Los Alamos National Laboratory H Division Progress Report, April 20, 1949 - May 20, 1949 (Redacted)

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dth Division Office during the past mocth have been: 1. High exposurer .t Bay0 Canyon, together w i t h fmtentlal dwer f'ron fall-out from the cloud. 2. Hatters pertainlng to the relationship botM 'the Health Division and the Hospital. 3. Activltlos at Bnlretok in conjunction w i t h 3AB far aa hyo Canyon ir, concerned, r i are fa& ;ria two serious problams. The first of thoro relatrs t o the repeated Ugh (lolposurer of the rtaff i n CU-10 Laboratory. Neek after weak a small number o f ren have repeatedly approached, end i n sone cases passed, the currently pro?osed ~a~lmur:exposure level. T%isis fundarentdly due t o tne fact that t h e building ltself is poorly adapted to the particular work now belng car rid on there; this being intensifird at present by tho current speeded up pro gru.A meeting was held on May 10 with k. Jette, and representatives from both C1;R and €bDi~l8lons, to considor this problem. Certain decisions were roachad which, It is, hoped, will improve conditions i n tha mturor

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- 3 -* “““t Pmut be kopt In m i n d , however, that there rill probably contiwe t o be som slgnlficant rxporuros until the new Cm-1 Lab I8 r a w for occupancy. ‘Lh. othor problom relater to tho Ilall-aut from the cloud following operatiom at Bapo fir- alto. It m a - fonuu imlt that little o r no rig nlf l cant radlorativlty . of theso oporations. More recent observations have &om that thir is not tho caae. Very sigalilcant 1e-U o i #ti* lty can bo doporitod an the ground, a t least *thin a rdior rently in progress and the matter rill be dirrcussed huthu in futuro reporti. Problem connected with the Hospital likewise dividob them80lort into two headlngrl fWum rdminlrtrrtion of tho Hospital and the Horpital’?t.ti. T U subject has been brought into sharp focus by the anis not prllcurily concerned i n t!.fs matter fyor ~--ia&f!:lstrative p o i n t of view, h-Division and the University ere obviously ln to rer ted parties. tiom with Dr. Whlte, d t h Mesars. &cy & Tyler, arrd al.0 during the week of Yey 10, had the opportunity to discurr the mrttor very fully with Dr. John Buwars, during his visit t o Lor U.PK)B.T i virion rill continue t o maintain an active one of thoro refers t o tho-- . I have had a number of cavof8a-

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‘wrest i n this matter In order to esduro all Unlvrrslty rployoor tho h ll he st quality of medical service in the combty tor thehrolvos and their i a mili or * A t tha sum tho work has been progreaslng on oca= letin( tho prellmlnary plans for tho new EIorp1t.l buildlng. 0sit. which hrr boon definitely chosen I s on tho south’ f tho &a Ala~osYosr, just oart of the propoaod bridgo aur08r a e canyun, The size, 8-0, and contours of this site 0rr.r 1the brrt location avallrblr. A numbor of conforencer hma :been held 81th Dr. n i t s and the archltwtr to MSWO clore nhvsical collaboration between H-Division and the Borpftal, Fcertain disrdvanteges, although fn genersl this seem8 t o bo avoid unnecrrrrry duplication o f laboratory f.c il it le re This work is progressing in a cost satisfactory manner. liminary conversation8 are albo being held concerniry the pomment Medical and Elologlcal Research Laboratow which, it 1s understood, w l l l br constructed adjacent to the Hospital, rl th fun0 ;hick It I s hoped ~ l l lbe Tade available In the 1551 vance slowly; we cmat r.ake definite comitr?ents uxtil a e dlscovor precisely what facilities of H-Division w i l l be contained i n the Hospital building Itself. that preliminary drawings nay be ready for final appDov6d bY I t is hoped, however, Tho Laboratory has been fortunate in obtaie-i”g, OU 8

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[w Ridge, t o supotvise Health Physics problaw existin( 'minetok in connection with the current decontamination ~ d u r o s . Dr. Ray departed for EniTetok on April 30, aad DO only second hand report8 havo so far coae back, i t h u statod that the diff'icultles so far encountered h.vo b u n 38 seriour than was anticipated. . . Staff Members and Rerearch dssistants 21 Due t o the current short8go o f personnel on nccouat of vacaticns in the Bio*yslcs Section, no report from this section is made this. month. engaged maywl $ h M effort to gather more data on the faout of radioactive material from the cloud The Biophysics Section has been

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e discovery ofa new mining operatic n being lnstltuted by e Santa Po Rrmlce~Company i n Guajo Canyon ata distance of Foblern has beer. facilitated considerably by tta asslstanco t'Wtachnent a t Klrtland Air Force Bas.. This problem has been rendered sonewhat acuto by bout 3 miles from Bay0 Slte. Study of the radioactive c l a d Capt. Kuchnast and other personnel *om the Yoteorolog1c.l' Tho gathering of data dloactlve fall-out is made very difficult by the rugged 1 terrain t o the north and enst of aayo Canyon, In which direc - tion tke cloud is usually blown. Ccnslderable t i n e has been spent Ln seeking means of access, by horseback or jeep, i n t o the canyons and cnto the memas that lie t o the north and e a t o f the Biophysics Section will be included ina subsequent Further information on this and other work On Xay 20 the cloud from the &yo shot drifted ovor I section of the main road t o Los Alanos l:ring somewhat to t h e o f the Frijoles junctlon, tnti ; bait3 riles fron Beyo give beta-gama readhgs of from 5 t o 10 n r h r an6 it was necessary t o institute a road ble until the absence of a serious lnhalatfcn hazard to notorlsts had been established. c In tke work outlined In the Predeeding two paragrapha Invaluable assistance was given t o the Health Security Service, both by the cooperation1-

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d tiscugh tne use of their excellent radio conzunlcatlon :lo iurti.er overexposures have occurred at the Pojarito A few slight overexposures again occurred at the B a y 0 Working conditions there are currently very difficult on account of the urgency of the experimental progran, the exceptionally large quantities of material now rbeing handled, and the general 3presd of contamination I n th. 'laboratory, The latter problem has been the subject o f a conference betr.een representatives of the C U i Dlririon aad t : , e iiealth Division, and a serious effort it being nade to clean up the laboratory. Air Comand, Omaha, Nebraska, from Uey 11 through 18, toconsult with tke Operrticns Analysis Section on radiologic aiiety The Section Lezder is cx rent ly on a Konth's Daily pE neasureaents are naw Seing takep?qf the developer bef cre each day I s developre

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d . Cases of overexposure t o personnel ..5 (These should be da8igMtOd a b In a c 0 8 1 of f. Vehicles checked for contamination . 26 1) Decontaninated 5y this section a . 7 2 ) hcconimnled by nonitor t o shop ....2 g. Pocket chanbers tested and calibrated 372 Clemedt 1 grlnder and 250 I b s . lead bricks. a: IC risc e ii u eo us ~ LLS c) I scrap netal load

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FY d. On0 hcur discussion with Sandla prrroml on film and grocersing, for WX-5. Exposura war negligiblet ing Health Division. f g. Discussed radiologic problons and precautlom mith C. A. dtrango of hndia Base. h. Calibration end voltage chew, minometors on a nonthly basis.

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Whigplc, Dr. Lushbaugh, Dre Carter, end X l s s Poskonaki attandmg , for tho Furpose of reoremi zing the €hm~tology Section snd giving it z core definite arocrm, of guldance and de fl nl - tlon ofits objectives. Dr. Lushbcugh is to be I n charge of the hematology lrboratory fror! the poirrt of view o f deciding what procdures we desirable or should be addtd o r deleted, an2 t o integrate hexatologlcal 2rocedwes as carriec? on in Q-aulidine w i t h those carried on by the hospital f:enatologlsts. Dr. Carter is t o be responsible for tho reviewing o f current honatologlcal records, for the calling In of ?ersonnol for exazinstion for those vhc sl,ca ebnornal findings, and Any drastic changes In the honatologlcal procedures are t o be node after consultation with D r . Lushbaugh, Dr.

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UN CLASS IF IED Trot April 27 t > r x $ ; k y 10, Dr. Srier visited t h i s laboratory will undertake s0c.e studies in beryliiun toxit o attand 8two day pastgraduate cowst in Industrial nygrene.

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UNC t As s IFf El d . Positive polo niu asscys congleted ..0 T;;: ma lys es............. 4;

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hine Shop and is mu being tested p r i o r to use In tiie field, X proposed new air ssJepl:ni instrur.ent deslgnbd and built by the University of California st Los iurgeles Is nou being d , k seriea cf urine suifote analyses were done F an s as les ccilecreti at s site fx t ; The results of tihis series were sotletthat inconchslve and failed to inciicate u ? y excessive exposure .

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stairs of V-Shop. He felta pain In his back which recurred on mend he reported t o the I;ospItal, The lnjwy tics dirgrorad a8 a back strafn and the employee was sent horn for sufford a back strain while helplnc to lift a nold neighing about 100 pounds. -re;lortrd t o the hospital the next day and was haspitellzed. The extent of his disability \7as 3,churt her back on the morning of- Her work consisted of moving cardboard boxes about one foot cube Felghlng 15 pounds. The pain in her back recurred rcore severely In the afternoon of tket dcy mcl she uts broqht t o +31~ilcZi:~. F r m there she was takon to the hospital o;here she w a s hospitalized for the back strain, Extent of disability: li days. 1. An otterpt i s being rade t o recruit the services 2. T!,e Grcup Lesder atterded the lfttiofisl Fire Prothe week o f Gey 16, 3, The 1,doctrlnation Prozran for orienting Secxrlt:; aid Fire Protection personnel in pottntiol Ltbcrttor:? eLer-

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4. The Laboratory coo.nerated with the Los film os comity nide Clem Up Leek cmpolgn sponsored by the AEC Santa Pe Office for the i7ee:c. of 1 . k ~9 . The Laboratory had an overall clean UP schedule In addition t o t h use of appro5, On May 12-13 t t e serni-cnual ABC sponsored Safety Information betin @was held at Los JUBROS. zttendance by Leboratory safety personnel, there vere many representatives from various Laboratory groups attending one o r more the sessions, ’r V i t a % on the anenla End leukopenia following radiation was completed end tke report i s nom in preparatlcn, Lon2 rmge stidios OR the enerfciur. m3 plutczluz

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d , Depositioa of rrdioi8otoiei in newborn a, The Effect o f Chllllng on the Lethcl b. Seta Ray Burns o f HumurSklnl k Report of Assisted Rith rebuild- o f Omega pile, Flnlshed .first draft of Chapter XIof Radiologic Defense, Vol, 11, Forked on lithim shield for roentgenmeter. Cg?t. Fryne S. Harrls reportad for duty on 2 Cay, lie has r;orked on lithium shield noted above and OR a new vacuum Lost of the r m t i A rrcs spent in getting the instrunent room into *;;orking condition after the inst: ll ation of the ultrrcentrifuge, A nuaber of prrlinlnary rum hcve been =de on c q - s ttl line egg slbur&, The lnstrunent I s Li excelle-t rade on solid substmcos I n tix forn or' fllns evgporated on is t o be extended.

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we still in tho arocoss o f studying the conditions io Irbelin: of c:*cLohex: ncna c i t n CL4. #e are now studying the usine the tk or lun salt. supply of formaldehyde labeled vdth C l 4 before coqletion, Dents with the conversion of 38 C.03 first t o Bo C** then to acetylene gave us yields ranging from 85 t o 92%. slnays a questlon Ln GUT cinds 1-hether some of the acetylene cas reduced t o etiiylens by the nascent hydrogen producad by the action of mater on the excess bui\tm. Accordingly the acetylene produced was analyzed. The ?racess was a l s o in.-roved fn that nitro: n was used In ;lace of helium, were 97-9s o f theory bcsed on tk.c celat of beriun czrbor.ate The yields obtainad, the labeling of 'XZ v 4 t i - i C14 Lave been nade. tics of Zrriu-, Ccrboncta t c .*.cL:: Ieix.

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0 , p-C-minobenzolc acids Ten millicuries of berim carbonate has been converted t o p-minobenzofc ac I d for distribution by the A tonic Znergy Connisaion.