Hanford Works Monthly Report for January 1951 (Deleted)

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0This document consists of 385 Pages. Copy No. HANFORD WORKS MONTHLY REPORT Operated for the Atomic Energy Commission General Electric Company INV SEP12’83

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2 Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Attentions C. Go Suits Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Hanford Operaticns Office

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Production Iji hs ions Plant Utilities 9 Xaintenance Divisions i Pile Technology Division ........................no Separations Technology Division .................... 128 Health Instrument Division ......................... 177 General Accounting Division ......................... 203 Plant Security and Services rtivisions ................... 231 Employee and Community Relations Division ................. .278 Purchasing and Stores Divisions ........................ 262 ??uni.cipal, Real Estate and 3eneral Services nivislons Design and Construction Divisions ..................... 360 Project and Iielated Persorinel ............. 385

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A total of 66 tons of metal was discharged a t the goal value and one ton m discharged a t lr6 percent of the goal. contimred t o increase i n magnitude t o the extent that 340 manhours were expended by the P Division on this mrk. matedal were charged i n t o the pile s, SD tubes were discharged, and 15 casks containing irradiated material. were shipped off site. manhburs were utilized in the charging, discharging, and shipping o f The special request progran The average time'operated efficiency of all piles was 80.5 percent. Excluding F Area, which wag shut down for ZL days f o r Van Stone flange repair, the efficiency nas 92.7 percent. Four days were lost at DR pile to remove a ruptured slug and one d qa tH pile for the same cause. The. mmum p i l e power levels achieved during the month were 395 W, 370 M, Average l e v e l s were 365 UT, 329 UT, 442 Wi, lr69 W , and 270 W, respectively. A total of 9 b tons of acceptable slugs was canned a t a yie:.d of 91.2 percento The melt plait produced X) tons of billet a at a record bilkt yield of 88.2 percent and a solid metal yield ~ A total o f 122 charges plus one acid wash was started in the Canyon Buildings 1 0 2 plus two acid washes were processed through the Concentration Buildings, and 115 charges were completed through the Isolation Building, 'Ihe necessity of processing 18 charges of 54 NWD/T material through T m a n t increased the average time cycle about 30 percent and reduced production accordingly. The average cooling time for metal processed was 85 days atB Plant and average purity f o r completed charges was 98.7 percent. The machining yield waa 89.9 percent. Metal with 50 day cooling was processed a t T mar& The Flant Utilities and Maintenance Divisions Ihe nozzle replacement program for the 1004, D, and F Areas was terminated with the completion of work at the last area, 100-F. The water i n l e t temperatures approached freezing end ambient temperatures as low as 7 O Fahrenheit made necessary the operation of the hot condenser water reuse system in lOO-B, D, DIZ, and F Areas a& t h e addition of steam t o the filter plant supply a t 100-H Area. The power demands f o r the month Teret h.occss 66,300 m

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The total represents a new a l l time high power demand. The Januarg mea passenger volume of llr3,260 surpzssed theyrevious recorded high of 139,&98 i n March, Uh9. The unavailability of qualified personnel made it necessary f o r 80 percent of the Instrument Eivision personnel t o go on a six day work week, Measurements dth the P-11 critical assembly indicate that the neutmn czpture crosa-section of tritium is less thrJl bo barns m d consequenfiy no significvlt tritium destruction i s expected during production of this Tne LrrRdiation of t mt alum pellets t o produce 30,000 curies o f radioactive material for the Chemical Faf are Service has been completed and the materiaJ A program hzs been started to study the effects of cooling water quality on film formation and corrosion t o obtain information about the water pla rit requirements a t higher pile power levels. - - mad i ation of graphite samples a t controlled temperatures of 108', 1 3 & O , - 157O, and Zl6OC to determine the temperature coefficient of dartage was started in the B Pile this month. Installation of additional thermcouples for more extensive measurement of operating graphite temperatures, together with an increased uniformity of neutmn flux distrlbution, has enabled operation of the present pilcs at higher power outputs. Design ofthe in-pile controlled atmosphere facility is zbout 80 percent ceeded normally during t h e month, Equipment procurement, development, 2nd materials testing proCorrosion tests of beering mate rids md st-zinless steel6 for separation process were continued. aluminum-l.ithium, magnes$um-&minum, and czdnim was determined f o r the Corrosion resist ace of various steels i n molten Fx d net ion of the slug vEch ruptured i n tube 3288-H showed tht the c m w28 split long ltu d in d ly through the cap 2nd can well from the welded end t o the bottom of the cm. Dilatometric tests hme been developed which will definitely detect slugs containing a high percentage of untrmsformed netal. Installation of the first mcbl tritium extraction line has been completed end a second improved line has been designed. additives t o the furnace Lep.d or magnesium-eluminum of single slugs without

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additives give increased tritium yields which approach the helium yield. The additional information which has been obtained of the temperatures a t w k i Wogen, tritium and helium are extracted from imzdiated slugs is expected to contribute t o increased separation efficiency. Separations Technology Division Initial results obtained i n production testing the bismuth concentration i n the Extraction step show no significant differences i n waste loss orin decontamination fora 30 percent reduction i n weight of bismuth. duction test removal of iodine from metal solution by means of air sparging during dissolving is still. under way, The test elimination o? Sarriple Can evaporaaon I n the Isolation Building i s still continuing satis fa cbf i ly. The determination of optimum cold outgzssing period f o r the Czsting operatior. in Building 234-5 ha^^ proceeded to tests of 2-hour out-gassing, with no preliminary effects no the able on casting appearance, density, and skull weight, A stepwise increase i n the holding temperature i n Castin€ has progressively decreased average skull weights. In Redox and IBP process development, the preparation of Techniczl Mvluals end Start-up Operating Procedures has continued to receive primary emphasis, All arrangements heve been completed to initiate the operations training progrzm i n Bldg. 321 on February 1 9 , continuing on Production Plant pumps, feed scavenging, de-entrainment equipment, and materials of construction, estimate ~ n dthe awarding of the construction contrzct is being withheld pending t h e authorization of additional funds required. In the research laboratory, additionzl studies h m e beon czrried out on the bismuth-to-plutonium ratio in the Bismuth Phosphate Extraction skp and the removal of iodine from Dissolver solution by Zir spaging. Methods have been found to permit the carrying out of critic rl mass studies with high concentrations of phosphate. Additiond studies have been carried out on metbods development f o r 234-5 slag 2nd crucible recovery. promising deta have also been obtained on the decontamination of uranium from combined aged and current metal wastes. Inthe 234-5 process development laboratory, the effects of one, two, and three peroxide cycles on subsequent metal production are s t i l l being precipitations carried out E t twice the usual concentration of plutonium. Methods of preparing Chemicd. 70-58 inB form sz tis factory for introduction to process i n the RM Line are being investigzted, Engineering development studies are Ihe low bid wzs 18.6% above the fair cost ~ bids were opened on January L. Favorable results hzve becn obtained in studies of perod.de ’Ihe fourth Silver Reactor-Fiberelas filter asscmbly was successfully tested o t check monitoring in std lid in the second Dissolver cell in B Plant,

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Technical Services Division Several improvements in P-10 mass spectrometer operations have been made or are under study by the Analytical Section, determine the combined diffusion-excitation factor f o r tadtium were initiate6 A motor-driven magnet scan and a chart recorder were installed to increase the ease, speed, and reliability of mass spectrometer operation. ment was ordered to allow replacement of the fixed magnet by a more readily controlled induced magnet, as i n the G.E. mass spectrometer. mentwas ordered i n preparation fora study ofin - line operation of the ?he Analmcal Section placed i n service. an automatic recording Cary spectrophotometer that records i n the ultra-violet and visible regions. It is a very useful and raliable instrument and has been used for a wide veriety o f work including stmes of the reduction rate of plutonium i n Redox IBP solutions, determination of rnangariese i n support of Redox headend studies, and analytical studies of methods for the de ted nation of rare earth meM s and Chemical 704. Bids were opened for construction of the shell of the Mechanical Developmat Building for the HvLford Works Laboratory, and award of this sub-contract t o the Dix Steel Company on their apparent low bid of $161,193 was recommendec f o r construction forces during the mein phase of Works Laboratory construct ion were ab,mdoned i n view of plms for new pile constmction which -- will require the Technicd. Shops znd Cesign Unit to release Bldg. 101 for - pile graphite fabrication. Plans for having this building s h e l l serve initially as housing nanning for immediate completion of t h e Mechvlical Development Building for Technical Shops and Design Unit occtlpanw was initiated, and Material a d Equipment Lists ere being revised b include essen tid. item of shop equipment originally plmned for removal from Bldg, 101 but which must now be left there for use i n graphite fd rica - I n view of the outlook for rising construction costs and their effect on expenditures f o r the Works Laboratory program, it wcs decided that all related facilities not yet committed to final design should be held t o a. more limited basis than o the mse desirable. Accordingly, the Library and F i l e s Building project proposal, which had been zpproved by the A &c B Committee and forcrerded t o the UC,wzs re caled for reissue on a reduced design, and by month end D & C had completed negotiation with Chasm T. Main f o r the A-E Sub-contract involved. rescoping the building to (1)eliminate all spacc orig i ml ly provided for the Statistics Group, (2)cut the working and vmlt space of the library and files, and (3) provide a few offices for Engineering SeMees. %.s phn assumes that the Statistics Group dll sky in Eu il ding 3703. In it id check prints on the Pile Technology Building were received from the Chas. T. Main Co. Rosener Compsny covering details of the Plot Flan Kc Utilities and the AEC authorization was obtained f o r proceeding vdth the Good progress was made on The design is cssentially the same as submitted by our Check prints were also received from the Lelvld S.

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Radiometallurgy Bad ing. Comments were prepared and submitted tothe The bulk of the time o f the new Technical Computing Laboratory to date hzs been devoted to complex mathematical problems. Nevertheless, progress has been made i n programing routine calculations for IBM operations. for 300 Arez uranium metal quality control are being calculated by IBM Desk calculztor time appro-ting 20 hours per month on this metd q u d i t y computing has been reduced t o two hours o f key punching end fifteen minutes of I B M machine time. Progrr?mming of 300 Area slug machining, a d canning controls is well dong, routine data for the Aquatic Biology Group of the Health Instrument Divi - eccuracy controls for IBM computing. Punching and computing was begun on a backlog of Plans are under w t q t o program analyticd. laboratory precision znd Removals and additions t o the force resulted inn net gd n of four employees. One Special Hazard Incident, involving plutonium contaminated skin burns o f two operators, was investigated and reported. i n the body of the operators were found. Small deposits of PlutOfiUm In the B i ~ log yDivision, biological monitoring continued on a rolltine bcsis .with no unusual findings. -due to the detection of impurities i n the Fu2greceived from t h e University ability to absorb end organically bind tritium. indication fora possible increese i n the tritium hazard. ?he plutonium abso tion experiment was del qed Aa observed i n animals, botanical specimens are shdng the This @ves an additional Development Division control measurements on activity deneity i n water, s o i l , air, end vegetation were consistent with previous findings. in filterable beta emitters in the atmosphere and i n the deposited concentration of 1131on vegetztion were observed. I n bioassay, i n addition to the two positive plutonium cases, uranium up t o 19pgbiter was found for metal fabrication workers, and tritium up to 60 pc hit erin the relevant operations. PLANT SECURITY AND SEXVICES DIVISIONS There was one mejor injury during the month which esteblishes a frequency One minor fire occurred during the mnnth. No loss resulted. Laundry volume i n the 200-W Lmn dry increased mcre than 25%, by might, due to extended 100 Arcn shutdowns for cleanup. %e '700 Area volms increasedq approximately the s m e due tcl increased vork coming from the North Richlahd

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Mail volume was unusually high due t o special distributions, The continuing heav m r k load i n the Printing Section necessitated sending 91,716 worth of printing orders to outside printers, Tork accomplished by the Office Methods Section re sulk d in estimated savings of $&,126, of which $3,630 w i l l . be on an annual recurring basis. On January 15 radio station WGMB-13 was placed i n service a t arhite Bluffs. 'Ihis station is wed by the U, S. Army and establishes radio contact between them 2nd Security Patrol, Practice evacuations, blackouts, and Patrol mobilizations were-eontinued during the month. WLOYE3 AND COMMWITY RELATICINS DIVISIONS The number of applicants interviewed increased from 1,069 i n December t o 2,002 employment with the Company for the first time, In addison, 381 new applications were received through the mil, Open, nonexempt, non-technicd requlsiMons increased from 376 a t the beginning of the month t o 573 a t the mcnth end, Turnover rate increased from 1.13% i n December t o 1.48% i n Januarg. for transfers to other tpe of mrk rrere received i n the Esnplopat Office, and 31 transfers were effected. Due t o the increasing ded for personnel mdto …