinematic properties of products formed from the interaction of 1- to 300-GeV protons with heavy- (Bi and U) and medium-mass (Cu, Ag) nuclei. The products studied ranged in mass from approximately 20 to that of the target nucleus. Except in the case of near-target product nuclei ($delta$A approximately 10 to 20), no substantial change in cross section or recoil properties was observed at 300 GeV from those measured at 11.5 GeV. New experiments are in progress to relate the production mechanisms of selected products to fundamental particle interactions and the production of exotic particles. Extensive preparations were made for another experiment to be performed soon at higher intensity on the search for polyneutron aggregates at the LAMPF Accelerator. Work is continuing on the use of stable isotope tracers (methane-20 and 21) for the study of long-range transport and diffusion phenomena in the atmosphere. A collaborative effort on the study of extraterrestrial objects (meteorites and lunar samples) is continuing. The work has involved correlations among trace and minor elements, the evolution of the lunar regolith, differentiation of lunar magmas, and a study of lunar agglutinates. …

We propose to use the CCM spectrometer to carry out a sensitive search for charmed particles produced in strong interactions at a nominal beam energy of 150 GeV/c. We limit ourselves to production in the beam diffraction region for reasons of acceptance and reconstruction. We present results of a test run undertaken in April 1975 to demonstrate the feasibility of K{sub S}{sup 0} trigger, which we incorporate in the present proposal. Results of the test are combined with new insights which increase our sensitivity to charmed particle production by a large factor. We request a total of 2 x 10{sup 11} negative pions at a rate of 10{sup 6} per pulse. With this illumination we estimate that we can measure a large number of hadronic decay modes. We make estimates of enhancements in mass spectra from charmed particle production and decay and calculate expected backgrounds using data from existing experiments. With conservative assumptions about the charmed particle model, we calculate effects corresponding to ten or more standard deviations in our most favorable channels.

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Steady state air-water tests were performed as part of the Semiscale Blowdown and Emergency Core Cooling (ECC) Project to investigate downcomer countercurrent flow and downcomer bypass flow phenomena. These tests were performed in a plexiglass representation of the Semiscale pressure vessel which allowed changes to be madein the geometry of the upper annulus and downcomer for the purpose of investigating the sensitivity of downcomer and bypass flow to changes in system geometry. Tests were also performed to investigate the effects of two-phase inlet flows and different initial system pressures on countercurrent and bypass flow. Results for each test are presented in the form of computer printout of the measurements and of a summary of the pertinent calculated flow rates, pressures, and dimensionless volumetric fluxes. Descriptions of the test facility, instrumentation, operating procedures, and test conditions are also presented. An error analysis is presented for selected volumetric flux calculations. 10 references. (auth)

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Progress during July to October 1975 in research on radioisotope heat sources is reported. The design of the long-term $sup 90$SrF$sub 2$ compatibility tests has been finalized. The effect of thermal aging on the impact strength of Hastelloy C-4 is being evaluated using Charpy test specimens. The solubility of SrF$sub 2$ in seawater and demineralized water was determined at 23$sup 0$C. The equilibrium concentration of Sr in demineralized water is greatly influenced by the presence of fluoride impurities in the SrF$sub 2$, whereas in seawater the presence of fluoride impurities has little effect on the Sr concentration. The effect of impurity fluorides and decay product (ZrF$sub 4$) on the melting point of SrF$sub 2$ was determined using differential thermal analysis. The lowest melting point observed in the system containing SrF$sub 2$, ZrF$sub 4$ and impurity fluorides found in WESF $sup 90$SrF$sub 2$ was 851 +- 5$sup 0$C. Two reports on potential applications of isotopes were prepared, and theoretical work continued on the effect of source geometry on the radiation efficiency of $sup 137$CsCl capsules. (LCL)

A study was made of the methods for preparing, processing, and heat treating uranium-2.25 wt percent niobium alloys. The rolling technique is critical, but the alloy responds to conventional solution treatment, water quenching, and aging to provide high strength with good ductility. Data on tensile tests and Charpy tests as functions of the temperature have been obtained. Elastic moduli, density, coefficient of thermal expansion, and differential thermal analysis data have also been determined. (auth)

The initial results of a comparative study of the radiation strengthening and damage structures produced in Cu and Nb by D-T fusion and fission reactor neutrons are described. The radiation strengthening produced by a given fluence of fusion neutrons above about 10$sup 17$n/cm$sup 2$ is equal to that produced by a fluence of fission reactor neutrons (E greater than 0.1 MeV) ten times as great. This difference is about twice as large as would be expected if the strengthening scaled with damage energy or dpa. Initial transmission electron microscopy observations of the damage structures in fusion and fission reactor neutron irradiated copper indicate that the same type of primary structural defects, vacancy and interstitial point defect clusters and small dislocation loops with a/3 (111) and a/2 (110) Burgers vectors, are produced in both cases. The difference in the radiation strengthening produced by fusion and fission reactor neutrons in Cu appears to result from a substantially greater rate of accumulation of damage, in the form of point defect clusters, during irradiation with fusion neutrons than during irradiation with fission reactor neutrons plus a significant difference in the size and spatial distributions of the damage clusters. (auth)

A new toroidal field coil configuration is described which allows one to reduce the volume of a toroidal field coil system or the number of coils constituting such a system without increasing the toroidal field ripple. (auth)

Using the time-of-flight technique, energy distribution measurements were made of the fusion produced $alpha$ particles emitted from laser implosions of DT gas contained in glass microshells. The number of nuclear reactions was determined by an absolute measurement of both the number of $alpha$ particles and the number of neutrons. From the FWHM of the $alpha$ particle energy distributions, upper limits of the plasmas ion temperature have been inferred. By applying corrections for the broadening of the distribution due to the fuel and the pusher, ion temperatures of 2-3 keV have been calculated. These measurements constitute significant evidence that the implosions produced thermonuclear burn of the DT fuel. (auth)