Hanford Works Monthly Report for May 1952 (Deleted)

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Operated for the Atonic Efiergy Condssion THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED ON THE OPTICAL DISK DRIVE

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Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Knolls Atomic Power LaboratorJ Atomic Energy Commission Hsnford Operations Office Atomic Energy Gommission Hanford Operations Office Atomic Energy Commission Hanford Operations Office

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Financial Department ..................... 1-1 through 1-4 Utilities and General Services Department Plant je curit y and Services Section ......... Ja-l through Ja-37 Statistical and Computing Services Section . Community Real ......... Services Department E l Community Services Section 1b-1

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Production forecasts were exceeded i n the ."%tal ?reparation Plant, Reactor Plants, Sedox Plant ar.d Uranium Oxide Plm-t. represented another new record prodxtioc, PhospkaLe Plm-ts was 5x7 5% OP forecast 0wir.T t o divsrsior: or' foed t o t h 2 Production from the 3ismth Ruptured slugs continue to be hzndled e-editiously, altho qh ruptured tubes continue t o be sources of water leaks leading t o tenporary losses o f reactivity. The ruthenium particle situation at the liedox Plant remained essentially the same as reported last month. Eve Class I radiation inciderlts were recorded. Ggineerinq and Technology A n improved method of drying aut a wet pile was used successTully atH Pile, Based upon extensive experinentation, thema - ximm allowable telnperat'me in moderator graphite has been increased from 38OoC t o hlO°C. Substantially half of design engineering effort was devoted t o the lcXW reactor, which i s approximately 16% complete. A firm chemical flowsheet and preliminary specification f o r pulse column cont actors for a Pura plant were completed during the month. Labor difficulties, including shortages of craftsmen and poor performance; continue t o delay construction projects. Personnel and Semices In spite of the nation-wide shortage of technical personnel, the acceptances of offers made t o new technical graduates indicates that our quota will be The plant roll decreased t o 8,804, as did the turnover rate,to 1.52%. There were 685 applications f o r housing pending. Richland tied for first place i n the International Chiefs of Police trar'fic law enforcement competition for cities of its class. Kadlec Hospital's Annual. Open House included t h e new additions. the usual large crowd.

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Assistant t o the General Manager, General Administration .... G. G. Lail Manager, Community Real Estate and Sdces.......... Le F. Huck

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The total production for the month MS ll9 tons, ufiich included n tons w f 4-inch material and 86 tons of 8-inch material. 101 p e r cent of forecast. per cent respectively, for 4-incn and 8-inch material. The canning yield of 76.5 per cent for 4-inch material isa reduction of 6.5 per c e n t of the unusually high performance in April. yield is an average performance based upon the past severalmonths. The 8-inch canning y i e l d was 73.1 per cent representing an increase of 8.9 per cent. This increase was primarily attributed to the reprocessing of stained material, and secondarily t o the reduction of rejects with emphasis The Melt Plant produced 56 tons of s billets with a billet yield of 85.0 per cent and a solid yield of 93.6 per cent. There were two autoclave failures during this period; one 4-inch piece for . a frequency of .OS per thousarid one 8-inch piece fora frequency o f .Os per thousand. The failures were attributed to the wald in the &-inch piece and aside failure in the 8-inch piece. This production represents The machining:yields were 78.1 per cent and 4046 The reactor input was lls.& per cent o f forecast and represents a new record of production. This also includes an increase of k units per diem for a new record. This record production was primarily attributed to a minimum of outage time. Reactor output production was 99.6 per cent of forecast; There were 1 2 uranium slug,jacket failures during May, of which nine were Group 8 and three were Group 7. scram recovery the avoiding approxbately 200 hours of potential outage time. Eight failures were discharged within the The operating efficiency for the reactors was 91.3 p e r cent representing an increase of 1.2 per cent over t h e previous month. due t o the high number of "fast" pushes or ruptured pieces, and the 99.8 per cent efficiency at the F Area where only 1.2 hours of outage time during t h e month was encountered. This increase was prima rib

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There were.two instances of ruptured tubes resulting i n water baks i n t o the high moisture i n the gas system indicated a water leak a t the B reactor and was l a t e r confirmed in tube 206243 during ruptured piece removal. siderable loss of reactivity during a normal start-up ofthe 100-H reactor indicated the possibility of a water leak, 3261-R, which also contained a ruptured piece. areas was dpproaching normal rate at month's end. Both were associated w i t h ruptured pieces. On May &, This was confirmed in tube Water collection in both A total of 25 runs and 2 acid'washes was started in the Canyon Buildings, representing 57 per cent of forecast. Material originally scheduled for the Carqon Building w a s diverted t o the Redox operation, One hundred and ten runs were started in Redox for 105 per cent of forecast, A total of 134 runs and two acid =shes was processed i n the Isolation Building and was 93.8 per'cent of forecast. phosphate process was 66 days with a minimum of 60 day material used, This represents an'increase from the previous months of 40 day minimum a minimum of 50 day material used. The average cooling time in the bismuth The average cooling time in the Redox process was 56 days with The average p u r i t y of completed charges from the bismuth phosphate process was 98.8 per cent, and from the Redox process was 99.3 per cent. Solid material in the alumintim nitrate that has been used directly from tank cars caused considerable trouble. ineffective, however, some effect i s noticeable ken the material i s allowed to settle. Feed rates up t o four tons per day were realized during this period with no unusual difficulties encountered a t the high A total of 58.9 tons of uranium as UO was produced this month whichwas Filtering of the material was 107 per cent o f forecast. Fifty-six 2ons were shipped, Sluicing operations inthe 101-U tank have been erratic because of a series of mechanical failures of the equipment involved. progressing normally a t month end. Total on Roll April 30, 1952 Total on Roll May 31, 1952

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Business Trips (Manufacturing General) Light and Power Association on May 7 , 1952, i n Great Falls, Montana. He a l s o visited Schenectady for consultation with B.R. Prentice and staff on study being made of Nuclear Electrical Power Generation on P. E. Lowe visited the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory for consultation on Reactor Development and Tests.

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811 persons engaged i n work that might reasonably be expected to result i n inventions o r discoveries advise that, tothe best of their knowledge and belief, no inventions o r discoveries were made in the course of their work during the period covered by this report except as listed below. Such persons further advise hat, for the period therein covered by this report, notebook records, i f any, kept inthe course of their work have been examined for possible inventions o r discoveries. Hubert Gwinn Henry Metal Preparation Section Polytetrafluoroethylene Resin" "Bonding, Molding and Welding Reactor Process Tube Sputter

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METAL PREPARATION SECTION There were no changes of responsibility during the month. Bare Pieces Machined (Tons,bw) Bare Pieces Machined (Tonsy8w) Acceptable Pieces Canned Chip Recovery Yield (%> April May To Date

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Metal Preparation Section oxide Burned (Weight Out Tons) Poison, Chemical. 68-56, 10-66 Canning Total Steam Generated (M. l b ) A n . Rate Steam Generated (M.lb/hr.) Sanitary Water from 3000 Area Well Water Pumped (Million gal.) Total Water Average Rate (gpm) May To Date Ac ti vi ties The eight inch canning yield increased by 8.9%. t o reprocessing stained material and 3.7% resulted from reduction Fn Two pieces failed in the autoclave test during the month; one, afour inch slug, failed due toa pinhole i n the weld; the second, .an eight inch slug, failed at the sidewall, - Added emphasis has been placed on t h e reduction of non-seats. Attempts are being made to isolate each suspected variable contributingto this problem and determine its particular effect. temperature, metal composition and slug warp appear t o be the major contributors but no conclusions have been reached. The program for improving welding quality has been further expanded. All types of welding and bonding rejects have been classified,illus - trative samples prepared*and training lectures presented t o welding operators and inspectors. Noticeable improvement i n welding quality

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Metal Preparation Section HW-24605 Production Test 313-105-2M - "Triple Dip Canning and Irradiation of Eight Inch Uranium Slugs Fabricated i n Heavjr Walled Aluminum Cans" (HW-22k63). Approximately 21,500 acceptable slugs were fabricated i n accordance uith this test during the month. whereas rejects from marred surfaces, corrosion and stains were reduced mately 100% have been machined and 70% have been canned. this test is being written for the continuation of the eight inch program. Rejects from non-seating showed an increase, O f the total of 100,000 pieces covered by this test, approxiProduction Test 313-105-3M - "Fabrication of Alpha Lead Dip Canning and Irradiation of Salt Bath Heat Treated Alpha Rolled Uranium Slugs" (HW-22770). Houghton Liquid Heat 980 was substituted f o r Liquid Heat 300, and 2300 f o u r inch slugs were successfully treated i n this bath. was installed in the lead-AlSi bath t o provide the necessary vigorous agita900 slugs were canned without difficulty. Production Test 313-120-M - nHigh Amperage Welding o f Triple Dipped Canned S1upstt (HW-2kO21 and HW-2k86). This test was initiated to establish opt&um'procedures for weldin@;canned slugs a t high amperage. 2,000 slugs had been welded i n accordance Kith this test. Machining production was 3.2% above forecast, attributable to working an Canning production was 1% above forecast. creased yield. This is attributable to the inThe installation of all four 200 ampere welding transformers has been completed. The Wage and stops on the welding tables have been overhauled t o eliminate backlash in this mechanism and improve quality of welds. A shop fabricated 60 KW mace was installed for special use in canning operaThe use of aluminum process tube sections i n the autoclave baskets has increased the capacity of the autoclaves and has contributed considerably tothe reduction of stain rejects in eight Fnch material. A method of recovering free tin from the tin dross was developed. mated that this will result in an annual savings of $9,000. It i s esti-

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DECmD Metal Preparation Section A new type of high voltage sup?& was developed f o r semi-portable gives better regulation and will impmve instruiient operating This supply is less expensive t o build and nain tain, 2. Inventions and Discoveries All people i n the Metal Preparation Section engaged i n work which might be expected to result in inventions ' o r discoveries have reported t h a t no inventions or discoveries were made during the period covered by t h i s report other than the following: Molding and Welding - Polytetrafluoroethylene Resin," invented by H, Gwinn Henry of the Process Unit. I]. Events Influencing Costs There was no labor o r material variance which might be expected t o significantly influence costs. E. Plant Development and hans ion Project C-199 - 300 Area Sewage Disposal System. Construction i s about 82% complete. been poured and reinforcing steel for roof slabs i s being placed, Project C-433 - Ekpansion of 300 Area Power House and Pumping Design is essentially complete and construction i s approximately 15% complete, The wall footings and floor slab have been poured electrical conduit have been installed. footings and part of f l o o r slab have been poured in 384 Building and the tube installation in #4 boiler is in progress. The septic tanks walls have The service pumps and underground The condensate sump, wall Erection of steel for induced draft fan tower i s complete Project C-394 - Outside Facilities and Utilities for Gboratory Area. Construction i s about 51% complete. from North Richland has been completed and is i n service. Work i s in progress on underground steam, condensate and air lines, Project c-&81 - Equipment f o r 8" Slug Manufacture. Fabrication and installation of equipment for producing 8" slugs in t h e 300 Area has been completed. A revised project proposal is being prepared f o r extension of time, scope and allocation of funds f o r the installation of 100 Area unloading facilities, The entire project i s The twelve inch import water line

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Metal Preparation Section Labor standards for the fluoroscope, facing and welding operations Were Further tests were made t o determine the possible advantages of using a circular metal saw for the finishing cut on canned slugs rather than the existing facing lathe. characteristics appear t o be improved. The saw gives a superior cap finish and the welding The saw is now being modified fora Work is continuing on studies of layouts for improvement of nate rial flow and inspection methods. Mechanical improvement studies were initiated during the month and a special group is devoting full time on the design of mechanical fixtures for application on the canning lines, F. Significant Reports Issued Report on Trip t o Schenectady W. A. Lewis 5-15-52 and New York Metal. Preparation Cullough Improved High Voltage Supply L. M. Palmer 5-19-52 B. Force Changes s t e of End of Plant Ehgineering Sem ces Unit 16

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Metal Preparation Section There was one sub-major injury i n t h e Metal Preparation Section during the month. Three exposures in excess of 300 m e p per week were reported f o r Melt Plant operators. The maximum exposure reported was 355 mrep. One exposure was attributed to inexperience and an abnormal amount of crucible charging; another t o slow working habits of an operator; and the third to abnormal difficulty with the Oxide Furnace Car.

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Assigned responsibilities of the Reactor Section were not changed during The total reactor input production was 115.4% o f forecast and 5.3% greater than for April. The month's total production and the per diem production represent new record achievements for the third and fourth consecutive months, respectively. The increase in p e r diem production over April of 44 units is primarily attributable to reduced outage time. Established maximum operating levels were increased 15 Reactor output production w a s 99.6% of forecast. There were 1 2 uranium slug jacket failures during May, eight of which were discharged within the scram recovery time limitation. These …