The following is a report of a trip to the Simonds Saw & Steel Company, Lockport, New York, on May 3, 1949. The purpose of the visit was to observe the various operations involved in the rolling of uranium rods at this plant and health problems associated with the rolling operations.

This is the University of California, Radiation Laboratory monthly progress report for May 1948. It discusses the following: (1) 184-inch Cyclotron Program; (2) 60-inch Cyclotron Program; (3) Synchrotron Program; (4) Linear Accelerator Program; (5) Experimental Physics; (6) Theoretical Physics, (7) Isotope Separation Program; (8) Chemistry Departments; (9) Medical Physics; and (10) Health Physics and Chemistry.

The lubricant (Calel A-60) used to reduce pushing forces when discharging slugs from pile tubes forms a cloudy emulsion with water. During the initial period of operation at 100 B and D areas, spillage of lubricant during discharge produced so much cloudiness in the basin water that it interfered with sorting operations. An investigation was started to see if a lubricant could be found that would effectively lubricate tubes during discharge and which would form optically clear systems when mixed with water. This report presents the data on a number of lubricants which were suggested for test.

The following outline of the requirements for the Redox Production Plant design is transmitted to the Kellex Corporation by the General Electric Company to be used in carrying out the assignment directed by Work Authority C-187-C. This outline briefly describes the critical features of design and emphasizes the General Electric desires for certain types of process and engineering design. The purpose of this transmittal is to outline the minimum requirements as to process flow sheet and design criteria to initiate the carrying out of this assignment by Kellex Corporation. This document was originally produced on May 22, 1948 and was declassified on July 28, 1994.

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Determinations of the density and coefficient of thermal expansions of postum (Polonium 210) were attempted on 20 curies of polonium as obtained from production foils.

This report contains work summaries for the week of May 18th, 1944 at the Hanford Atomic Products Operation. Canning, stack gas disposal, and graphite testing are discussed. (JL)

The overall testing of the vertical sheet rod system is a comprehensive program which has been divided into several phases. These phases are presented here, with a short resume of the testing required under each phase, to enable the formulation of the project proposal for the complete test program. It is intended that very detailed test requests will be issued for the separate phases as data from previous tests and further design studies indicate the exact information or data desired from a particular test.

Exploratory tests are reported which indicate the feasibility of a one-step reduction process for the preparation of uranium metal from the hexafluoride by the action of calcium metal and iodine.

This report discussed cadmium coated splines which have been developed to supplement the regular control rod systems under emergency shutdown conditions from higher power levels. The objective of this test was to determine the effectiveness of one such spline placed in a tube in the central zone of a pile, and of two splines in the same tube. In addition, the process control group of the P Division asked that probable spline requirements for safe operation at various power levels be estimated, and the details included in this report. The results of the test indicated a reactivity value of 10.5 {plus_minus} 1.0 ih for a single spline, and 19.0 ih {plus_minus} 1.0 ihfor two splines in tube 1674-B under the loading conditions of 4-27-49, the date of the test. The temperature rise of the cooling water for this tube under these conditions was found to be 37.2{degrees}C for 275 MW operation.

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There is definitely a technical possibility that atomic power may gradually develop into one of the principal sources of useful power. If this expectation will prove correct, great advantages can be expected to come from the fact that the weight of the fuel is almost negligible. This feature may be particularly valuable for making power available to regions of difficult access and far from deposits of coal. It also may prove a great asset in mobile power units for example in a power plant for ship propulsion. On the negative side there are some technical limitations to be applicability of atomic power of which perhaps the most serious is the impossibility of constructing light power units; also there will be some peculiar difficulties in operating atomic plants, as for example the necessity of handling highly radioactive substances which will necessitate, at least for some considerable period, the use of specially skilled personnel for the operation. But the chief obstacle in the way of developing atomic power will be the difficulty of organizing a large scale industrial development in an internationally safe way. This presents actually problems much more difficult to solve than any of the technical developments that are necessary, …

The quartz-fiber microbalances used in the Mound Laboratory operations are of the conventional Kirk-Craig type, but are housed in vacuum-tight cases which permit foil weighing by remote control.

The basis feed to the Redox plant is 5,000 lb/day of uranium, supplied both as current irradiated uranium metal slugs in jackets, and as uranium compounds from the existing metal waste storage tanks. The proportions of the two feeds are chosen according to the enrichment level of the irradiated metal, so as to give a plutonium production of about 650 gm/day. The design basis has been taken as 0 to 1,500 lb/day U from the waste storage system and 2,000--5,000 lb/day of irradiated metal. Only the feed preparation from irradiated metal is discussed in this process description, and a basis of 5,000 lb/day is used throughout. The metal feed has associated with it 172.5 lb. Al and 2.5 lb. Si as slug jackets, and contains about 650 gpm. plutonium and 3 {times} 10{sup 5} curies of gamma-emitting fission products (FP). The purpose of the feed preparation section is to remove the aluminum and silicon, and to dissolve the uranium as an aqueous solution for feed to the Redox extraction battery. Secondarily, it is tentatively proposed to provide equipment in this section to achieve a preliminary decontamination from ruthenium, which is poorly handled by the Redox extraction system, and from FP …

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Included herein is a historical record of the AAF sponsored NEPA Project during the period of October 1945, to the present time, and covers in narrative form the nature of planning leading to the implementation of the project, the establishment of the operating group and its relationship to the Manhattan District (later to become the Atomic Energy Commission) and the approach to applicable technological problems bearing on both nuclear science and aeronautical propulsion engineering aspects.

This monthly report details Physics Department 100 Area technical activities for the month of April 1947.

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Discussions included the aluminum nitrate recovery process; specifications for process pumps; a review of the safety of the Redox process; plans for the proposed Waste Tank Farm, retention basin, diversion box, and cribs; and a request from the US AEC for a concise summary of the entire Redox program.

This report provides a discussion of technical activities at the Hanford Works as of May 10, 1949.

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