This is the second of a series of documents issued quarterly. The documents present, for critical examination by management and for the information of related groups, that portion of the future 100 Area technical program which relates directly and more or less immediately to the Technical-Manufacturing efforts to increase both power levels and production. An attempt is made to describe and justify the key production tests planned for the following six month period. Only those tests necessary for the relief of technical and process limitations and vital to the slug improvement program are included. Best estimates of changes in current Process Specifications during the ensuing six months are also given. To further longer range planning, power level forecasts based on foreseeable changes of technical limits and scheduled physical changes of the water plants and reactors are extended several years into the future.

During a routine beta-gamma hand and shoe count, an employee discovered that his shoes were contaminated. This document discusses the spread of particulate contamination at the Biophysics Laboratory, Building 329, 300 Area on July 6, 1954.

This report details activities of the Chemical Development Unit during the month of March 1954.

The following topics were discussed in this report: pressurization of the rear face for existing reactors; loss of steam in existing reactors; in-pile boiling in the 105-KER recirculation facilities; feasibility report for special study reactor plant; shielding requirements of the special study reactor plant; sulfuric acid addition to 100-K; radiation from activated iron in a recirculating system; ion exchanger activity from Fe corrosion; thermal shock-KER loop; shielding of tube bundles; adjustment of raw water pH; and Zircaloy fuel element jackets.

This document presents a summary of work and progress at the Hanford Engineer Works for October 1954. The report is divided into sections by department. A plant wide general summary is included at the beginning of the report, after which the departmental summaries begin. The Manufacturing Department reports plant statistics, and summaries for the Metal Preparation, Reactor and Separation sections. The Engineering Department`s section summarizes work for the Technical, Design, and Project Sections. Costs for the various departments are presented in the Financial Department`s summary. The Medical, Radiological Sciences, Utilities and General Services, Employee and Public Relations, and Community Real Estate and Services departments have sections presenting their monthly statistics, work, progress, and summaries.

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This document presents a summary of work and progress at the Hanford Engineer Works for September 1954. The report is divided into sections by department. A plant wide general summary is included at the beginning of the report, after which the departmental summaries begin. The Manufacturing Department reports plant statistics, and summaries for the Metal Preparation, Reactor and Separation sections. The Engineering Department`s section summaries work for the Technical, Design, and Project Sections. Costs for the various departments are presented in the Financial Department`s summary. The Medical, Radiological Sciences, Utilities and General Services, Employee and Public Relations, and Community Real Estate and Services departments have sections presenting their monthly statistics, work, progress, and summaries.

Prior to fiscal year 1955 waste tank scheduling for Separations Plants included the assumptions that T Plant would cease operations in March, 1955 and B Plant would nto be reactivated. At the beginning of the fiscal year these were changed to the assumptions that T Plant would operate through June, 1958 and B Plant, after reactivation, would operate July, 1955 through June, 1957. It has been necessary to alter waste tank scheduling accordingly. The letter of July 23, 1954, {open_quotes}B Plant Waste Storage Forecast{close_quotes}, outlined the plan for the disposal of wastes from B Plant on the assumption that direct feed of metal waste from B Plant ot the TBP Plant would not be done. On July 30, 1954 this letter was reissued as {open_quotes}Waste Storage for B Plant Reactivation{close_quotes}, with a revision including more details and a provision for the direct feed of metal waste. On August 6, 1954 the letter {open_quotes}T Plant First Cycle Waste{close_quotes} was issued recommending that scavenging of T Plant first cycle waste be started by December 1, 1954. On October 22, 1954 the letter entitled {open_quotes}Justification for T Plant First Cycle Waste Scavenging{close_quotes} gave the detailed economic justification. The present letter summarizes the preceding …

On July 27, 1954, 965 grams of plutonium alloy contained in three standard quart size ice cream cartons were being removed from the process line by two process operators using the plastic bag technique. Shortly after the plastic bag scaler had been energized a brown spot appeared on the plastic bag. The glowing turnings burned through the containers and plastic bag and continued to burn until completely oxidized. Personnel contamination was minor and readily removed. The contamination was confined to the room of the incident and was deposited in gross amounts in the area surrounding Task IV and V. This report includes a description of the incident and subsequent decontamination activities and a summary of plutonium recovery. Facts unknown about the incident and the reasons for these facts not being known are discussed. Plans for the future for reducing the possibility of recurrence of a similar incident are formulated.

This report presents results radiation monitoring from the separations section department for December 1953. Information is presented concerning radioactive effluent releases, personnel contamination, and general radiation monitoring from the facilities.

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This document details radiation monitoring activities of the Reactor Section during the month of November 1954.

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A new slug for U-233 production consisting of a solid thorium core externally jacketed by a thin Oralloy foil is described. Advantages of this system are pointed out. The bulk of this report concerns itself with the long-term changes of reactor parameters as the foil slug is irradiated at constant specific power (kilowatts per foot). Isotope yield curves are also presented.

The design and proposed construction of the new PR facility for Redox is based on the need for increased capacity for plutonium processing (4.25 kg./day, equivalent to the 8.3 tons of U/day for Redox phase 2 rate), and reduced acid-to-Pu ratios in the final product to permit satisfactory processing in task 1 of the 234-5 operation. A number of alternate Pu cycle flowsheets have been scouted and proposed in the past several years. One such flowsheet decreases the acid-to-Pu ratio in the 3BP product by eliminating acid from the 2AX and 3AX, thus requiring either an increased solvent flow, or an increased ANN salting strength. This does not, however, provide additional Pu processing capacity. A second alternative flowsheet involves the reflux of 97.5% of the 2BP stream back to the 2A Column. The reflux flowsheet meets both of the needs outlined above, but on the basis of nuclear safety considerations is not yet considered ready for adoption in the Redox Plant. This report deals with the laboratory testing of a third alternative for reducing the acid concentration in the final product by decreasing the acidity of both scrub and feed streams to the third cycle.

This report discusses procedures have been established for determining the absolute activities of Sr{sup 90}, Sb{sup 125}, Cs{sup 137}, and gross beta in First Cycle Supernatant. These procedures are also valid for other samples such as scavenged Radioactive Waste (RAW), the primary restriction being that the age of the material be at least 250 days so that any Sr{sup 89} activity (53 day half-life) is negligible. With the exception of the gross beta analysis the results are believed to be accurate to within 10%.

Portions of the Hanford Reservation in 1954 had significant particulate contamination from the Redox process. This paper is about the methods used to decontaminate the Reservation. The two methods are decontamination and access control. A general description of the ideas and benefits of each method is given. (MB)

This document presents a summary of work and progress at the Hanford Engineer Works for June 1954. The report is divided into sections by department. A plant wide general summary is included at the beginning of the report, after which the departmental summaries begin. The Manufacturing Department reports plant statistics, and summaries for the Metal Preparation, Reactor and Separation sections. The Engineering Department`s section summaries work for the Technical, Design, and Project Sections. Costs for the various departments are presented in the Financial Department`s summary. The Medical, Radiological Sciences, Utilities and General Services, Employee and Public Relations, and Community Real Estate and Services departments have sections presenting their monthly statistics, work, progress, and summaries.

The ability of the atmosphere to disperse and diffuse smoke and gases varies widely with weather conditions. The rate of diffusion is governed mainly by the degree of atmospheric turbulence present. The latter is in itself an extremely complex air motion which acts as the mixing agent in diffusion. This turbulence, which is so fundamental in the diffusion process, depends on such quantities as wind speed, rate of change of wind speed or wind direction with height, and rate of change of air temperature with height. Since these conditions differ widely from hour to hour and day to day, there is a corresponding variation in the diffusing capacity of the atmosphere. The rate of change of temperature with height and the wind speed have the most pronounced effect on the physical appearance of smoke plumes, which in itself provides a clue to the diffusing power of the atmosphere during various atmospheric conditions. The purpose of this note is to present, in semi-technical terms, some of the basic physical concepts related to the behavior of gaseous stack effluents after release into the atmosphere, and to describe certain visible geometrical features of effluent plumes that are directly related to the physical state …

The examinations of seven process tubes are covered in this report. Tubas reported on are 3362-B and 0561-C. these were removed under PT-105-522-P. ``Routine Examination of Process Tubes``. Tubes 2572-C and2679-C were operating under PT-105-519-E. ``Raising Permissible Outlet Water Temperatures of Certain Tubes at C Pile``. In tube 2679-Z a rupture occurred during its operating period. These tubes (2572-C and 2679-C) were smaller diameter process tubes such as used in B, D, F, DR, and H Piles. Tube 2772-C was removed because of a suspected rupture. Tubes 3571-D and 2170-D were removed under PT-105-525-E. ``Effects of Water Quality on Pile Operation``. Visual inspection was made of the inside and outside surfaces before and after removal of the film. This work was performed in the 105-DR storage basin. Samples varying from one to four inches in length were taken from each section and transferred to the 108-B metallurgical laboratory for closer examination as regards to depth of pitting, 72-S cladding thickness, and wall thickness. The results shown in this report such as pit depth, 72-S cladding thickness and 2-S aluminum thickness are taken at specific points in each section, on what appeared to be the severest attack.

This is a progress report of the production reactors on the Hanford Reservation for the month of April 1954. This report takes each division (e.g., manufacturing, medical, accounting, occupational safety, security, reactor operations, etc.) of the site and summarizes its accomplishments and employee relations for that month.

Reductions in irradiation costs and increases in production rate have provided a continuing incentive for more efficient operation of the Hanford Piles. These improvements have been obtained by means of higher specific powers, greater water flow rates, and better water utilization. However, the extent of the improvements which can be made in this manner may be limited by such factors as tube and slug corrosion, slug stability, and graphite damage rates at higher operating temperatures. Water purification and pumping costs are also factors to be considered. New slug designs are being developed which may be capable of much higher specific power operation. Higher graphite temperatures may also prove feasible, but the water plant performance limitations for the present single pass cooling systems may prove much more expensive to relieve. The use of recirculating cooling water as a means of attaining higher temperature, higher power operation has received preliminary study. A preliminary economic evaluation of an operating area equipped for recirculation versus single pass cooling is needed to better determine the relative merits of the two cooling methods. This report presents the results of such an evaluation and discusses the direction of future development work in the field of pile cooling.

Preliminary experiments have been made to determine the vapor pressure of lanthanum fluoride between 0.001 and 0.1 millimeter of mercury by means of the Knudsen effusion method. A tantalum cell for this purpose is described. Only preliminary results were obtained and they were all in a relatively high pressure region. However, a plot of the vapor pressure against the reciprocal of absolute temperature approximates a straight line such as would be predicted from theoretical considerations.