Monthly Summary of Activities July 1948, U S Atomic Energy Commission

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Thts document conslsts of s pages Offb ? of Budgets MONTHLY SUPJIMARY OF ACTIVITIES

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I11 Engincoring and Construction....,,........... 4 VI Hi li tnry A;J;ilication. ...................,.... 11

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It a;?pesrs likely that accelerzted yroiluction schedules are possible for weapons whose inproved designs en3ody the results of SanCstone tests. Such schedulcs would nake necessary an CriticQity eq or in on ts with assenblios approxinating the coq os it ion of the propoped interncdiate a G hich flwc reactors wore continucd at Schenectndy mid 0-.k Ridge, respectively, in order to test various design features. forward at Argonno for other tests with a noclmp nodcl o f tho The irpyovcd outlook f o r continued operation of HcmforC: ;)ilos without sudden failure Led t o tlic reactivation of PileB tion, vias ;>ost3oned for an in de fia it c period, of a cowsc In r dio iso top t racc r tocluiiques by the first of several classes of students, and a tkrcc wcck syqosiun at o f ;>ublic education verc the nmcrous atonic cncrgy exhibits The building of ncvr piles in addition to thc Training dcvclolmcnts iiicludcd corglctioa at O a k %&c Outstanciir,;; i n thc brondcr area Snit id, stc-;s IPXC taken 1oold.n~ t o the rodcfinition of tbe

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Procurement. The purchase of carnotite- and roscolite-type ores ab Lionticello comenced on July 12 and daily deliveries averaged i n excess of 100 tons o f raw ore. program, as evidenced by the substantial number of inquiries and mineral snmples being received, Negotiation with U, S. Vanadlum Corporation, Furchase of Rifle, Colorado and from its plant at Umvan,to be reactivated, were the subject of continuing contract negotiations. Exp lorn to rj drilling. Comparatively little ore was discovered i n ' Jul:;~i n the course of drilling 173 holes for a to td Burcau of !iincs f o r studies ained at inprovod metjllurgical recovcrj uader the proccss cri2loyed i n tho Monticcllo plant. Process improvement. Arrangencnts wore made with the U. S. A docisioz was rcachod to instituto am J or program of tcst work on Vestcm phosphates widci- thc coctract w i t h IXT. founci su3ficicnt pron is iii a ncv approach t o prospocting for mtlioactive nr?*,crii?ls to just ie its furtlicr dcvclopncnt, cowtifig rate-nctcr attachncnts which pcr n it nobilc rcconnaissacc and rapid covcragc of subst cnt id arcas.

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€?a,nford requircncnts. Pre lin in arj test rolling at thc Vulcan Crucible Steel Coxpcznyt Aliquipp, P cnn syl mia, indicated the likelihood that contract 'arrangenonts would bo 0tablished with this contractor. rolled urdun rods for &Word t o bc supplied by Sinonds and Vulcan, nakfng unncccssary any rolling by Joslyn, whoso costs This plan would per n it all Orzlc ZZZdgc at which hr bid c, Xarsbvi, and Mcllinckrodt discussed the approachcs and pog rcs s each i s nddng i n devising safcr mid nore ccononicd processcs for thc prothction of UT-4 (green salt) cl neeting was held July 28 i n Output of thc gascous diffusion plait dcclized during July bccausc o f incrcasos Oii the i*pocess inventory, a tcuporary Power stuky, A feasibility study was undcrtrzlron rolativc t o provision of increased electric generrrting capacity t o neet X'ollovdng conclusion of the study, discussions a r c planned with TVA bcfore reaching n dccisioii as t o irhorc tho additioncll capcity can riost advantageously bo instjllod. Hanford productton inJWj excccdcd the rccont avcmgc and Reactivation of p i l c B. Pi1c.B was rcactivntcd on July 1. 0pcratio:i at 't&c full sc~:c~g,lciipotrcr l c v c l was nttnincd July 18, Postponcricnt of pilc colistmction. O m was ndvi scd that fcil suddcrily, as prct5ouslg s~pgoscd. 3csigii work f o r an nect of critical mtcrii".ls for two ;>ilcs i n ndclifion t o those now It notr secm

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Scmcntal discharm. Proccss tubcs werc boing roadicd for scgricntd dischrgc. ' It is proposed t o discharge throc qucclrtcrs o f the tubc, thcrcby giving onc-step irradiation to tho center half and two-stcp irradiation to thc end quitrtcre. production r a t c of 530 tons, of whicb 210 is purifiod, thc rcqu3.rcd 11,000 tons of graphitc id11 bo providcd on schcdulc July 9 with Gcnor2.1 Elcctric and OHDO rcprcscntntivos t o agrec on il Ccvclopncntal progrm. Graphitc. At h tion j l Carbon Conpanyr s prcscnt nontlfly On July 31, the following arrcugencnts had bccn corxplctod f o r prodlaction of zirconium approxinntelsr 25 pounds of ductilc zircon i un nctnl; thc Foote Kincral Conjany I ~ Sundcr contract t o producc eirconiun nct<?l frcc of oxygcn ,and nitrogcn and dclivcrics wrc undcr way; and snall ~ scal cproduction of zirconiw powilor bring low hafniun contcnt, using fractional prccipitation ucthods. tho Sureau of Mincs was t o produco Studics wcrc in it i at cd of Conuission rcquircncnts for organic chc a icd s and construction nntcrinlr totho problcn of protcctiizg &C operations frori thc iupnct of thc dr'zft law and thc call. of ncnbcrs of the roscmc forccs t o Attention was also dircctcd

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2ollowing the recornendations o f the Redox Steering Connittee that future *%dox test md production plat designs be based on requested Iccllcx Corporation t o design atest plant, including service utility requirenents, t o subit cost est in at cs pnd schedules for its design an6 cosstruction, and t o prov5de specifications and schedules for iLlLxtdlate procurwont o f equipnont and naterfals. Sinilarily, Kellex will subnit f o r approval by the S C and Genera Electric a feasibility report on the required iicdox production plants by Septeaber 15. include a review of the allocations of responsibility f o r the various vork program by GcneraJ. Z lect ric among the sevaml subcontractors, and an appraisal o f whether o r not opcmtion of the piles at a higher G/T level ad attend at critical nass considerations -nay roquirc a larger nmbcr of min plant units The Septcpker report is t o be in s df ici cnt dc tait to serve as the basis f o r find. design drczrings approvcd by Gcncral Xoctric. Stack Gas Dccontanination Mcnbcrs o f the Stack Gas Working Connittee visit cd Hmford T h i sduring this pcriod for an on-sitc survey o f this problca. grou? i s scbcdulcd t o ncot i n Vashington Scptenber 1, 3.948 t o reach conclusions oa thc r csu lts of their fields w cy s and undcrtclkc q cci fic job assignricnts. In thc Antcrcsts of cffectipg an overall coordination of this progrrxn, representatives f ron a1 operating arcas will 4so be prcscnt at this meting, Construction at Ifanford ofa full scale sand filter,to bcgin I n &gust and requirc about 4 nonths, is pro qtc d by recent cq erin cnt al work i n which 999 out of each 1,000 radioactive pl'mt Pac ili tics Pilc Construction yrogrcssed satisfactorily f ron 24 percent t o 3l3 pcrcent o f conplction during July. building itself (105-DZ) m s 41 percent coq lc tc at t3c end o f Pilo 8, Construction o f t!ic neti pile area was cst imt cr lcrc--- as 7 pcrccnt complete lat c in July.

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234-5 Bu5,ldi.q. Project estinated as 5 percent con2lete. Eousing. E!ac secwd najor housing pro jcct, consisting o f 333 houses and 64 apmtnents, was 99 percent conplctc. tion o f tkc third project consisting o f 1,000 ranch type houses reached 20 percent of coq lc tion, about 2 percent behind schedule. on Jay 31 , ablc for use Carnichael Junior High (New) 17 Bov. L5 Spalang Grade School (New) 29 sept. 15 Lewis a 0 Clarke Gradc School, (Addition) 41 Sept. 7 Sept. 7lfarcus Vhi tnan Gradc School (&di tion) 25 Jcf f erson Grade School (zlddi tion) 98 Coluubia Eigh School (UdAtion) 70 North Ri'chland Construction Cap Erection o f building and boilers f o r the new stcan generating plant was cstinatcd t o be 20 percent co:i;dcte, service stations, constructed by the proprietors, wcre corqletcd and oren for 4usincss, o r ncclrly so. for 8,282 ncn and 435 wormt and about 1,926 trailers were I n c q . Can- population was 13,080, dovn 260 during the nonth. Bnrracks space was conplcte Othcr Eousing and '?own Construction 453 Garden type apartwnts. Construction work by MerrittChapan an6 Scott Corporrztion began July 2 and was f, porcent conplete at the end o f the nonth. Los Al mos Sn the new Vestern Areav 110 of 150 units were con@eted, consisting of s i n d c houses cad 2- and 3-bcdroon duplexes, apts.) were d s o coqletcd. Knolis A tonic Power La3oratoKq Entirc project 26 prc cnt coEi)lete, against a schcduo o f Bro oldiavcn k t io nd. La3o ra tory Cosnotroii. Tho 3.0 Ilcv poton-synchrotron with a 30-foot rn6iu.s authorized for construction at BITL i s novr eq ec ted to be '2-xnagnet has been ordered,

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design conplcte0 for coils to excite tho nngnet, a d spccifications established f o r pover equipnent. f o r the la3oraCory has been approved i n which the cosnotron itself will be n3out 10 feet below ground level t o nehicve Eot la bop tory, hYE0 approved on July 2 construction o f the hot laboratory needed i n conjunction with the operation of the new reactor, establishing a cost ceiling of $2,900,0001 Oak 3 d g c Iiatioml Labgratory Under a lott cr contract signed June 25 the Austin Coqmny Argonnc iicrtional Laboratory Construction of tcnporary facilities at the Wage site of Chicego and tho Austin Cor-ipw was a;j;?roved covering the construction of tho pcmaaent SaciLitics. d letter contract between the University bic tall ura Building progrcssed fron 40 t o 45 percent Radicrt i on Lp30 rato ry Eurd was ngl>roved for design of the 5Ffoot radius proton-synchrotron, known as thc cyclodronc. a quarter scdc operating xodcl, was czuthori zed. 3qc nd it urc of $200,000 for construction o f Central Resoarch La3orator;y. 02 July 29 b i d invitations were nublishcd nnd nublic nnnouncenent was nade of the authorization t o const act tliis-bui.lclin.g, tobve net floor spcc of 31,000 square fcet and nn cstinated cost of $9g5,000. Satis fn ctor j yog rcs s continucd as riorc f nci li ties werc transferred for beneficial accupncy and installation of c quip cnt The lmolongcd st rik c of Sricklzycrs

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A contract was awarded t o KWp>eii, Tippets, Abbett Engineering Con1)'uj for ar&i tectural and engineering servicos i n converting intoa proauc tiorz aontrol laboratory.

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July 30 thc irmcdiaUc ;?urcbsc by tlic Cornissfon of a tract about 19 r-iilcs north 3.4 rricst of ScCcnectaQ as the site for would prnit ;puling oprtrtions tb-is fall instead of next May4 Tlic third grcliiliaary pile asscnbly bcing studied at Sohcncctnkv nppoxiaates the couposi tion proposed f o r tho brought to critical it y nany tines in tbc course of which data t o bc used i k ' 6 i.lont!ls of testing nwcrous dcsign factors. Continucd attention is dircctcd t o thc ;)ossLblc USC o f &lim high flk pi&c, critic il cqyxincqts k.vc bacn conductcd at Oak Ridge to test ccrtp-in desi,? feeturcs. ccllent azraencnt with thcorcticd. pxdictions. drf";Oiliie nay rc sul tina decision t o acccpt bcrylliun oxidc of During the nonth the nsscnbly was Fast ronctor. Work continues on prciaration of t3c noehp High flux rcnctor. Iith ai nsscujly sl nil nr to tlic popcsed vork continucs on tlic rcclosign of ?. of € b y rcactor t o 5e constructed rmy ICnata cnrly i n 1949. Cal cula tio x have ~ l s obeen rnCc on the effect o f Tlic Cecision on tcFse t y p prolongccl 3o:ibnrilncnt on thc struct urd ckarnctcristics of the study qxin-,~rowth inhibitors in urmiuri.

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A t Sciicncctady thc addition of 15 titaniun t o uraniun was obscrvcd t o civc Q reasonably fino-crc?inod casting, Thoriuu. Iiivcstigation o f pocossos for .*e production of tboriuri frou Eonazito i s t o continuc dwing the fiscdl. year 1949 m&cr a contraot with Battcllo Ivieuorial 1~:stitutc. Tho stuw Ius pogrcsscd t o tho stwc whcre oqorigcntril vrork on Gtest Isotope Production cad Distribution StaUc isotovcs. Gollcct$on operations durinc the nonth werc conccrncd with iiotassiup, ccriuu, indiw, oqgC11~ncrcury <md t o collcction o f Uranim 234 aid 236, Rq2ioactivc iso toys, Durin;; July thcrc wcre 315 shiynccts, of ~dxicli78 vcrc viithin thc 2i,EO, 212 vorc t o nonpojcct uscrs, m d 25 vcrc to for cig countries. Oak Zidi.;c Institut c of Xuclcnr Stuclics, class o f 32 studciits coqlotcei the rail io iso top tracer tcchniquc coursc on July 2 5

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A rcsur*vcx of BiMni Lagoon and a survey of Eniwctok Atoll have boon unhrtalrcn t o dctcrnino thc prosont statc of ccrtain forms of marinc plants and anima&s. A radio-biological cqerirncnt station has boon cstablishcd at A?& on the Frcund Estatc ( s i t c E). Yacilitfcs dll bo dovclopcd for biological synthcsis of rndioactivc drugs m d othor substmccs. It is aticippatcd that a similar "fcrm" w i l l bo ostnblishcd at A pan01 of 16 consultants was"rccammcndcd by the Xd visor g Comittoc for Biology and Ncdicinc t o assist the DSrcctor of A joist study with thc Ohio State Departmont of Honlth I s boing carricd out ct Lorain, Ohio, dcalipg with Beryllosis, tbc Mnrinc Biological LchorrAor;. i n tho application of atonic L?;plicati'on o f nuclear physics was hold at Brookhtrvon frm July 1 2 - Julr 30, covcring the utilization of tracer techniques. dttcndancc at thc scssions of tho first two weks ILS 1 2 - dtod t h i r d wool;, 150 sciciztists ottcndcd thc scssions GL hed-bh

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b¶ILI'pARY APPLICATION -Sandstone. IJork continued during July t o complete the report o f the' lest Director covering the operational aspects of SNDSTOiE. Production schedules, Decisions were made, on the basis of the test results, as t o the types of weapons t o be produced i n schedules f o r future weayon production could be established, Only a few details remained t o be completed before Swr. Progress on this profect will probably permit operations on a very limited scale withln the next t w o months. increased allocations of funds during 1949, and possibly a Budget, Production schedules now i n prospect will require ITuclcar Propulsion of Aircraft MIT Lexington project, This group reached the stage o f KWA project. A t Oak Ridgo tho first phase o f the i!EDA construction program was initiated, involving expenditure o f about 3.6 miliion dollars f o r chemistry and materials laboratory Nuclear Ship Propulsion Bollowing the Commission~sdecision not t o request the General E lcc t ric Company t o undertake, i n addition toits existing assignmonts, the devclopment of a ship propulsion reactor, tho Bureaq of Ships rcqucstcd the Commission's cooperation i n arrangements i t might make for onc o r morc such projects t o be undortakcn by othcr industrial …