H Division Progress Report (June 21 - July 20, 1964) (Redacted)

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On ~ u n m30th H-1 was reorganized t o form a PhOtodO8Atnetry Section with Gecrgm Little john as Section hadcr. H-1 now hi. fives cc tion r : Health Phy8ici sts are attached t o the Group Office. Also on Jvne 30th. Ellery Storm transferred from the Special Problems Section t o the Croup Office where he will serve as a Health Physicist. The RaLa cell and control room a t Ten Site have been completely volved war less than 50 mad. evaluation were below the maximum permissible level. There was no rpread of contamination, althouqh the itrms removed from the cell -re The highest total dorimeter reading for personnel i n - Urine samples submitted for gross beta Uonitoring support was given H-7 from July6 throug:l July 14 during the disassembly and reas8cmbly of three cassettes that had been returned from mS. qanuna at contact,with the dose rate in the general area 15-20 inr/hr. Approximately 72 n / m /set were emitted from each pit. dosimeters. and safety glasses were worn by all personnel involved, i n addition to protective clothing. .%ll items were found free of contamiThe "Molly G " reactor was shipped from Pa jari to Site an July 20th. Above normal air concentrations were recorded during the time spent

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d is as mbl in q tho reactor and getting it ready for shipment. nome count8 me the desirable limit -re reported, the h iq her t king 136/481. Urine samples wrt analyzed for U-735: all uere within the R-1 monitorad the repair of the nose cone from th8 ffnal Plrenwx machine, which wa8 dmnaged during ashot. This nose piece, which has a Be plug inside, weighs r ever al hundred pounds and was contaminated with U-238 from the shot. H-5 waa asked for advice prior to removing the Since June 25th an H-1 monitor has been assigned full t i m e area during the final stages of installation and adju8tment by High Voltaqc Enqfrucring Corporation. They have ken attempting to secure maximum beam currant in order to meet specifications using a negative ion 80urce. During this period, highly erratic beam current has remalted i n frequent shut - dms for adjustments and modificationm of equip tent.At 10 Mev, the highest readings were found a t the switching magnet, with readings of 50 mrhr gama and 600 mreEl/hr neutrons. A. the beam current approaches stability and the equipment reaches its maximum potential,readings uill be much higher. complicated by large numbers of personnel ( o f t e n greater than SO) throughout the area, many of whom are uncleared and unbadqed. Personnel working i n the radiation area are issued film badges: so far, no overtolerance exposures have been recorded. The problem has k e n Preliminary calibrations of the type N thermoluminescent powder *re made a t six diC fe rent exposures, from approximately 0.175to 4,000 r. For exposures above 1rthe spreads in the readings at any one exposure point (from 8to 17 readings per point) were less than 3%: the precision or reproducibility is thus 2 1.5%. A t 0.175 r the precision

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'*a* f7.5%. Thew readings wre made without nitrogen flow inthe 0.1 rwuld bo better thant 2% and at0.02r about : 5%. is prelim in ary calibration of the type 7 thermoluminescenc powder was started. A variation as large as 2 was immcdiatel:, obtained. Consul t ation with the manufacturer determined that the typc 7 powder had picked u p moisture, This charact2ristic would complicate usinq t p e 7 powder €or environmental studies. It is anticipated that vith nitrogen flow the prrci8ionat A study is i n progress t o determine the type. amount, and energy of the radiation received by personnel zn each group i? the La brat cry. tia, and XEC. A ten-year (1954-1963) compilation of the photon, beta. neutron. and tritium radiation exposures rr.ceiveJ by each grou:, has been completed. Interviews with health physicists and monitors, and o n - site surveys are in progress to determine what sources are Fossesred by each group and what activities involving radiation exposure t o personnel are performed by each qroup. At the completion of this be re corn nde d . Number of Dicablina 1n)urier 2* 1 2 Number of Days Lost 7 239 is not being counted since it did not meet the American Standard Hothod of Recording and Yeasuring work Injury Sxperiezce.

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1. QI July 2 , 1964,-SD-1, rubbed a bli8ter on the knuckle of his first fin gat of his right hand while Polirhinq a metal fabrication. The blister bc me infected and it w.8 necessary to admit m to the hospital on July 8 . He returned disabling injury when he was helping unload a drill press from a forklift and the drill pres. fell over 0n toll ll)foot causing laceration of his left great toe. -_was taken to the ned ical Center where his toe waa sutured. -has not returned to work. 1. On June 3 0 , 1 9 6 4 , a tire occurred at TA-33 when a t e s t involving explosives caused a toluene f ii led detector to rupture and burn. The fire al?o damaged some electronic equipment. The lose ia being considered apart of the experimcnt rather than an accidental 2. On July14, 1964. afire occurred a t Building 25, T A - 46. The fare was caused by ;in electrical short when a switch was closed to supply power from a bank of submarine batteries vhlch were on charge. Estimated damage t o power cables and sul tc he s was $ 2,000to $3,000. Number of ac cid cnt s9 18 There was one motor vehicle accident dc ring June rnvolving a Laboratory driver.This occurred when one Government vehicle Sacked into another one.

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1. Tht film “ Pulse of Life “ was shown twice inthe Mn in imt ration Building Auditorium. familie8 wmro invited to attend and approximately 425 were atthe tw ahowingm. Thim film mhows the techniques of mouth-to-mouth breuthing and ex to mal heart comprcmaion. ey LASL ~ ul let i nannouncement, 2. The CO fir ? extinguisher system atthe Chemical warehouse was demonmtratad for the benefit of new employees of the varchouae and other interested prs on nel. 3. The Enyinaering Department and the Safety Office have worked together on the protection of an ultrasonic cleaning system which will use 150 gallons of ethyl alcohol. Thio system is proposed 4 . Pour more of the branch shops were inmpccted as part of the new program €or semiannual inspections of branch shops. 5 . Recommendatione were made by representatives J f The Zia Company, ENG-4, AEC, H-1, and the Safety Office for fencing and control of TA-1 during the salvaging of C-Shop and during the removal of the contaminated buildings of TA-1. on safety problems arising in the desiqn of a new high-pressure gaseous Air Samplinq Studies During this period a total of 28 air samples, 10 swipe

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6etcrm.int the amount of atmospheric chromic acid around chrome plating tanka. The results indicated air concentrations ZO.1 m9/X . Tvo sel enim air ran plc s wre collected during cleaning and poli8hing operations with a Xerox machine. v.8 found in the air. Seven air sampler Yare collected to No detectable quantity of re lr niu m Two air eamplcs €or iodine were collected during tb m8chining Of Small pio ces of iodine in the Main Shop. Air concentration. varc chl oro ethylene in the breathing zone of a vapor deqrea8.r operator i n CUB-6. Air concentrations ranqed Erom 175to250 PPW. corrective measure8 have been taken to eliminate these high concentration8by eliminating cross - drafts and improving operating techniques. Pollow I up samples will be collected. In ve at iq ation of Various Toxic Materirls During this period the following operations involving toxic materials verc invc8tiga tcd and appropriate re an mend at ions made. These included: The use of benzene in are fluxing operation done by use of many gallons of carbon tetrachloride by CKB-6 Powder Metallurgy, irritation of eves of worker making platinum sponge from sodium chl or op latinate,milligram quantities of beryllium being converted t o beryllium oxide by J-11, and work with CMB-9 personnel d u r i n g experiment with liquid carbon monoxide. We assisted by checking for leaks i n 8ystcm and took air SamplC6 inthe breathing zone of the operator#. ~ l lc on cent rations were well below 100 PPn. Wa continued the annual chemical fume hood ourwy by making ventilation nmasurements on 375 hood6 during this period. Of this number, 1 5 hood8 were found uns atl s factory due to lw face velocities.

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Re cm nd ation r ware made t o improve the ventilation on an Otalid machine i n GKX-7 after a compl8int o f amnonium fumem wa. inV88tig8+.d. We checked two new hoods inst,l led in the n8w TANDEM V8n De GX88ff Building. WC have made a preliminary in vem tiga tion of the vend la tion rystem inthe Adminiatration Building auditorium following -pl.int. of cigarette smoke during colloquium and staff The in-place testing of high efficiency filters. using the portable testing apparatus was carried out in four areas.Visual inspections were made in several are ask fore DOP tasting and i n most casta it was necesary to replace several damaged filters. A total of 151 high eff ' cie n cy filters were inspected for breaks and damage a s received from the carrier.Fifty - eight of these filters were inspected a t NTS prior to in at all ation in the MAD Building, and one was found damaged. Nine of the 93 filters inSpected €or stock at SM-30 were found t o be damaged. E. Research and Development 1. A final proposal has been prepared and submitted for Study of the particulate problem associated with the Kiwi TNT tests i n Nevaea. 'dy the end of this report period detailed plans and specifications of particle collecting devices had hen turned i n to 5-6 for construction, survey and supervision of the Kiwi TNT Site 2.A study is king made on the thermal decomposition of halogenated hydrocarbons and standardization of N.I.R. spectrometry. 3. Work is continuing on the isolation and purification of thorium and americium on urine samples. 4 . We have r e - initiated our invert iq ation on the ura nine aerosol generator. The aerosol is collected directly on EM grids

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d.;t the modification. made in t; system are producing a satisfactory aerosol ranging in size between 0.1 t o 0.7 microns in diameter. A spmcial study was initiated t o assist CUB-6 Powder mmtallurgy Section to determine if boranes were formed during the sintering of a borane-copper mixture in a hydrogen atmosphere in a furnace operating at apptoximataly 900.C. Tile preliminary result3 are inconclu8ivc in that w e obtained positive borane te8tS whether the material being sintered vas borane and copper or copper alone. Recommendations were made €or safe handling procedures and precautions to be taken by workmen for the following job.: 1. Repair exhaust fan from New Sigma Electrochemistry Lab. 2. Removal of exhauat duct at Omega Site. ?. Wving of a chemical fume hood in the sherwood Barn. WC investigated complaints of glare from overhead lighting in Room 237 of the Administration Building. After consulting with ENG-2 Electrical Section they made recommendations for the installation OF diff u stra which apparently has solved the problem. 1. Air samples collected or field tests made for: h ry lli um, air Water sax plea collected 2 2 1-8 -

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Trich l oro acetic Acid Miice ll m co us Mr yl rium, swipe Normal Uranium, water Source and Standards, Kiwi a . Approximately five years of local data were reduced to tabulated form during the month. I b. A comprehensive study of the winter 1962-63 is being prepared for the AEc t o be used in negotiations vith the NoxOn Compmy. COrPQarison is being made with the paat ten years to determine ifthe winter was unduly severe.

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8. &j evaluation of the hazards associated with the concluded that tho t e 8 t could 9e conducted while remaining wall vithfn tho off-rite exposure levels recommended by the PRC. b. A paper by Wuclcu Utility Servicor relative t o tho u n of Port Cell "E" a t NRDS was revieved. It W88 concluded that #u6 a m unduly peraimistic about the hazards ar soci at cd with proposed operation a t the Test Cell. 1. The cornunity remote gama monitors indicated no rcadinqa above the normal background. 2. None of the air samples collected during this period and countwl for gross alpha activity cwccedeu' ovt cutoff point of 3 . The continuous strip &ir sampler had no readings abow 4 . Sumnary of daily r a i n vatcr and air samples €or the manth of June follovs: Pre c ip. 341** 3,710- 36*+ IO, 2265. Analysem of twenty-one surface and aub6urface water sourccm were completed during t h e month. found wae 16 d/m/l ina shallow well in Mortandad Canyon, near TA-50 outfall. The maximum uranium value itas 3 bq/l in the sank- sample. The maximum plutonium V a l -

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6 . Drinking water from four fountains at DP West Site were pluto niu. Ttm rum value waa 64 d / m / mlina system subject to con at ant con tui nation. L8.A new waste pit waa inspected a tIb sita Del Bwy. The fr8cture 8ystrr reve8led is si milu to that in previous pita, and no difficulties in uaa are anticipated. continue r. nore senmitive and precise measuremezt equip mn th as been ordered. Haximn flow rates of gas seem t o be of the order of 56-76 appears to be the best choice, and the most promising location to kin Lor Alamos Canyon near Test Well 3. 10. Planning for a tracer qas injection continues. KI Uark orders -re placed t o remove all media from the sand filter8 and to disconnect and deliver the WERCO centrifuge to TA-50. T h flash mixer and t w o raw holding tank hoppers were drained and cleaned. A diaphragm pump was installed in the sludge drain line t o permit pumping heavy sludge directly into 55-gallon drums. Em-1 i 8 considering use of TA-45 space for temporary storage of salvageable material and equipment from TA-1. Initial steps touard installation of the 30.000 9allon em rg an cy overflow tank a t SM-700 were taken during the la8t week of h a s not been replaced. The force main cleanout broken by a contractor on nay 28

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?ha quantity of raw waster ece iv ad decreased slightly as carp8r.d to the previous parid and alpha activity warn below average. 0.spite a long holiday mek end. no overtime operation was r0quir.d. li,SQO gallon. of 0 7 contaminated vaste were added t o the The voluma was higher than averagef l w from Win9 9, CM! Building. duo …