As a part of the five year budget study requested by HOO-AEC, a study of separations waste storage requirements for this period was made. This study took into consideration the variant estimates of amount of irradiated uranium to be processed, and the goals in the waste reduction research and development program. The conclusions of this study were at variance, to some extent, with prior studies. Interest has been expressed in publication of this study to permit independent assessment of its bases and assumptions.

Using the 1.19-Bev/c antiproton beam recently discovered at the Berkeley Bevatron of the University of California, we have measured the attenuation cross section in beryllium and copper. These cross sections are compared to attenuation measurements made with the same geometry using positive protons of the same incident energy (497 MeV).

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One of the specifications for the final plutonium product is a maximum neutron emissivity (neutrons per gram-second). The major source of neutrons in plutonium is the spontaneous fission of the 240 isotopes. The concentration of the 240 isotope is a function principally of the total pile exposure and, to a lesser extent of pile operating parameters; in particular, the moderator temperature. The objectives of this production test were: to establish with greater accuracy and precision, empirical relationships between the neutron emissivity, the plutonium isotope 240 concentration, and the pile exposure; and to determine if the isolated plutonium nitrate solution could be used as a control point for neutron emissivity prior to final fabrication. Accomplishment of these objectives would permit setting of pile exposure goals at the maximum possible level for greatest economy while still maintaining product quality within specifications.

Research and development work on the removal of specific fission products from aqueous wastes has been in progress at the Hanford Atomic Products operation for several years. Initially, the primary incentive lay in the safe and economic disposal of these wastes. Scavenging techniques were developed which permitted the precipitation of the long-lived and biologically hazardous fission products cesium and strontium and the subsequent discharge of the supernates to the soil. Recently, interest has increased in the recovery of specific fission products for use in industry. Accordingly, research and development efforts have been expanded to include the search for economic processes for the isolation of specific fission products from Hanford wastes. The processes and techniques thus far developed are logical outgrowths of the scavenging processes currently being used in the disposal of Hanford wastes. The Hanford Operations Office directed a letter of inquiry to the General Electric Company requesting an appraisal of the feasibility of isolating and packaging radiocesium from Hanford wastes. In accordance with this request, the Engineering Department conducted a brief survey to determine the process, engineering, and economic feasibility of recovering specific fission products from Hanford waste solutions. This document presents the combined efforts of personnel from Chemical …

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