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Declassified record · U.S. Department of Energy

H-Division Progress Report August 20 - September 20, 1948 (Redacted)

Dated
Oct 5, 1948
Document type
Report
Length
29 pages
Open the original scanArchive record OSTI ID 16295232 · public domain

Document text

Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.

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During the period August 20 through SeptemDer 20, 1948, there were no a aren tld changes in tho orgaintatlon, .rethud8 of procmdures o t E-DivtrLon. A t L!e requert of the Actlng Divlmlan Leader, tho Acting Laboratory Director apgolnteb a com lt tse for rtudj and ravirr or Beyo C m - yon opera t lms. (See Tech Ward Note, of Soptombor 13, 1943). Thir rct ton was prompted b y the occumence of I cut me our rad lrt lon burn by a rrdiochenlr t , the mechsnirn o f rcaeivlnr the injury not bel& undorntood. as Spec id Asr!sta?t t o the Director,i)irl rl on of Elalogy Dr. Aust:n Brues, Dlrectcr of the Biology Div l rion E?alt% 3 ? v ! s ! 3 n September 1 4 through Septcnber 17.

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During hf s stay he ?resented a seminar on of radiotian injury. - Institute of Technology, v lrt ted the Div l rion on Septeabrr mi prorentad I rerlos of two seminars on protein cherntstFg. September 13 through September 22. He conforred with the Acthg DlvfSfOn Le8drr on medical problomr a t Lo8 Almos i n grceral urd on rp scifi c current problems within the Laboratory, including the reporting of injuries t o porronne l of a clarslfied nature. mitotic 1Ad.X exporimentr .b. Literature survey o f the Lor Alanor Tcchnicrl Library for material on radiation a. Prupaoatian s f four addltlonrl paaers for

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a. Los Alrtos Eorpital Radiology Deaartmerrt - a . ilteraturt survey of effect cl ntt rope a b . Corn?letcd olan far experlmnt applylrig pneuaoeocci mutation data to neurosparr. rat. This work VIS already under way .nC h w : York is divided lnto two orrto : 1 ) Acute toxicity ur in t ';D 50 doarr ; The metabolien of PJ in t h e rat !s fairly n!troEen to ~ aaosu sform. Trocers will be used b y Lt. Lclfer t3 trace netaboljsn of h'15 tazged aathranlllc acid in neuroi i : otic ? cacid requlreaantr

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a. Loamrd chronotoarauhic m rly r is technlquo for separating tagged compou.?d8 in Holped Lt, Leifor uoe 1131 for dlm.gnorlr

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meet spec!f?caticnr necessitated proleneed urd d : fflcu : t rcrk b y the chemists on several c f these occas:cna. ? o r pol c tad September 14 to lnvcstlgate momr for redUC!ng e x - Porure8 .t Eryo. The 8-1 group, which I s represented or: t c provido drtr for the ConaltteO. recent monthr occurred s m m g 2-2 parsonaol working w: th prober in the Wmter Eollcr. Aa m e ~ tio nod in the precedration of relcadlre partially "cJoled-off" ?robes could technique in lnrertlne the =)rc+bes? n t o and rcmovln3 tkem from tne htor Boiler. ha8 undertaken tc prepare recamendations f e r the rotting UP and maintenance of an emorgoncy s t o c k of radfologlc urd lir. Scivally. On September 14, an extenafvt conferonce waa h e i d w i t h *,fr.Sutenhaff of the AE': Instrument Eranch on currcr.t

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safety ins t rumen ta. is in training for the porltlon on Bajo b. Procedure changer a t Fajot and skin checked f o r contaminatton on rhot daj after rhot. on trial u8e with chemlrtr. ward8 for night In t pec tl on. 1 ) Two aonftorr on shot day, aqd other 2 ) Weekly f i l m badge totala far cbern:str 3 ) Ffrcaer. itrued film badges on shot dry. 5 1 Keleket self-reading pocket chamber, 7 ) Rubber glover ar8 bebe irruad the 1) Newt ~ p ofilm badger for attaching to the Tech area brdgo arm be-6 introduced 2 ) Started lrrue of regular film badge8 to 5-2 Oroup in D Building. 3) Yeters checked weakly tor attendanca and operation in BHrgoncy Joop. 4 ) Prerence of Eaergencj Joe? chacked In A.W. and ?.E. daily. l e I 8 now being U8.d on1 for emergoncg uae except f o r been monitored f o r the third con8acutire ti:d a t 3-month intorvrlr. Now chrcklne only cars on the "Bot' list fore golne to tha hang8r ror repair 6)K - Site oerronnol now being issued

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f.Veh ici os checked for contaninutlon.. 42 2 ) 1 aesoagmied b y 9onltar to shop. &. Pocket chuabsrr test od and c.1:- h . Toch Salvage Monlltoring (L. Cerr): Property Iterne It ern8 13 gas cy lla der r. 3 pieces of furniture, fur n lt uro 1 sewor drain from 4 3Uildlng. Cc3pleted r u ~ v c yof 16 large Iia and Saran ?letal in Gama Building. 9 metera from Sandstone. Several cont ml ne ted rom ds. Acid bottles In 9 . 22 trips to TA-33 for monltorlng e x -

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1) Supervised the FackinE and shipping 2 ) Sxarce l f a t and lacatlon of each nude 3)7 sources received, unpacked, and 1 ) Detailed lnstructlons rrltten f o r 2 ) A 1 1 boxes repaired wtllch hold ? ? a n t e d 1) Calfbratod nor IDL, Cmnbrldgr, and delakot Chrmborr. A correction fact a r table waa drawn up for roadlngr fou5d on the Cambridge and Xolekot were taped on 1nd~WldUallf. toraon Pocks t Chamber, t o dotersine Chargerr. Tho ratio found indlcatet tho need tor e rllghtly highor corrsetlon factor t o be rp pli od t~ chambora read on the Mlnometsr uhlch have beon calibrated with the Electrometer. 1) Special ty3e rriat ills badge8 have been irruod the 5-2 chemirta for wor'n2! Speclal rrf8t, foot, aad two body tember 21, shot day. 3) Qne safe l i s h t teat has been per6A ormet r3r possible fog a&fe lights r t close range in propored dark ro3r.s in A

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ttc nsa and numb. e . Survey Ins tru cnt t iaruad,

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provraents are under way et grc smt. A new Dower supaly and control cl rc - ilt I 8 being devoloped and bullt for Omga modified to lncreare the llfe of the have been rer te wed and l t apjesr: that certain impravesents 8hOr lid teat to apt ad t a 'keep tho old instrimmts !n service until better models can be voa ars d. SI-

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rems tobe an induction of ssurizus cdrrent when the chambers are rvac.;ated for . in the Flars holding the collec:tn? elec - trade t o the ward rine. Futurr dcs?gn tk.8 area sa5 lnercaafnr the thickness of be 2rt di ft nay art heid surf icier. : tlne for these currents to decay before Taxin;

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a!' Colorado School of ,'ediclne to confer with Dopstment of Labor and Industrlas ,Dlvla Ion of Occupational uyeeine, 90s ton, Yarr. 3) Terai net ix w..................eba 118

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Patient8 treated at Pir rt Aid Statlona: 5. Bemtologg Sub - Sec tim : (Horn&? howl tor,, Dorothy Pos kon s kl) I Elood tort on Trinity calf.. .... 2 I Reticulate and Z late let a ........ 3 1 ) Platanturn Xirays completed.. .... 125

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3 ) Polonium Aasapr completed ....... 33 4 ) Positive Polonium Arrays a. A rl rl t was mad. t o Sauth Veda with the Safety Group t o obrerre op or at lons 1nvQlvthoro o brer vat lms was submlttea t n canjun c tian with theSe tet p Group. b. Equipment for the collection of airsu3Dler and the determination of chlorinated hydrocarbon8 i n these sampler was prepared and a study of trich l oro ethylene concentrut!onr in TU Building. c . Flrlng operation waa stud lod at Two 'tile Xesa and air tertr were made for the prercnco of nitrogen oxide8 uad carbon monoxide in the working area. d. Atrip was made throueh S-Stock with the Safety Director to observe aethodr 3f handllnu and sar tty and health equlpaent 8 . Several trips wero mule t a Be70 Canyon in lat lng syrtein t o be in rt all od thoro. 1. Several inqutrier were reooired and anawerod during the month. Thrro related to potential to xl city from silica end fr?m tmtalum, the der ign of hoods, and the desigo o f air filters, A study 181 Tad0 of the potential hazard due to beryllium at R-Site, and one air veral soil samples were collected for beryllium anal yr is. These were sent t o the : h i - vw s it y of Rochester for analyses.

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h. Tho results #are received on t h e Pnalyrrr of 8everal air 8anples collected in the rlc ln l ty of a beryllium poli rhin q operatrol by the vent ll at fon on the operation. Elk in s ' visit a conforence waa held on alro gave con3 lder a hle help on the or'3cbdure f o r the determination of ineradry in being w e d or contomplotod by this section. Dr.Elk in r rl ro gave a talk before the Health Division Seminar on tndus trlrl 2. Changer i n Method8 or Procedurer: a . Several method8 for the do to mi nation of mercury in urino are being r tud lsd pyadu ally In odor to arrivo a t the most 8uit abl.0 procedure f o r our purpose b. The de terai nation of urine rul fates for workers expored to ban r ol is a100 being 1. The Safety Department rill be repreeontad on a Safety Pl urn lng Committee, recently er tabl lr he d fop LOB Alnaos, ThiC.? corm it tee rill alro include re pre rent at iv a a o f AES-OSFI)O, the Zir Compmy, and thc maJor Contracting f Irma . 2, This dcoartmont reviewed the oropored rw iri on of ssfrty regulations sponrored by tho ABC, ana submitted

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3. mir department reprerented the Crlitornia a t a meeting sponsored by AEC-3SFD0, for tho formulatiom of pl ur r concorning partlclprtion i n the flat load Plre Prrrontion rook, rohodulad for week o f tie8 under the juris dlc tion or the Dopartnent o f Supply and Pro?erty, followed by a report subrnltted to the 5. Ur. Walter Rrsmssen, Actin8 Director, during the reek o f August 23. Representatives o f the Safety Department occon;pmled Mr. Rrsmurorn on V i s i t 8 to 6. Tho Safety Dlrector vialted t h e S&?dlr LaDirector, Safety ana Fire Pmt ect i zn3fv is lon,A%, the mnurl Safety Conqresa, soonsored by National Safety Council in Chicago, d w i n ? the week of October le. 1. Year to d a t e , c'anusrg 1 to September 1, 1949:

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\-I re cc lord redlation burn above tho right mklo from exporure t o eontminatad ?u&tcriil. The new allitnry assfgnees, Dcs. AtchLsy, b a t - keley, Callfornlr, for two weeks lsornlng rprcirl techniqurr for the study of rer?irrtory phyrlology. hoped that them tachnlquss can b e uaed to do rccrolrrtory tests cn Serylliun workers a t Los Alamos. He reports that thC cq vi ment is cumbersme, subject t o numraus breakdowns, and will coat about $19,390.00 to imt all There has been ll t tle change In org8n:zrtion Conalderable chanrc w!ll be forth coal ng with the termlnationr of Ors. Roth, Laffer, ani Ifogness during the The new research laboratorp amex, wktch '.a8 to The furniture for the b * i l l d l n - has arrived and Is being

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Sroup H-4 1 s sufferfn;: cons ? derob ~ sset backs ' as a result of the recent ten in otl on r,mnyof whom wera hourlng-froe perronnel. This set back rill not be f a - covered froy ,inti1 such tho that bouain8 rl loc et lons eaplclyccs terminated to return to schooL. bo liter ot nlcatini:: acid, nlcot ln&nlde, b , Apprrratur for the studies of the conversion of hydrcxy anthranilic acid t o nicotinic ac!d by neurospora has been stud!er await receipt of samples from tute of Technology. elms an %man Trythrocyter and Their c . The Grors Xetabollsm of 0- and p- Amino-

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b. Proaalne ry nt b rir in progrorr. c 6 Froductlon of elow naphthalene dlacr for OMt m d P Dfvirioar continued. :(For detailed dorcrtptionr of the following report:, aee papea noted) d . Report #ll: Tho Formtion of Larpe . Norma Lanter, hi r to log lc technician, left the tory plannlnE in Rochester. 2. Work in Progrcrr: be Plutonium and Americium lank? range study c . The effects of X-ray8 on

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The following paperr were written: C I The Nature o f the Refractile rjranulor

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contratod H2SO4 t o 23.03 g of chllled 48% HBr) and a a t the point indicated in Fig. 1. After a brief ln it i al perlod of out~arrlng, the ftrrk =a8 chilled with liq ul d Ne, the s y s t c - evacuated to IC-4 mn, and the stopcock 3 clorad off. Methanol (0.8-10aK) 8.1 weighed into Flask B which wall thon frorcrn w i t l liquid nitrogen and attached to the line. The entire sjatea w.8 evacuated with the high vacuum and cloard off from tho vacuum mu al fold8. With Stopcock 2ClO led, the methanol was distilled into A by lowed t o warm t o room temperature then ttl r red cont ln u o ~ ~ sly while the temperature mas Gradually brouoht t o 103O by mema o f oil bath 2 (1.25 hrs.) tilled fntc 2 through the purifyinc trair, sod. llze and P2O5 on glass wool. liquid 12. Any noncocccnulbla gas present ln the system uaa pumped o f f . The transfer ;f known emcucts of CH3Br by this method i s quPnt?tatlra, (99.eg). The yields of The mfx ture uas then 2is a light flask of

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methyl bromide obtained wero 94-64. The product obtained by thla asthod 1.6 chocked for purity by urrlpsla for Br. ?be 011 bath heater 8.1 made by rrapplng r e r l s - tmeo wire around a cryrtalllzlng dirh and 1.8 controlled with a variable tranrformsr. one used uhlcti corrarponds to a 1:2.06 ratio. Experiments uslnc PSr3 ior the brcninating agent

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This hydrocarbon f a characterized byI hlgh msltlnP p o i n t ( 4 4 8 3 ) , urd a brilliant violet fluorerconco. The compound l a contaminated bya compound or compoundr uhich em art apl loa color to chrpsene and which changor the fluorescence to a green. ?he imp wit lea cannot be renovod by recrys tallizatlon fras benzene and acetic acid. Tho nctbd found t o be adequate far the purl fi - w h i l e in solution it was treated succe8sfvetly with cone. sulfurlc acid until the acid waa no lancer dl s colo md. The solution was then rarhed succ er ~ irel ywith uam. b i - carton ate solution and rater. The solution was then dried less crystalr of chrprono separated. Theac were collected and re crystal ll ted iron tetrachloroethylene. The crystals were then filtered, waabcd with getrolrum ether, and

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constructed …

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