Hanford Works Monthly Report - August 1949

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PRIVACYACT MATERIAL REMOVED $ 2 I C;: Schenectady 613 - Hanford Operations Office @A- Hanford Operations Office This Document Consists of PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL IXMOVED I 2 gT HSDCo AS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED ON THE OPTICAL DISK DRIVE -

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Expansion Problems Section .................... 26 Project Zngineering Division ................ 66 Pile Technology Division ..................... 80 Mallurgy and Control Division .................. 102 Separations Technologg Mvision ....a 87 General. Accounting Division ...................... 1 5 5 Plant Security and Services Division ................. 171 Pmject and Related Personnel ..................... 284

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A total of 62 tons of metal was discharged from the three piles at an average concentretioa of 363 ED/ton. The operating afficiency was 80 percent and t h e nominal power level of 275 was maintained atB and F piles with D pile continuing t o operate a t 305 IS?. A total of 44 OM of Clast3V metal was discharged a t an cause of difficulty in discharging one tube of Class V material. A total of 69 tons of acceptable slugs naa canned nlth a @ e U of 91.6 percent. The machining yield vas 7l.3 percent. material which had not been pickled. Forty batches were started in the Canyon Buildings, with 36 being processed through Concentration and 4 l through the Isolation Building. pleted batches at Isolation was 98.5 percent. ITork has continued on Redox, ma, 100-H facilities and lOOIDR additional fac ili tie E 100-H Area i s nearing completiozr; however, the actual date for the transfer to Operations has not yet beenestabllshed. A directive was issued at mid-month for Rala, author hating the expenditure of $262 000 for design only. f o r mechanical development studies. One severely warped piece apparently was the The melt plant produced 29 tons at a yield The yield was adversely affected by the necessity of melting TXB The average purity of com- ^ ' > It included t h e allotment of $86 000 of the above sun The time schedule specified design completion Extraction .ofmtium from lithium aluminua alloy slugs was begun August 26. A heat of graphite has been-produced whose purity exceeds that of any previous The concentration of carbon dioxide i n the B Pile gas vas increased t o 6odp after being held tt 405 f o r 15 weeks. of expansion of thc BPile during the past three months. There has been a significant decrease in the rate Measurcrncnts of the vertical boning of the top central tube a t the DPile shon that the graphite mar the front face continued t o expand during the past ye* dthough ata decreased rate while the graphite along the vert i ccl ccntcr line did Outcard movement of the far siclo shields of the D and F Piles appcarcd t o hcve Stopped during August. Examination of thimbles rcmoved from the D and F Pile have shorn cxtcnsivc corrosion a t the lower end of the rod guide. Fill need t o be replaced i n the near future. It is expected Llat many of thc thimbles

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control instruments forH Pile. The campaign of impovlng material balances and product accountability throughout the Separations PIants is being ac ccl crat d. pensive grndcs of anhydrous HF is in progrcss in the Concentration Process. Equipment run-in and calibration testing, as well os proccss pcrformtnco cmalysis, arc being cmied out concurrcntly rrith production operations in the 234-5 Additional Rcdor dcvclopmcnt studios in packcd column opcration have established performcnce data for 1-inch k c h i g ring packing as comptscd to the long-uscd Dcmonstrcltion Unit mro opcroted vith no sc rio w difficult ics cncountercd, Simultaneously SUCC OSS ~ U ~t e sting has continuod on the Submerged Turbine PMtp No. 2, t h o Submerged Fbtor Turbine Pump, and the Ihdcl 103l Roth Pump, and testing has boen initiated on the Peerless Model LA nnd the Kellcx IB2 Maphragm Pumps. A feasiblo process for the preparation of Al (NO ) olddo has been developed. The effects of trace elements3d uranium on solvcntaqucous disengagement has boon investigated. Intho research laboratory, the eds ten ce ard behavior of two species of ruthenium have been established and fawrclble process applications of these d a t a confirmed. Additionrrl zirconium hydro lp is and hoxone reaction data have been obtained. Small-sccle laboratory studies of the puhe column have been continued. possibilities of increasing phosphate removal i n the proparation of solvent extraction fds from rnstal nates have been scouted. Redox-plutonium metal production coupling studies have been continuod, os hcvs studics of methods of Installation of thc ncn canyon ventilation systcm in Building Both thc Scfl0-U~U n i t and the new ccscaded salt from olttminum )I* obtaining 234-5 supernatant recycling. The 234-5 process dml op n cnt lcboratory pilot line has been revised t o permit the testing of sulfate-free plutonium peroxide. carried aut t o develop mothods of recovering plutonium from non-regular hold-up points in the net chemistry portion of the 234-5 production l i n e . measurements and hydro fl wln ation studies have bcen carried out on stored test buttons of plutonium. Laboratory studies have been Stack gas treataont studies hmc been dcvcted t o measurement of particle removal cfficicncics f o r No. 55 and No. U "Fiberglas" and iodine ronovd efficiency of Qtest node1 silver reactor. have been obtained on the dissolver off-gas system. Production of Li-U alloy billets was continued, m d tno shipments (to tdl bg 16 billets) ncrc extruded by the Detroit Gasket and hi iac turing Compcny. the August 16 extrusion havo been returned to Hylford and crc being machined i n t o duction hcat treated dpha rolled & gama extruded rods for PT,3U-l09=!d0 After this hcat trcntmont, the metal i n both typcs of rod appears s t ; rUc turd y cquivclcnt t o the prescnt alpha rolled, tripplc-dipped standard. Lnborztory investigations indicate that bnriurn and duninurn, as nell as chrodwI1, should be investigctcd further as grch refining additions t o urylium,

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A prog rm for tho dcveloprnont of 30O0C uranim rolling vas in it i a tod, ~ Lth Bat to no to do tho primary laboratory rrork. Assistance vas giva Rojcct Endncoring in rev lag the rolling nfll plonnod for Hznfsrd (C-339) so & t o &Q all jx s sib lo provision for ultimate operation at lon tcnpcrzturo. rashing rltb lead t*agivon LI first la bra tory trial, but results narc Tin removal by noltcn Dcvelopmt ;rad adaptation of n e t chemical analytical methods for application t o Rala continued t o make satisfactory progress. proceeded, but application of the methods t o highly active materials must anait t h e acquisition & the spectrograph and special shielding and remote control devices; preliminary 21- for construction of the latter are under nay. Redox Analytical Uethods were thoroughly reviewed nitb Dr. Flagg (from KAPL), rrhich included a survey of the status of all pertinent methods. quiring further study vere sharply defined. found to exist between the tw sites on the adequacy of methods so far developed and tested, ELIXI a l s o on the matter of time requirements for the control application of these met-hods. In general, good agreement vas Personnel additions and removals from the roll balanced resulting in no change i n the force total. plutonium deposition in one individual. There were tno Special Hazards Incidents, neither involved Confirmation nas received from Los &os of t h e suspected The Operationsal Division report indicated an increase in the frequency of skin contamination. Several relatively hazardous jobs Tere completed safely. In one case, departure from the 50 =/day standard rras justified. I n the Development Division atmospheric monitoring znd land aad vegetation contamination results Pere a t normal levels. Melt Plant, 300 Aree, is nearing completion. I n Bioassay, three significant Pu results from the previous month were not confirmed by resamples run during this The study of stack effluents from the The mLudoIum uranium content found in win of 300 Area w r k e r s n~ls38 Biological monitoring.reveded increased activity in aquntic life in the Columbia plmt Security and Services Divisions I There mrc no lost time injuries during the month. numbor of consecutive injury-free days t o 129. This further inwoosvs the Industrial fire losses for the month nere $110. Volume of process laundry increased from 135,628 pounds i n July t o 155,162 pounds in August. The increase is attributed whl y to the introduction of oo ere thx

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plant socuritv ami Services Divisions (Contla;) By agreement with the l o c a l Atomic Energy Commission Security Office on August 5 , 1949, the administration of security, as applied t o the Kellex Corporation facility in Naa Pork, vill be hd led though the Hanford Genoml Electric Conpany and the Atomic Ehergy Commission Security Office, r a t h e r than the Nev Pork Atomic Eslagy Commission District Office as in the past. Security Office at the Knolls Atonic Power Laboratory will occopt Personnel Security Questionnaire forms, etc. from the Kellex Corporation for origin d. The Atomic &orgy Commission Open requisitions decreased h.o~267 a t the beginning of the month t o 206 atthe end of the month. Totdl plant roll incroused during the month from 7,385 t o operators in portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Turn-over rate, including terminations duo t o lack of nark, during August Arrcngcments nere made f o r recruiting stenographic help and comptonetcr Turn-over r a t e , exclusive of terminations duo to lack of Fork ma Four employees retired during August, two of which rrere on optional retirement. One hundred thirty-nine dsits m e made t o the Kadlec Hospital for the purpose of contapting eaployees confined became of illness.A visit mas made t o the Department of Labor and Industries and also the Boehg Aircraft Company with rcsi>ect t o compensation mattors. Three meetings were held nith Training d Program Dovelopent Group members, as well as Community Relations representatives, on thc proposed Genard Electric Health Insurance Plan t o be presented to employees \.> intho near fit ure. Thirty-five meetings in which 760 supervisory employees participated, were hcld by the Training and Program Development Group on the Revised Noncxenpt Rating Plea. There cere 264 emplopes given orientation during the nonth of August. Tho Activities of the Labor Relations and '-2ge a t e Division during August were grie~nncea, completing t h o noccssary records t o convert c1assificr;tions and nage Architects and Tcchnicd Enployoea Unions contacted this Division relative to negotiating contracts ad tere advised of Compcny policy on such ncttcrs. petition ccs received from the NIRB for invcstigation and c crt if i cation of tho Office 'orkers International. A confercncc --as held nith the NRLB relative to the Guards Union setting forth the intent of the Conpany ts cxtcnd certcin boncfits to union cnployees of t h o NTC t o nonunit cnployecs. Rcinbursencnt ordcr ins signed f o r bargaining unit cnployees. A spccial report :7as prepared covering Conpmy. Anothcr rcport vas prcparod covering organizntiond ncconpllshncnts and objectives of this Division. Letters f o r both unit cnd nonunit cnployecs. No ncn rcinbursomcnt authorizations vcre subnitted during August. The Office :!orkers International, Building Service Employees and the Tno ncetings were hcld n i t h the Council Gpricvance Ncn nago rz tcm u als nerc distributed together wiyl Instructions Classificction rcvicns cero conducted i n scvcrcl Nunerous ncctings inxc hcld :;ith supervisors on tho noc \iCgC rate Scverd. ncctings vcrc held d t h WTC rcprcscntativcs negotiating job provided an opportunity f o r tho Nuc

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over-all Compcny event, d a considorable amount of time was spent by t h e Communtiy Relations personnel in preparing the tentative Nucleonics Department ordinator for the rlilson 5 0 t h Anniversary Program, and the minor revisions v e r ~ subsequently made i n the tantative plan as a result of suggestions received from members of the Nucleonics Deportment Steering Committee. During the lean th d Augtxat, 19 informative reloases were sent t o 10 newspapers and three radio stations which comprise the nIncal Idst", maintained by the Nucleonics Department Nms Burea. more general nature cere sent t o 67 ddly nevsprrpcrs and, in atme instances, t o 120 weekly newspapers in the Pncific Northvest. A COPY of this pits fornarded t o tho Advertising a Publicity CoW s o during the month ll news releases of Special Programs contributed advertising rrad publicity services on o vide varioty of projects during the month. The outstacding ones, because of t h e i r impoFtnnt effect upon the operction of Hmford ! orb by the Nucleonics Department included the production of 6,000 CiEHBbM: Agrement Booklets. Upon completion of tho print& booklets, they vere dis-ibuted through dosignctod individuals rithin ecch division included in the br gab hg unit. May favorable remarks have beon roceivod concerning the Spec id Progrw bookl e t produoed 08 Q rooognition of%he completion of a fourth *PT of operation nocossory pictures nnd mangemonts f o r printing through the Hmford 7orks print shop m r e all ncconplished by Special F'rogrw. "You and GE a t Hanford Torksw m a placed in tho hrads of the printer as Q result of the nork of Special Prograns during the n o ~ t h . This vas accomplished in tine to provide copies of the booklot for distribution during the middle of October, the date setin the Employee and Community Relations Plcn for observance of the Charles E. IJilson The orgoniaotioa man gem nts completed during the nonth which hove resulted i n the wsignmcnt of the 90- cq lc yee Tho fornorly served cs Assistant t o the Editor of the T!orks NEXE hzs resulted in cp imp sod covsrage of vomenls acti - vities at Word ' orb frou an Mom tion standpoint. This nns accomplished by trausferrhg t o hplo;.ee Relations o numbcr of the functions previously permiter in clu dd prepmation of the Tfononl s Pzge for the ' : orb NEWS each neek, the recreation information for cnployee rclztions for the qorks NEVE, and the colunn i n tho--%rks NE3;Is vhich lists rides avzilable for Hcnford lorks people t o distant points, and riders seeking trmsportction t o various neck-end and vccrtion I n addition, since the norion's feature miter is cssigncd t o the Nuclconics Dep-tnent Neus Burccu, the renzinder of her time ecch m c k i s being spent on public relations c-ork rihich consists of prepwction of spec id request fcctures f m various ncnspapors in the Northnest. Progrm during the nonth. CrtSLoguc of courses, CLnd tbugh the mediun of the Works UEf?S this information Tho duties ren Wg for the nomenls feature _...-plzyed an inportant pmt in publicizing the GE Educction A full page vas devoted to listing the 1949 tern

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7Word Corks NECE dso served 08 D. medium far communicating vith dl Word llorks cnployeea concerning …