The status of research is reviewed in a study of pulmonary granulomatosis in beryllium workers. Equipment for use in dust exposure studies is described. Preliminary results are reported from studies on the tissue distribution and pathological effects of beryllium dust in rats; the physical chemistry of solutions of beryllium salts; the effects of beryllium on enzyme systems, and the effects of ascorbic acid on beryllium excretion.

An active program is a present underway to develop equipment to handle liquid metals. Among the metals being studied are sodium and sodium--potassium alloy (the latter commonly referred to as NaK). In many of the systems being studied this liquid metal is pressurized by inert gas in the lines. At times it is necessary to bleed off some of this gas from the system. Although the gas is allowed to escape at a temperature at which the vapor pressure of sodium is extremely small, it has been found that excessive amounts of sodium are present in this gas stream. Either this sodium collects in the lead-off pipes from the system as a solid, threatening to block the passage in which it is found, or it passes out into the atmosphere. In order to explain the presence of such a dangerous concentration of sodium in the exit gas stream, it has been proposed that the sodium vapor present in the the system at high temperatures condenses into a mist or aerosol on cooling. This aerosol is stable and will not readily de-entrain or condense onto the surfaces over which it passes. Another possibility is that the oxygen present with the inert …

The results of an experimental pilot study on the location time, for a sequence of N specified positions on a panel, are given for 1 <_ N <_ 30. The positions to be located were randomly arranged on one set of panels and arranged according to an ordering scheme on a second set of panels. Th location time for N positions randomly arranged on a panel varies approximately as N(2). In the case of an order arrangement the location time is essentially proportional to N. Even for as few as 30 positions, the location time for an random arrangement was twelve times greater than for an order panel. For 60 positions the ratio would be 19, and for 90 positions the ratio would be 26.