H Division Progress Report (March 20 - April 20, 1959) (Redacted)

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Any unururl activity In the over - all LASI. prom is reflected i mediate ly i n the ro quil u mtr placed on the Health Dlvfiion. state of readiness vhlle uncertainties d delays in the schedule have cawed mentioned a t this time: It vas arrumed that the Jet emeretng fraa the Kid reactor would l n all probnoillty be practic8lly iw iai ble. rendering it extremely d.lf,*f cult to gain aa est l mtc of the clmd height orto permit sampling by al rcm ft. proposal to d i s c h u ~ eJ A M bottles alongride the reacter was lrdc by the i!-6 and, dcrpik the ~ iura ~ c r rOS Kirtlrnd Air Force b e that these would :&a fine clopd of m e , they turned out to be j u s t as smokeless u th rewtor itsel?. This difficulty h r rince been remedid. conrt.nt waftering supervirion of 8-1 personnel. unexpected mleuer of mdioactivc g u , the exposure to .IIpenocmcl ha0 been kapt it rtU mmitr its find rqport bracket. A t the same ttr mnauramb of the privry X - m y spectrum vith the X ray operating at ksiovoltagea of 100, 150, 200, 250, md 300 have been cciaplettd. All H-Dtvlrim programs whlch fonn a part of this operation have been in a Only a single one of the H-DivIsia progrrmr V I 1 1 be Althoua there have bean 6 w - i The plutonium w d monitor developed by €I-6 18 taw tdy for ure .IThis puticulsr prom is atwd a t the ultl.b \ developrant of an energy Independent f l h badge. ~ntur80h.r kea 8 reria. of symposfa for medical -1 a m a m d by the One of the most succ er rful of these co Ubon ti vr

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put1cip.t. i n t h s e rynporia, and feeling that much @od is being accanpushd bu ladc it 8 wtlmag cxperiacc. Cen. Louis T. H e a t h has been of extreme help in geawca~~sugport which he nac; Ziven. 1. Lt. James Tillotson 0:' 'iirtland Air Force Base spent 10 Aays in :ne 2. Four memborr of *he Croup attended the Nuclear Conmas et Cleveland. Obfo, April Ir through April I?.. 3. Rqnond Pederron WBS assigned as a swcial monitor ntthe Kcv& 1. Ten monitors cmplezed the nonitor trainin,; program condccted by b n d d McKcnm. These men received 2% hours of Fnstructim in t3s.c X e a l t h ?hysi:s. 2 . Expoaurc reports for external radlation received during :he 1st quarter of 1959 were ccapilcd d distributed to the LASL 3fvislon Leaders, Z:n Company, and m. The highest exposure reported during this period was 2.66 run.

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'&e -*Cy of relocation centers -0 eotrblished and hilo utp lou A 0- yu mdc of P Ucst and St- to determine the number of 8-305. including M rrtimatc of will be needed to cover the project. solids ignited vhilc being di8eolved. beaker vhich ' a s in a drybox. The burning materiai .-*asionfized in I cmtaairmtLoo vas found on the rorm equlpratnt. oxide vu blovn out of a hood vhen 'he s w l e can war opened. The floor in front Of the hood had t o be decoabminattd. A. Accidcnt Record Jm. 1 to A p r i l 1. 1959 rn Number of Disabling ic:ur:?s 5 16 (*Xnclubes a charge of 1 2 , ~ ~days f o r FJO fatalities) m-3, caught his foot beween the L ask sic lift and ankle. Lort

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1. There vu a awl fire in the -1 of Bciiding 265 at SSite vhea Zia velderr were dins mcullficationfi on the oufldinq. top l a Racr A-221 of the Afhinistration 3uildin5. 2. A caadmser la ea el%ctronic chassis burned Out and scorched a beach D. Motor Vehicle Accidents Jan. 1 to April L. 1959 m Nunber of Accidents 8 34 an SP-4 driver struck an adjacent vehicle ;hen puiling way Imp a l o d i n g dock April ll throu@ 18 was Spring Clean-Ug Week aad this office and tkte A Letter on vehicle safety vas d is tri but d to all-Pmject 400 personnel at An R-1 driver acraped a fire nydrant g u u d pO8t (durger: the Nevada Test Site. Campbell. Alvin Graves and tiaemer Schreiber. April 17 and 18 were she dates ET a mt;onv?dc Civil Defense Test. Alert. This office coordlnstcd the acti'flttes vith in *:ne Laboratory. A .tu& is being made of t h e need for gumm sensing 81- devlccs for Si-, Arrsngements have Seen made f o r James 3mush. a canpressed gas consultaut to the hboratcri, to visit the Nevada Txt Site and survey :he gas installations and related facirlties. Listed in the report of hwestlgatior. 0: :he K e l l t y critfca1:ty accident. Tbe Group Leader has Seen in:ited ;o go =o b e l l . Eogiand. the United K i n g l a A-c Energy Authority's nuclear Laboratory, to advise them on nuclear

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crltlcality problems. XY& Putton and Cordon ilnsen, 3 - 3 . v i l l scconpar~yRoy Retder to bgl.nd dur2ng the week of Hay 11. swles of trLJrr ta ncy CXF-5 enuployea. fl&htln# ud related pm ble as of tw dling plutonium. Jats Stearns urll give a 'alk on fire The LB9 AEC Safety information meeting vill be held in Chicago on bky 26 A paper giving inatructions for the handlicig of Liquid kydroqen ahipplmzlt8 The paper included Lnstmctions on encrge.?cj' 3::;cn ;::ch as spills and fires. Roy 3eider returned from t n e iicvach Test Jitc o n I*!rirch '5. Roberx Penland In the p u tt o Lhe eact ilse of the Amy Ordnance :*;an%al -3 cxplosl..rs Op em ZiO DS. the mud has been used as guide. explain ln vrittng each aeviation from the manual. I t is n w being proposed chat the Labontcny ' %e paocsduzas for dlspoul of HE coatulxmted v u t e M being re-ecnlukd 8nd tl&h%enedup to prevent the possibility of contaminated materials being improperly dfrpored of.

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concentmtlon and surface contuninatLon during and after the shots. famd to cootala coruldrrrble surface con tr pati a a from beryllium dust. ln~ertimt%olryu yd. of tb. conccntntlonr f-d i n the air by nsuspensiaa Oi the beryllira durfng neeping operations. sampler will be *ea in a continuation of t h i s resuspension investigation. bt. im of c o a r i d ~ b l cvalue fn predicting the extent of ha& f0 be e.xpected in m area having a mearured deyee of sw face contamination. 3A syximrn a l r concentration of 7.8 *&/I4 Group SD-i - a s supplied vi+& a repuator snd a filter for the m cov cry of lithfum hydride plcked ';p by nrhsust ventilstion durh1: mh in in q opcmtlonm. A study vLs d e of the smoke problem f a the 3eat - Tmt Shop a d recamenbat:ons YM made for admitting d d i t 1 W fresh air to replace that exba#ted by the roof faa8. A t the request of the Snglnaaing -nt, a study vu a e of the Deputanent. Thrce hood8 in a new buildLng 4 t w Site vece studied and oae YII famd to have exce88ive ventilation and a hi& nolse level.After the hood has been As a result of complaints of b m i sir lo one section of the Graphic complsfnts M v t been received. 3 . Reseuth and Dcveiopacnt and efflclency are now being nude. hrve been shlpped to N"S and ali prepumtiozbr hve been coniplctec 3rthe :'allout 2. All ncecisary suppllcs for the Group's participation in Siwi - A cperatims The complete pro sam can he inltiated on one veek'a not1;e. 3 . A d l camcrcLilLy-svaflable fan vas studied tx) deternine vhether it is sultbblc a8 sm air sampler that could be worn b y a tndlvidual. Xwvaver, t h e voltne o f eir templed through a fllter of rtBsmablc site was Found :G be too dl. ?ha unit -8 then modLffed by fabricating 8 mall fan wheel modeled Ceca t k e

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~l*ctr&IX v8cu.m claumr rotor. ?hen this unit v u not able to 13oyc enough air, aad f t appear$ that a different approach m a t be used :n tbt search :'or a amall 4. Report8 have bean rubaltted ta D-Dlvtrioa on tho Lighting surreys mde I n the Rqort Library .od in the &in Lib-. at cu uc of odninlatrativc difflcultiea, it vu not possible to pmceed in retting up expcrlwntal lighting as i1rcviou8ly Recolrad.tioar were made for a ncy method of 'abbinq the reports aud for 5. Une wmber o f the Croup, vtii is a member of t h e xi% COnmittec on Rerplrrtoxy Protective Devices, served an a sub cm ltte c developing A statenent of full c mitt cc at the Industrial Xealth Confcreace on Apr:: 28. groceeding on the ccmpllotion ci &%a for s complete rrpors on the IGroup's vorx on respiratory protective eayignecr.. Porving on the American industrial Sygene Association Camafttee on Respiratory medB in thi8 f:eld. The repor: of thio committee uiil 'ot prraented to the Jork is also The A880~latfOn is COInpilLUg a marmd 011 rropiratory protective equiwnt. Z h mammal swey of CWG.IIC~pmttctive equipant hsl beeca stutd. TA-9 and TA-16 have been checked during thia period. trlk OLI re#pirstort as p u t of the truinlng course for mitors. of tho Group evea talk entitled "Resplrrtwy Protective Equipment for Fadioactivc ACK)80lS" a8 part OS the nuclear reorientction course b t Sandin Base. One mber of the Group e v e Operation8 Of ii et. 1. Air sraplcs collected or f i e l d tests made for:

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1. work in Pro us m a. Wauurrarfi of the priq X-ray spectnrm bve been mde wfth the X-zuy machine openting a 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 kilovolti, wittr a 5 m i l dinmeter limiting aperture for reducing the t o t a l counting Late of the crystal spcctmn, Md icd fil trs tion of the :OO 0 Lpectrut,. Sinilar mealiurements with still to be made. h co mkd into ths X-ray coutrol csbinet t o rcwSatc the zube cum cnt has heen p u t 8 of thc wound monLtor touching an sdjacmt Up& counter, thua formine a

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eohr- 80 t&t its field of view a t 30 tt colliprtarr vere abipgcd to Ncvadr. The E l 0 arutmn absorbers vere canpleted by CMB-6 and there and tho No daaa8a vas done t o this eqtrip.ent durlng is about 65 in. in diameter rather c. Attempts to measure the resoliltion of the 1 rn pinhole with bt tr t mo radiation vczh unruccesiful md the pinhole has been sent t o :;rvadn. 2. ilork in Promess Ordaacce Officer st A l m e d . Naval Air Station to roe If the Navy had any JATO units that wulb pmduce smoke. C d at Kirtllad nFB has provided UI vith ten % electrically fired smoke pot.. Paul Gut br ls, J-11, hac cimtacted the Arm jet Corpoxution a t S.cruwnw, Curmi., rod purcbued 3 JATO units which 8ra the asphalt base type caumonly ham kJ "Old scficauled f o r the 28th of April. tyge or types of ordnance will be used to pr=duct. therq. : tredS ~ QKO. aad fonrsrded t o J-Divlsioi personnel. The JAMun its vere of the smokeless type. 3 e Sectioc contacted :he Air The Section i s to rcpc8t the experiment again during -,he P l a n 15 event Tests vill 5c m n in -.kc r'ielb -.c rie ten iaru to t a. Say0 field support f o r the Bay0 Cnnyon operatien .;as grovtded on Orientation of t h e wind equipment at ?ayo (?o:nr 'Jeatker) uas

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8 . &wilpomtal.--Air s8mpl.s have been about the same as last month. wltlc@ hip vh.n tbt source of the d r is im the northwest. %e source of mOlskrzr m y be either aoutbwest frmn the Gulf of California, or southeast, frum the cull of Mexico. b. -.--A survey of the Laat tvo years of shots at any0 Canyon Zivts an rwryr rd tui of intensity of 3 m/hr a t tvo miles down szreamt. 1mr / khs been found a t five miics darn strea. a half-life of rpproximtely 60 hours (as found v i t h parti:lCs picked up) fiiveo m infinite dose of approximate:y 55 mr. order of six shots only could be ?:red par y e a r . :onridertng the tolerance o f 0.5 r/yT for u o cont ml hl populated areas. week of Aprll. tOpthcr vlth uncertainty factors for the valuer. XQ4 and puts vi U probably appear i n the next sdp on ud l report. One mr/hr at time of fall, -dith '%us. I: shots veic fired wizhout rim Valuer of dose for awe three hundred coumnitfes were M L V ~ at, The report MS prepared for the vere asrayed for radioactive contaminants. Traces were found in the circulating alpb activity. On ?do oilc8sior.s huring the moth relatively high values of activity were i'ound ir. tanka t o be ieluased. Enqineerlng phrsoanel were advised, and :kc --anks vcre mined in three bat:hes, c . Envtromcnt vatc ss.q~l~:sar? in pyy ~ c s sf u r analysis.

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m w rtubiea w real tk d ta determine mst effective methoda of treaacat. dta.qm lit y -ved considerrbly. As a result of increased flw a 011.-tiam, overtime operation h s been require& and probably vill ba raqpired for at hast M additional veek. mate received. Effluent qdity vas unsatisfactory 3: first unl After a rwier of rump pwap failures the entire eLcctrLca1 circuit * a s checked d The Ten S i t e plant was cpcrated thmugnou; morr of the period except B . Research rad he loan t I.o.--ibmma fyvrtq tir v u to *'\ solutfaa of the lmedirte treat unt problsllr b w & t on by the high flow of relatiwly hi& rd lo act l ve vaste described above. aatisfrctary and I large sample vas retained for further study. de undtrstsnd t h t ule altxmtion may recur. volume of flow. Results vert not entirely UC also expt-t t4 develop m e w of redccing the the IP plant for several months and contxmcd p.rpcr:lrtnts w i l i be ;?sac t o detemlnc chemicals &ave very good clar:fA:ation snd tatisfactory :e-cwal of sock p s s acta and rtrontium activity. General combinations of

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periodic rurvryr in the future in order to obtain a more nearly caaplete pic tun P-1 mting the Amy ' s Mobile Xater Purification Unit right be Ucpcted, m r f ~ c etoomion of 3%.v m t e 18 lov - an 1W a8 dlrtilled v8ter - vith mr k d variatfonr fna byto day. 1W …