This report describes the Sandia Corporation participation and results related to Project Buckboard: the detonation of three 40,000-pound and ten 1000-pound high-explosive charges in basalt rock to establish depth -of-burst curves.

On Saturday morning, April 7, 1962, at about 1059 Armed Forces time, an accidental nuclear excursion occurred in the plutonium waste recovery facility (Recuplex) of the 234-5 Building. This excursion did not result in any mechanical damage or spread of contamination. Three employees of the General Electric Company received overexposures to gamma and neutron radiation. None were fatally exposed; in each case the overexposure was recognized promptly, and following medical observation and testing the men were released to return to work. In compliance with AEC Manual Chapter 0703, an AEC-HAPO committee composed of two AEC employees and five General Electric employees was appointed by the Manger, HOO, with the concurrence of the General Manager, HAPO, to conduct an investigation of the incident. The committee`s purpose was to determine the cause, nature, and extent of the incident, and recommend action to be taken by others to minimize or preclude future incidents of this magnitude. A study of operating practices and operating conditions that appeared to exist prior to, during, and subsequent to the accident was made by the committee. The committee believes that this report provides sufficient information to answer questions which may arise as a result of the criticality incident …

Report concerning "[a]n airborne gamma-radiation survey of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont" (p. 5) made between 1958 and 1960 that indicated that a broad range of radioactivity exists in those areas depending on the type of bedrock. Correlations are drawn between this radioactivity and the geology of the region.

From abstract: "An experimental program to evaluate the performance of FCR and EFCR fuel during transient operation is outlined and possible mechanisms of failure are analyzed."

Nuclear Science Series'' of the National Research Council. Committee on Nuclear Science. The use of vacuum distillation of inorganic compounds and metals for radiochemical separations is reviewed. A brief description of the experimental apparatus which is most often used for the distillation is outlined. Advantages and disadvantages of the various techniques are discussed. Detailed separation procedures are described for wet chemical distillation separations as well as for separations of daughter radioactivity from target materials by direct heating of the target. (auth)

References applicable to the problems of transponting charged particles in the areas external to accelerators are presented. The 891 references cover the period 1949 to 1981, with a few references both prior and subsequent to this period included. Part I is concerned with the more general aspects of electron optics. Part II contains the references that deal more directly with applications to particle accelerators. Arrangement within each pant is by broad subject with cross references listed at the end of each section. An author index is included. (M.C.G.)

Report presenting a bibliography on atomic transition probabilities. The papers are arranged according to elements and stages of ionization, and the method employed and class of transitions are indicated behind each reference. Only articles on discrete transitions, both permitted and forbidden, are listed. Also included is a supplementary list of papers dealing with transition probabilities from a general point of view, a table showing the availability of numerical material on the individual atoms and ions, and a table of conversion factors.

The problem of current continuity and viscous drag at the boundaries in rotating-plasma experiments is discussed. A hypothetical model having a steady state with axial symmetry is emphasized; it is shown that the discharge impedance derived from this model does not agree with many observations. The Homopolar III'' experiment is described in which the flux surfaces were strongly convex and parallel to the toroidal-shaped electrodes. In this way friction at the insulators was reduced. But the structure of the discharge deviated drastically from axial symmetry near the outer surface. Several studies led to the conclusion that the flow pattern probably involved secondary flows. A detailed analysis of this structure was not possible. It was also found that the rotational speed could not be raised above a few cm/ mu sec because the insulators failed in spite of the special design of the experiment. 28 references. (auth)

Report regarding the study of the calculated costs of fabricating plutonium-enriched fuel elements for Hanford Laboratories' Plutonium Recycle Program. Topics include descriptions of the process, design study of plants that use U235 and plutonium enriched fuel, and estimates of costs.

ABS>Calculations of the Doppler coefficient of large, ceramicfueled fast reactors containing plutonium were made by means of the ELMOE program to provide accurate flux calculations. The temperature-dependent cross sections of P. Greebler et al., for U/sup 238/ and Pu/sup 239/ were used. Doppler coefficients of the order of 10/sup -5/ ntermediate tem k/ C were obtained, in agreement with Greebler's results. Coefficients of carbide fueled reactors are about 0.7 of those of oxide-fueled reactors at the same fuel enrichment. Effective coarse- group elastic-removal cross sections for light elements are tabulated. It appears that, with tabulations of this sort as a guide, coarse-group sets of cross sections can be constructed to give adequate accuracy in calculations of Doppler coefficients without use of ELMOE. (auth)

Research and development progress is reported on chemical-metallurgical processing, fuel cycle applications of voiatility and fluidization techniques, calorimetry, reactor safety, energy conversion, determination of nuclear constants, and routine operations. (M.C.G.)

An index of research published in the Texas Business Review, including the name of the work, author's name(s), and which monthly issue the work was published in. Includes articles and reports all organized by business topic covered.

An analysis is made of the energetic, molecular, macromolecular and organizational steps which appear to be essential for the development of a living cell from a nonliving origin. Accepting the current view of the primitive atmosphere of the earth, experimental demonstration for the formation of the fundamental molecules of living organisms (amino acids, fatty acids, purines and pyrimidines) under the influence of available energy sources (ultraviolet light, ionizing radiation and electric discharge) is presented.

Report concerning the economic feasibility of pressurized water reactors for use aboard merchant ships. This includes conceptual designs and work remaining for the future of a Pressurized Water Reactor.

The critical experiments showed that the original specification of 1.0 wt% for the boron concentration could be reduced to 0.25 wt% without reducing the one-rod-out shutdown margin below 2 1/2% reactivity as measured by rod drop experiments. Good agreement was obtained between calculated and measured eigenvalues for the small, clean cores which were analyzed. In cores with no control rods and containing all fuel, 0.0, 0.25, or 1.1 wt% boronstainless steel, and with all 0.25 wt% boron-stainless steel and fuel elements surrounded by aluminum-water displacers, the calculated eigenvalues were 0.7 to 1.0% greater than the measured values. In a core with 0.25 wt% boronstainless steel and with the center control rod fully inserted, the calculated eigenvalue was 1.0% larger than measured. In one case, a core composed entirely of fuel and with the center control rod fully inserted, the calculated eigenvalue was 0.33% DELTA k smaller than that measured. The calculated power distributions compared extremely well with those measured in the fuel assemblies. Shutdown measured by the boron substitution method, where the worth of the boron was measured by calibrating both a single control rod and a bank of rods, was found to give consistent results which in turn agreed …

Monthly newsletter of the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1, discussing the field of underground water. Topics include profiles of water conservation research, annual pre-plant soil moisture survey data, annual Winter Water Level measurement data, and information about the latest water conservation tips.

This manual discusses problems of remote handling and suggests design details for components, assemblies, and system of NERVA engines which will greatly aid remote maintenance.

Report that contains a design for a more efficient osmionic demineralizer that could run for two weeks with no problems that still 2 to 3 times as costly as demineralization by electrodialysis.

Major effort during the report period was expended on the preparation and characterization of samples scheduled for in-pile screening tests. Other activities were continued on installation of hot metallographic cell installation and preparation and evaluation of UO/sub 2/-PuO/sub 2/ coprecipi tation processes. Data obtained in three preparation runs are included. A steady state intermediate production run was used to study the effects of ammonia evolved during the initial stages of mixed oxide precursor conversion on ADU precipitation. To determine whether or not selfreduction occurs, charges of the precursor were thermally decomposed in N/sub 2/ using fast and slow temperature rises on similar samples. Results are included which indicate that no significant amount of self-reduction occurs under these conditions. Effort is also continuing on development of techniques for producing spherical particles by mechanical agglomeration and sintering, and by plasma torch fusion. (J.R.D.)

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A method for comparison and evaluation of thermoelastic stresses is given for a range of fuel element shapes based on parameters available from the initial study of a reactor system. The shapes studied, in descending order of stress level are circular rods, concentric tubes, flat plates, and a matrix of circular holes.

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concentration is not greater than four molar and the nitric acid greater than five molar. In addition, core dissolutions should be done below the boiling point, and heat transfer surface termperatures during core dissolution should be maintained below 240 deg F. Carpenter 20 is probably less satisfactory for Sulfex service because of selective weld attack. Neither Ni-o-nel, 309 SCb, or 304L is a satisfactory construction material for uninhibited Zirflex solutions. Cupric ion lowers the corrosion rate of 309 SCb to 30--40 mils per year, but is not a satisfactory inhibitor for 304L or Ni-o-nel. (auth)