Hanford Engineer Works Monthly Report February 1947 (Deleted)

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Thu Document consists of THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED ON T H E OPTICAL DISK DRIVE

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Arrivals and Departures o f Exempt Personnel, i.iI.l9 Design and Cacstruction Department ................ Project and Related Personnel. ........ ...... i

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terminated on Februcvy 28 o a major injury. This and was a fracture of the Uttle finger of the left hand. treatment as originally indicated and now comes under the major injury The injury did not respond t o medical F hi lip D. Reed, Chairman of the Board of the Geraral Electric Company, and John Cowles, member of the Board af Directors, visited the Hanford - beer Works on February ll. A meeting was held a it h the General S lect ric Company consultants a t HanfDrd Engineer Works on Tuesdqy and Jednesdqy, February 2 5 and 26. The following 3. K. Lewis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology H. Vwthington, du Pont Ccmpany, '.7ilmirgton, Delaware 8. H. Zinn, Argonne National Laboratory were unable t o attend. from Schenectady, as well as Y. 2. Xiton, Jr. a d F. if. Tkrner, Jr. from Pitts field. F. E. Seita and J. 3. Siege1 from Clinton Labmatories were on the plant for special irradiation discussions, ana atterded that portion af the Consult at s Meeting which was devoted t o this subject. The problem now being encountered atHa ford Engineer 'Jorks were discussed in detail with tkis group a d direct assistance was received inthe nature of active suggestions as t o p-ocedures t o be f oll med in investigating the problems. The visit was of great value t o members of the HarLford Engineer Rorks General Electric personnel Rho visit4the plant The Area Engibeer was furnished with copies of the knm and anticipated projects for the Hanford Ehgineer Works for the next eigkteen months. project list, or budget, was submitted t o secure approval on all projects that should be started within the next twelve months. required, esFecially on the housing request, i f the progran f o r the Hanford Engineer Works is to proceed. Immediate action is - The action that will be taken on this list - is unknown at this time. ' and 200 W respectively. The operating tine efficiency was 92.2. =_ ches were started in th s Cq yon Buildings ard thirty-ane were

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Louis If. Hildebrandt Glenn Eldon Nedervald George Robbins Kiel Ac co u t ing IT. J. Talsh Technical On Pittsfield Roll

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The 3adF P-lles were opersfed at a no mkd. porrsr level of 253 r9E.V. The 3-Pile was naiotaiiied i n stw-dby condition rr it ha The 3'30 Ares production r a t e contkued on a 60 ton per month b,3is t o meet the 100 Area nquirements. Four opera to x, t;-ro of whom were formerly employed in the 300 Are2, mere hired me assise d to t3o 300 Area. Opr at bg Efficiency Number of purses * Includes purification losses fm a car of gas unloaded this * This figure - i s 3.2 tons belm the mount of metal sc3eduled t o be disc kg ed due to a veT heavy work schedule atD &a on Felirmry 25. The remaining metal will be disc hrp d Mkch 9.

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There were no scheduled maintenance outages and no unsc-hedxlod shutdoms, month a d the nont)lly foil exposure in the Pile, vhich m s mzde on Febru9qr E, mqr be found i n the Tech icd Scction of this re?,crt. On February 7the process miter to the B Pile PIRS raised to ?690 ?.?,;F. effluent lines to the Columbia River. difr"iculties encounLered i n the F Area, The results o f those surveys are reported by the Project Engb-eering group, Nos, 105-45-? and 10541-P); 2 tubes of s p e c i d cxtruded metal, (Test slugs, (Test No, 10545-8); 1 tube of extruded "Super hes " extra high Technical section of this r q or5. smqles of varying previous exposuns. From t:?e F-Pile there vero: 1 tube of special extruded Details are discussed i n the were concected t o a continuous suppl:r of mysen, heliun, &d carbon cated IsrFr sizes t o ciotcmine if ch tte Fin g of soli2 aluninur~d umies

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Ke cb ical Exberience The kopin holes previously reported in the centra: water tube of Xoe ? Horizontal Rod at t h e B-Pile were repairad by mlding. rod tip plates se being rc.issemblcd, fol lo ning nh ich the rod nil1 be ret mcd to the pile, Under Production Tost No, 105-524, Tube No. d.325-F; 73s removed from t h e boginning of tkc t,spcred portion, aboiit 3p fYom the inner end of the front gun bqrrel. Honiiig aquipmont is bcing fa5ricated t o correct T'm rep sirs to the F Area effluent water lixs in the Columbia River borrowed for t h i s work, returned to its hcrne loczt.ion. A t t5e F-Pile, thc Mason-Neil.m valvss at t h e No. 2 mil 3 safsty flood tdcs mrc found t o be le.aking very slovly mre replzced. Both valve s33t3 shomd evidence of comosion. Tho r d is scmtchcd along the top but emc tio xs sstfsfzctoril;.. The rod hq.s 2 ahrasions iboxt URlong by *w vide on 'he t o p about 10' and 20' from the end of t h s rack section; t h s rod h wt iom sst is factor i ly, Rod thimbls a t D-Pfie m s surveyed on Febrmry 25; the

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- The Eo. 2 Rod, (discussed in last nonths =~or+,), .uld tho Zo. 4 303 a t the F-Pile ire wzi l qb le for nom do pmt ion but valved off of the omeppxcy shutdown circuit. dll bo used in di hg rapflirs t o the horizon td, rd3 listed zbove. rods, caused principally by rod gJide inc lim tion. Those rods r%ich ilesults obtsinzd fron n study of this device trouble ms atp erie ncd mith binciinq of vertic-il safety No. 32 Bod is sligktk? bent md binds ii t h e guide. op crito s freely, on Feb ru vy 27 inclfc-rt~sthat the ro.! st.ill does not opcrzte freely. This rod rubs thoth i.ble %bout 151 dom. 4- p ~ rtiz lt est made No. 36 Rod h ~ sstuck occwion.%lly. No. 35 Rod binds in t..e pid cm di3tied out. Thc rod m s oiled on Fcbruiqr U md 2 stiinless stcol bushfng pl'ts inc td lod in the bumper pl?te go-r'.de ring t c redwe friction. No. 35, rron5 into the piles nti9f z ctor il ; r under pomr ; No. 35 Rcd sppeired t o - hip vnen in notion z?d it V'LS oiled t o $ve it R The rod opr l ted Nos, 21, 27, 28, m d 3t 9ods ccc?aionzlly hwe bound slightly when being lam red under pmer but oper-.tc 'f'recPj undor emorqmcy

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During z rou the sumo7 on Feb ru q 5, high rmdings mere obtained tank hedx - 3 on top of the pile through ryl apcn v-lvc i.1 the dri.in line of thetd. The condition m s corrcc+,cd by inst ~ llii g3 W" tion due to diff cr cnt design. z ct ive air o r gw which had tr we led from the safet7 flood This pms eh w dcmonstmtcd litt lo dvm tng z

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The processing of dbonded slugs was completed drtring the month. The Chip Recovery yield was aa follows: The Oxide Curnw 713 sht dom Feb ra ryU after t5e burnin.; of the backlog n f oxides hsd been completei. m s replsced snd mko: rep.tirs were aade on the %opber before plsci, - s the burner in service on Febmqr: 25. Extrusion Floor Sweepings (3-2) 9% 713L 8130 Chip Recovery Floor Extrusion Oxides 8: Skirts (D-6) 9943 23S8 12331 Metal Slugs - Type canned ad yields were 3s follows: To Dzte To Dste total of 218 bism th slugs was cmned. Thb completes tbe cmqbg were broken dminq nssenbly. A t o t a l of 234.3 bismuth slugs was received Febrw=.l.r 2L for canning. Sik,-ty&e*ren o f these slugs were broken when received.

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Four hun3red sixty-six pieces of Spec is l Request No. 15-11 (Lithiun Fluoride), 3 pieces of Spec is l ?equest No. 27 (Calcium Oxide), and 3 pieces of Special 9eque3t No. 31 (Eoron) w e r e canned in February. Four pieces of Spec is l Request No. 15-11 fsiled t o pass the bubble test prior to cmning due to porous welds. These pieces hwe been returned tothe vendor. The thorium (3pecisl Request No. 3-2) mschincd in J mu vy ms found. t o be satis fsc to rj for process hg. on the slug and rod end shippcd to tknt loc.ition, indicTted tlhe n h i t e The mdysis reported from Chicsgo Cckvling ro j ect s, by muse, mm: R rink led Can s A1 Si on Outside of C a n The recoV;;.r- of EFC normally we god for thrzi! t o SLKmonths sarvicc. nppzrently is d m to the flux ponctrsting t'lc cr-iciblc rind steel l ker bronze m a rccovmxi th iom nth.

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This tcst is still Tho canninq of t h e July, August, .ind Septemlxr TX slugs m s completed coivcd i n Decembor, rere c-tnn,cd this month. for Production Test No. 3lf-43-14. Lot Eo. 4q is being held

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cqusod by .~flimpurity bet men the cap rrnd slug m!iich m s probqbly some conpound of ursnium s i n c e it PIRS found to be pyrophoric, The Inpurity Rcccivedw quality of c ? m , csps, m d sloevcs inspected prior Sbce Febru-ry 18, IZL5 slminum CTIS hve boen rcccivcd on i nev fouid t o be of T mcqbia qmlit7. is kobg rcportod t o the vondor.. 300 Arsn - Test Pilo rod c-dibl-ition 'it 0.10 inch inter vil s, boqiming .it 107 inchns m d extending throuzh 1l.L. inchcs on the rod.. Study of this c zlib x tion indic sts s that the best rep - od uci bil it y of rzsults crin be pined by positioning the cofitrol rod between 111 and 112 inches, comp n sq th g for chvlge in position through the use of the shim md. tion ms Tdoptsd for use on Fc bru q U., This ci lib rv mine there pra duc i bil it y of test rosults using t'?c neF cc ntr ol rod of th2 eight stringers over tho smc period RTS 3.023,.

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Thirty batches were started in the Canyon Buildings during th month and thir-ne wem processed through t h e Concentration Suildings. Thir w ne charges were completed in the Isolation Building with an averags purity of 98.6%. cessed can be attributed in part to difficulties enoountered inB Plant in restoring the 1M metal waste tr an sfsr lins to service. Since nc 39tal was available which would have cooled the standard sixty days necessary before processing during t h e period B Plant operations w3re shut down, the ov z r all effect upon production i s exp c ted to be negligible. respectively, fora combined average of B.6$. for both plants totalled Lo&:, a reduction o f i3.b. as compared t o January's perfo.mance and a reduction o f 0.G a s conpared to Sep ten br, The lower than average number of runs proAverage waste losses Canyon and 'Concentration Building Prouuction Perfornance Data - Bumber of charges started 14 14 30 Mumber o f charges completed 15 16 31 Percentage of starting product i n waste Percentage of starting product recovered Psrcentag3 of starting product accounted for Cumulative to date 102.0 101.3 101.7

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% of Incoming Product Ship nt Recycle Losses Balance Average for this month 97.7 3.33 0.10 1 G 1.1 Average to date 96.8 3.9 0.4 100 8 Average for last month 95.8 4.02 0.08 99.9 The follmring supervisory organization changes becme effective on G. E. Halm, Ssnior Supervisor, was tr an sfsr red to the Design and E, H. Curren, Senior Supervisor, was transferred to the Development As has beenIgported prsv-ously the apparent large ..eel and erratic of a defective dissolver column. I n order to a lim ~ hat oall other possibilities, howevjr, before acaapting this as th cause and taking remadial measuras to replace the column, the .two factors outlined i n January's report ware actad upon durinq February. Tho coati%renod solution level was increased i n Runs -B-7-424d 4,' 5 and 6to elimicate the possibility that som slugs w3re not being fully imnsrsod in the mnt thraa noma1 dissolve r cuts w xc) made and than an extra four+A cut was taken t o completely ram vet ? ? e dissolver heal. by adding 60% nitric acid i n increments and dip sting until tho specific gravity indicated that the metal hoe1 was sxhaustod. the dissolvor th heal was replaced and normal dissolving was msumd. Operation of the dissolv3r appears to be quits normzl. obsctrvation of this op ration will be nads during Xarch. Twenty Gallon Skimming i n Section 13 During February a study was oomanced inB Plant t o determine ahather deaontamination i n the Canyon Buildings could bs improved by skimming to a larga r (20 gallon) heel inthe Section 13 centrifugo without. increasing ths first cycle 5v product caka solution wasto lossss. first sori as of t x runs prosessed showed a marked imp-uvcmnt i n deccnlhis was accomplished

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m-second series oftan mns cmcluded i n February omployed a modified cake washing procedum in addition to tho 20 gallon skimming. results indicatod a 0.s docroase i n product losses and a fur thar with thot horn1 ovsrload of tha centrifuge kicking out during tha addition of tho extra 250 lb. bowl spray wash a third so ries of w s was start ad at montkend i n which this additional spray wash was old ratainad and tho ovorload difficulty avoided. All changes mado during this study war3within the ostablished limits of tb o p ~ rztin ga d Since soma difficulty was exp3rienced Extraction Effluent Wasto Lossos Although no significant progress was made inT Plant durbg February role-tive t o raducing tho $action 8extraction of flu on t wasto losses several studios of ths various factors influencing those losses w ze ktnrtod. Ths most promising o f these w a s concornsd with thj possibil it y that th Imro s sad loss i s incurred bring tb skimning op ration and is thaw for3a Ffiysical loss and on3 that will bo r>sr,onsivo t o Fur thr wcrk will ba necessary during March, Production Test No. 22kT-10 The third and fourth phasjs o f Production Tost 224-T-10 "Recirculation of Metathesis ?Wash Taste" wero succossfully completod i n T Plant Corn cmt ration Building during February. phaso involvod tlm necessary volunz reduction and m turn of all the mta thesis wash waste solution (F-XS) tothc precipitation tank as dilution der for the succeoding …