Manhattan District History; Book IV - Pile Project; X - 10; Volume 2 - Research; Part II - Clinton Laboratories

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Part IX of Volurae 2 of Book IT of the Manhattan Diatria* History presents a description of the design, construction, and operation of the Clinton Laboratories* This work la desoribed as a part of Vo luma 2 because tha work conducted at Clinton Labor*toriea was part of tha research and development phaaaa of tha Pile Project* Tha reaearoh work porforrnad at tha ilatallurgloal Laboratory la daaorlbad In Fart Tha data oontalnad in thla volume ara baaed on tha Seneral Filea of tha Dlatrlot Offlaa and thoaa oontalnad in tha rooorda of tha Operatlons Offloe, Clinton Laboratories, together with the fllea of E* I* du Pont da Hanours Company, Wilmington, Delaware, and tha University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois* Thla hiatory covera tha period fraa tha ino apt ion of tha Manhattan Dlatrlot to 31 Decenber 1946* The data 31 Deoember 1946 haa been aeleoted beoauae of ita being tha laat day of operation prior to whloh tha Atomic Energy Cotacdaaion aaaxned reponaibillty for all dutlea and acoountablllty of tha !Janhattan Dlatrlot* The Suponary contalne an abstract of every nmin subject treated in tha text and is keyed t^ the text In aueh a manner that paragraph numbera and headinge In the sunraary correspond to the various sections in A number of appendioas are attached to illustrate the text of tha volume by steana of napa, drawings, charts, tabulations and photographs* A separata Top Jeoret Appendix 1ms been prepared to this voluns in whloh

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Other phase* of the history of the Pile Project are desoribed lnt Book IV - Volume 5 • Construotion

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MANHATTAN DISTRICT HISTORY PART II - CLINTON LABORATORIES TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 2 - DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION Negotiation of Contract a* Statement of Work b. Title to Property c. Coat of Work Performance of Construction Contractor c. Chemical Processing Plant d. Training Facilities for Hanford e. Power and Comunication Facilities f. General Service Facilities d. Unusually High Rainfall

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SECTION 3 - OPERATION OF CLINTON Selection of Operating Contractor 3*1 b. Negotiation of Original Contract 3.2 a. Statement of Work 3.2 b. Title to Property 3.3 c. Coat of Work 3.3 Performance of Contractor 3.3 Cost of Operation 3.6 Description of Pile d. Pile Shielding Openings g. Slug Handling Facilities Increase of Operating Level Interruptions of Operation Completion of Work SECTION 5 - DEVELOPMENT OF A SEPARATION Description of Facilities Final Test's and Recommendations Development of Isolation Process Completion of Work

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5-8 Development of Alternate Process 5*7 5-9 Chemical Studies of fission Products and Heavy Elements 5*8 a. Studies of the Process of Fission 5*8 b. Studies of the Chemistry of SECTIDI 6 - DESIGH AND OPERATING 6-2 Detection of Slug Swelling and Can Failure 6.1 a. Tests Developed to Dstect Jacket 6-ii Testing of Proposed Shield 6.5 6-5 Testing of Materials for Use in Hanford SECTION 7 - TRAINING OF PERSONNEL SECTION 8 - ORGANIZATION AND PERSONNEL 8-1 Design and Construction 8*1 APPENDIX A - MAPS, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND DESCRIPTIONS

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ated to provide isolated facilities for research and development work pertaining to the Pile Project) to provide a pilot plant for the Han ford Engineer Works) and to produos small quantities of plutonium. The accoaplishsent of these objectives involved the design, construction, and operation of s uranium-graphite Pile) the development of s process for the sspsrstion and isolation of plutonium) and the training of personnel for transffcr to the Hanford Kngineer Works) as well as re search work of s general nature, k sits of about 112 acres within the military reservation of the Clinton Kngineer Works was chosen for tbs 2. Design and Construction. - By 1 January 19k3, the Military Policy Coeadttee had decided to construct an intsmsdlsts-sl«ed plutonium' production plant at Clinton Kngineer Works, Tennessee. 8* X* dn Post ds Nemours and Company, Inc., entered into s contract with the Manhattan District tor ths design and construction of this plant without profit to ths company. All costs of ths work and its admlnlstrstlvs expenses were paid by ths Govsmaent and all equipment, supplies, buildings, and patsnt rights vers to became ths property of ths Govern ment. The staff of ths^Ketallurgical Laboratory was dssignated approving authority for all dssign features because of the reluctance Dssign of ths Pile Ares was begun on 15 January 19U3, and

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construction work on 1 February 1943. This are* was turned over to the operating oontraotor on 16 October 1943. C o n * traction work in the* Separation Area, carried out along with con*traction of the Pile Area, was completed on 26 Wovember 1943. In addition to the*e production facilities, a training area was conatraoted which consisted of one large building with the equipment and facilities necessary for the tracking program, and a number of buildings and facilities were con structed which were directly connected with the process areas or with the general administration of Clinton laboratories. Electric power was furnished by the Tennessee Talley Authority under a contract based on construction and operating power estimate*. During the construotion period, the du Pent Company awarded 3 X *ubcontract* in order to expedite construction and to utilise specialised labor and machinery whenever possible. In addition to the orders covering theee subooiw tracts, approximately 6300 purehase orders for materials and equipaent were placed by the du Pont Company. Procurement handled by the Manhattan District included concrete, crushed stone, gasoline, oil, tires, office furniture, and many other items. In spite of a number of delaying factors, completion dates were not excessively delayed. During April 1946, emsrgency additions were started in an expan sion program designed^bo house the inflow of operating, teehnioal and academic personnel replacing the parogre** iv* loss of older scientific people and to cover the training sohool program. These additions in cluded a new permanent Radioisotope Building, a permanent research laboratory, a steam plant, a heterogeneous Pile, and related struc

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By- 51 December 191*6, all additional conatruction had been conplated , bringing the total con*traction coat to approximately and $1,009,000 on emergency additions). 3. Operation of Clinton Laboratories. - Since most of the re- \ search pertaining to the Pile Project had been conducted b y the Metallwfeical Laboratory at the University of Chicago, the University of Chicago was selected to operate the pilot plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Although operated as a part of the Metallurgical Project, the pilot plant was, for security reasons, known as Clinton Laboratories. The contract between the University of Chicago and the Manhattan Dis trict provided that the work be carried out for no fee, bat included the provisions that the Univeraity be relieved of reeponsibility in the defense of claims against it and that a flat sun be paid the University to cover administrative and general expenses. Operation of Clinton Laboratoriee was to include the development of a suitable technique for the production of plutonium, a training program for prospective Hanford personnel, and medical and biological research necessary to Project activities* Hie title of all property and work was to become the sole property of the Government. The production underwent into operation on U November 19^3* and plutonium was being delivered early in l 9 U u During the term of the contract, the plutonium production schedule was met} a separation and iaolation technique wae developed) and the general research was conducted to the satisfaction of the Governs*nt. Active health and safety programs were maintained at Clinton Laboratories for the protection of

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the operating personnel. Because of the classified nature of the operations, strict intelligence and security qk&ck was made on all personnel. Group athletics, graded pay increases, and assistance on personal problems aided in maintaining high morale among the personnel. On 1 July 19U5, operation of Clinton Engineer Works passed to the Monsanto Chemical Company, to be carried on largely in the same vein°as operation under the Univereity of Chicago. The nee contract included the assumption of all liabilities, claims and obligations incurred under th* Chicago group at the same time Monsanto took over all facilities , supplies and equipment. To 31 December 19^6 operational costs amounted to $22,250,000, $12,325,000 of which covered th* Chicago operation tram 1 March 19U3 to 30 June 19U5, whil* $9,925,000 represented th* costs under Monsanto leadership from 1 July 19U5 te 31 December 191*6. k. production of Plutonium. - One of the primary objectives of th* operation of Clinton Laboratories was the production of a small quantity of plutonium in the shortest possibl* time. To accomplish capacity was designed and constructed at Clinton Laboratories. Th*, Pil* consists essentially of a 2li-foot cub* of graphite blocks. Metal channels traverse the j£Lle from front to rear in 36 horizontal rows of 35 holes each. A removable cor* permits variation of channel spacing for lattice dimension experiments. A aeven-foot thickness of laminated concrete shielding completely surrounds the Pile to reduce the radiations generated during operation to safe limits before they reach the working areas. The Pile and its shielding are equipped with

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are provided for safety and control rods, ionisation chambers, and foil®, as well as for experimental purposes* Hie openings through the shielding require specially designed plugs for olo®ure® during Pile operation to prevent dirsot emission of radiation* Ths heat generated in the pils is rsaovsd by a flow of cooling minute, eleotrioally driven fans. Pils control* consist of shim rods, to shut ths Pile down in an emergency and to compensate for lsrgs variations in operating conditions| control rods, ts effeot fine con trol of the Pile reaction! safety rods, to shut ths Pile down very rapidly in an emergency} and safety tubes for boron-steel shot, to stop the reaction in ths event that other control methods havs failed* As slugs ars charged into the Pile, irradiated slugs ers forced out at ths rear face, falling onto a mattress pad and sliding through water into a bucket in the discharge pit* Ths buckets ars stored in a trench connected to this pit and latsr transfsrrsd to ths Separation Building through a canal from the end of ths storags trsnoh* Ths result of changes mads in the metal channels, took plaos on 4 November 1943 and within a few days a level of 500 kilowatts was attained* Increases in ths operating level were brought about by changing the lattice arrangement, by increasing the effioienoy of the cooling system, and by using slugs with improved arc-welded jackets, so that.

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in Jiay 1944, the Pile wee operating at a level of 18£X) kilowatt*. Finally, the installation of larger fane in the cooling system per mitted a further increase to 4000 kilowatts. Ho serious difficulties were encountered in Pile operation* although fan failure and fanbearing troubles caused a few interruptions* In spite of these inter ruptions, the perforaense of the Clintcm laboratories Pile was very satisfactory in all respeets* Plutonium was being delivered by 1 February 1944 and the Pile continued to operate for the purpose of producing plutonium until 1 December 1344* by which time the experimental requirements were satisfied. After that date, the Pile was operated for the purpose of producing other radioactive eaterial for the Project's reeearch pro 5. Drrelopswnt of a Separation Process* - Another of the objec tives of Clinton Laboratories was the development of a workable* re liable process for the separation of plutonium from the uranium and fission products• A precipitation method (Bismuth Phosphate Process) was selected for the Hanford plant and the activities of the Clinton Laboratories staff were directed toward proving this process under plant coalitions, establishing the reproducibility of optimum process conditions, and testing'alternate processes. Initial process develfor process development end a pilot plant were then operated concur rently at Clinton Laboratories* the pilot plant consisted of six cells containing the process equipment, separated from each other and from the control room by thick concrete walle* All operations within

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rooa becauae of th* high radiation levels throughout tha process. Aotire wastes war* ha Id in underground tanks until propar disposition Tha first batoh of alugs was received far processing am 20 December 1948, -and plutonitua was being delivered early in 1944* Process efficiency was improved considerably during 1944— the festers affect ing plutonium carrying were determined) the decontamination faster was increased| and the production yields were improved. Although these improvements were ae comp 11 shad by prooess and equipment modlfications, no basis ohangss in the process were required* B u s were made simulating Hanford conditions. which, with laboratory and semi works runs, furnished * basis for predicting Hanford operating con ditions. Final tests on the separation process wars performed in August and Hovember of 1944. During the operating period* 299 batches of slugs were processed in the Separation Building* with an over-ell yield of 90*1 per oent. In January 1945, the equipownt and cell* were decontaminated and the pilot plank was plaosd in * stand-by condition. It was necessary to d ere lop a process for the isolation of plu tonium in a pure, usable fora. Based on the information gained by proooaaing ST batohea o£ solution from the Separation Building, an isolation method, employing a precipitation, solution, sad repreoipltatlon of plutoniua perokide, was drreloped. Development of a prooess for the recovery of the uranium fro* the solutions held in the six underground storage tanks wea»begun in the fall of 1944. Work on this problem was limited to the developawat of a prooess to

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be used at some future date. X group of chendste was assigned ths task of developing an alternate separation process in ths event of failure of ths precipitation process. A feasible adsorption prooess was established but was not developed because, by June 1944* ths Bismuth Phosphate Prooess had been proved adequate far uss at Hanford. Chemical research, of secondary importance during ths initial operating pert&d, was begun in September 1948. Studies of ths process of fission and of ths chemistry of plutonium were instrumental in improving ths ■epar at ion process and the handling of the isolated plutonium. Following ths end of hostilities, a great part of the research program was directed toward peaoetims uses of ths various piles. Radio isotopes which wars developed in this new angle of ths Atomls Energy Program were to be used in the fundsmsntal and applisd sciences, per* tioulorly biological and medical- Ths distribution program was in augurated in June 1946, at which time expansion of Hot Laboratory #706-0 was in progress, and delivery (of Carbon 14) was mads to ths Barnard free Skin and Cancer Hospital for 'tagging* of cancer pro ducing molecules and resulting study of the canoer problem. By 31 December 1946 shlpswnts of radioisotopes totaled 123, salee value 8. Design and Operating Problems. - During the design of ths large-eoals production unite, it was neoessary to test the effective ness of ths shislding to.be used at Hanford as well as a number of ths materials to be used in ths Fils itself* Two shield tests were made, one using an imperforate section, the other a perforate section, both of which indioated that the propossd shielding would be adequate for

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use at Hanford* A. number of ordinary construction materials …