Hanford Works Monthly Report - October 1949 (Deleted)

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- Hdord Operations Office Hanford Operations Office - Hanford Operztions Office . Earford Operatiom Office - Hamford Operations Office * THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED of 1 7 Copies. Seriesfi PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED

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Xe ch m ical Divis ians Pile Technology Division ...................... 62 General Lccounting Division ........................ 163 Lzployee and Coma it y Eelations Dili sion................ 215

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A total of 50 tom of net alms discharged from B, D, and F piles at an average concentration of 3% IHTJD/ton. The operating eff icier sy vias 91.2 The E Area ims accepted from Construction on October U , and the pile started initial operation on October 20. The o-peratirig level of the II pile was 100 KiV a t month end. A total of 67 tons of accepta5le sluzs mas cznned at a yield of 88.5 percent. The nachining yield was 73.1 percent, and the melt ylant produced 22 tons at a yield of 73.1 percent. Sixty-seven batches were started in the Canron Buildings, n i t h 53 batches being pr x esse d through the Concentration Bcildings end /so tfirough the Llie average purit;. of completed batches fro0 Isolation The Electrical Division h2s assumed the full oper e ting responsibility for the telephane system, n:hich vas transferred durirlg the month from the ? lant 1 ' Security and Services Division, The peak load for the entire electrical sgsten reac!ied an all tine high on up of 10s: Ares. Zigher power levels at 100-2 Area will not increase the This was brought about large17 by the start The transfer of the i5nor Coiistruction forces from the I iechanicsl Divisions t o the 22-oject 3g in ee ring Divisi ms mas effected durirg the month. t o t a l number of exeiqt aid non-exeqt personnel transferred Tms 239. temperztsre results in a decrease in pile reactivity if the pile lmas lost cooling cater. This ob serva t ix reduces the recuirenents of the safety c3ntrol spsten and eliminates tSe need for cadrnim plated splines to su-pplercent the ver tic zl rod system in the ve sent piles. The flashing tests denonstrzted that an increase i n gra?kite The carbon dioxide in the D Pile Etrr!os$iere nzs increased t o 435 on October 31 8 s the first step in a p'aniied increase t o SO;",. The elevation of the top of tie3 Pile hes dacrezsed a5out 0.C5 inches durin z eleven Reeks of oper z tima it h 605 cerjon dio::icie, For the first time, a core serr,?le VES ciiied from8 Frocess tube block.

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Lines 3 and 4 of the 7-10 Troject nere both in o$ration during t h e month I Slugsv ith an average operating efficiency of nithE nonths exposure mere e:rtracted without difficulty, ?x approvtls of the exponential pile project and Part I1 o f the critic21 mass project were received during t h e month. hjor emphasis has continued t o be placed on inproving Sep ration sPl ents accunulated 52% of an a v e n g e run through the Cmyon Building and corrective measures are being Znplied t o ninir!iee a recurrence. The 221-T Plmt has been converted t o semi-parallel operetion rith no operating o r process difficulties encountered. ?lent assistance studies have le l ped recover an off-standard Purification Satch of product in the 234-5 2uil2bg. The largest single obstacle renaiain; i n the patk of et tzi ning successful and continuous operation in the 234-5 BtlilZiEg has been the coating operation, t o nhicb concentrated improvement studies are being apTlied, I n Redox development, tr!enty- six adc?itionzl colunn runs mere con?leted during the nozth involving studies of a 5-inch pulse column, uraniun stcnc-in behavior for plutonium and fission products, and raw VS. ?retreated hexone. Atrial run of the tentative f lov s!ieet for iledox feed preparation from months of continuous o?er:tion in zluninun nitrate solution and several other pupa rep ogress in z t.hrough shorter test in z. sprayed r i t h polyethylene have thus far shown !iigh-resistance promise on corrosion tests nor i n progress. A recent Acid Flash Run a t 3 Plant The G. 3. and C.-L, Sltbnerged bun:, KO. 2 lies successfully pnssed f o c r - I n the researcll laboretorjr, trial runs on the simulated recycling o f metathesis caustic inthe prepar2tion of Redo:: feeds from cet2.l nzste have given phosp_"ate purification sie ent icd nith no recycliag. A satisfactory pint of return for recycled urmyl phos2hzte has also been developed. Scoutilg stu sies of product be bvi or ads tz Sil it yin the Tri but yl 3hosplxte System have been conthued. chroniun interference i n proTosed plutonium rerork methods. alternate cc t sly sts and o-wrz.tinz conditions ;or ruth enim vol z ti lix ation hes indicz.te6 poter;tizl pluto nim losses as lov as 0.1; inthe ?henylarsmzte I n the 234-5 process de velo yen t laborstory, study of the preperati72 of sulfate-free peroxide !izs been extended t o include the ef rect s of acid and f roc re duct ims b ~2nd cruci-des. Scoatiiig studies kve been initiated on the recovery of plutonium condensation i n t'ne yo nosed "Fiberzlas" dissolver of€-ges filter. 4. series renoval efficiency tlroaghout five consectiive Cissolvings. ::cr test data are being obtained on the pilot noZel electrical pec ipl tat or.kstef of

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Experimental equiplent for bronze dipping four slugs ata time instead of in pairs vas remodified End made ready for extensive trial. use of this equip ent will increase the certainty of complete transformation of the uranium structure, and simultaneously allow reductions i n n e t time cycle and temperature o f the bronze bath. insignificant grain growth i n doubling immersion time a t the present bronze bath temperature of,, Ketallograpbic studies indicate P-10 alloy production continued, with two significant developments: . (1)Exposure of the bare slugs t o atmospheric moisture i s being ninimized by inserting the freshly machined slugs inmediately ir,to previously etched, freshly desiccated process cans which are immedktely closed rdth nelZing discs; and (2) slug reactivity measurements in the test pile are giving a ’ valuable cross-check on lithium content and disclose in consist ki es in Battelle made good progress on their study o f low temperature rolling of uranium, and it i s expected that reliable data for use in connection with the 300 Area Rolling K i l l Project (C-339) can be furnished the Project Engineering Analytical control personnel in the 100 Areas vere noved from 100-D t o t h e new laboratory mill ellon the increased Fork load attending start-up of the nen area t o be handled without additional anal fl ical personnel. Preliminary estimates of the quantities of process material necessary for ..each of the Rala control analyses were supplied t h e Design Division f o r use -indeternining shielding requirements ofthe Rala laboratory facilities. The inproved convenience and facilities of this Completion of investigations of the carrier concentration method for the spectrographic determination of impurities in 234-5 Process materials has provided an independent procedure for checking certain results from the cup ferron-copper spark method. Preliminary evidence indicates that the carrier concentration method i s more reliable and thus provides an impoved neans for the determination of several elements. A standardized printed cover, binding, and inside format for research and development reports issued.by the Technical Divisions WES adopted end placed i n use. The Infornation Group also perticipated i n project-vide ple nn hgt achieve further standardization and improvement i n procedures for dispensin classified and unclassified technical information. Kellex mere directed tonard correlated control over classified document Health Instrument Divisions Net chacges i n the force resulted in Etot21 increase of 17 people. -eThere were thee SFcis.1 Hazerds Inc is ents reported; mne involved sign if i - u The Operstional Eivision report indicates the need for im?roved hazard control h the 200 Areas, especially in the 234-5 Building. pocket ion chanber coverage was li cited to eq lo yee s having access t o the

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I n the Development Division, atmospheric monitoring and land and vegatation contamination results were a t normal levels. deposition, reported last month, has definitely been attributed to a foreign so wce. The increase inactive particle I n biological monitoring, animals collected mithin a thirty mile radius of the 200 &ea stacks showed slight but definite thyroid activity. Other Fograms in biology proceeded nithout incident . Conclusions dram from t h e Chalk River conference on permissible exposures mill force even nore conservatism in radiation management. Plant Security and Services Divisions There was one lost-time injury i n October Faking a total of ten for the year to date and a frequency rate of 0.76. There mere U industrial area fires with a total loss mounting t o Responsibility for operating the telephone exchange mas transferred to the Electrical Division on October 10, 1949, following the cutover from manual to dial operztion on Clctober 7, 1949. Bmqlogee and Community Rel at iom Division -Open requisitions decreased from 174 a t the beginning of the nonth t o 110 a t the end of the month. work, during October rras 1.545. due t o lack o f rrork, mas 0.94%. i n shorthand and typing courses given by the local school system's Adult Total plant personnel decreased during t h e month Turnover rate, including terni nations due to lack of Turnover rate, exclusive of terminations A short preliminary application form was a doped during T. A. Roche, representative of Ketropolitan Life Insurance Company, visited Hanford 'lorks Qctoker 11 toU and assisted in developing the pr open for the nen G. E. Group Iiealth Insurance Plan. The Community Chest drive f o r Hanford L'orks m s com?leted October 29 with 79.65 or the quota reached. Five erqlojrees retired during October, three o f which were on optionel basis. 3ne en?lo;.ee death occurred during the past month. Twenty-seven avards, totaling $525, vere approved by the Suggestion Comit tee during October. Distribution of the Supervisor's Handbook on Employee Relations vas CODpleted during Gctober nith 1,006 handbooks being issued during the course of 36 meetings held r i t h supervisors by the Training and Program Development Plan rvere held by the Training and Program Development staff r i t h 702 supervisors in attendence. concitions of conference rams i n the various areas. On October lu^ and 13, 42 neetings on the new G. E. Health Insurence A smvey ims nade during the past month relative to The activities of the Labor Relations and Voge Fates Division during October

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bargaining unit persome1 and setting up the ?roper procedureifor handling the election of the Guards Union. petition for election vithout prejudice. the W : ITC ~ s special comnittee on Group Health Insurance, the Company represent st ives and a representative of the Netropolitan Life Insurance Company t o review the proposed new Group Health Insurance Plan. Pro meetings rwre held with the Council Grievance Committee. k new distribution of ridnutes for the meetings vas put into effect. i.1estings rrere held nith supervision t o explain the new rules reger2ing transfers, etc. Reimbursement authorization epp ovals nere receive6 on Reinbursement Authorizations Xos. 73, 71, Community Relations vas c zl led upon durinz the month o f 3ctober t o compile a record ofell b-formation reiecsed concerning the pol.ionyelitis cases vhich had occurred in Richland and t o handle the release of information concerning each case as it vas reported t o us by the Medical Division. method was adopted as a means of developing t o t h e fullest exbent possible the confidence of the people living i n Richland that the polio situation mas not getting out of hand and that they were being furnished nith complete and accurate information as rapidly as possible. The Internationzl Brotherhood of Teamsters, A special meeting vas held with A representative of the Ken York T GB visited Richland during the month a s a result of efforts by General Electric ' s :?est Coast Advertising and Publicity Department representative .established prior to his arrival in tom, the way was open to escort him on a complete tour of Richland and t o see t o it that he had an opportunity - quire in order t o prepare afair analysis of what he mas observing in In addition t o the conferences arranged by Comaunity Relations, Because o f the contact with him, the Ren York TEB representative also interviened various nerchants i n t h e town to determine whether o r not there nere opinions among them contr ary to those expressed by General Electric Com?2nyls various representatives. He gsve Commuity Relations an opportunity t o present t h e G.E. -A. E. C. s i d e of any controversial subject nhich h i s discussions Kith merchants had brought out, the maximum amount of information, and it was felt that the result of his visit should be afair analysis of the operation o f Eanford 'Torks End In this way it mas possible t o Fresent him vith Another importent aspect of Community Relations ivork Curing the nionth o f October mas the nev G. E. Heelth Insurance Flan. Various steps i n t h e promotion outline required the creative mi ting talents of S Fci al Progrms, tho Kucloonics DeFrtment Nens Bureau, and of Hanford Works 1 3 s personnel. A total of 45 news stories was released tothe ItLocal List " .of nenspapers 2nd radio stations served by the Kucleonics Department Hens Bureau. "General List " o f radio stat ims and newsppers re.ceived EI total of 10 releeses and photographs togethor nith czptions. Special service +as given t o the TRI-CIT? :%FN.D on a story concerning the recently contemplated layo f f of approximately 50 niembers of the operation forces of Eznford Vorks.

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before pu3lic groups during the month. The speakers included t h e General Liinager, the Assistant General Manager, the Head of the Biology Division, and the Cornunity Relations Division Head. The program designed to assist in acquainting Richland residents with telephone nmbers of newly installed phones got under way during the month o f October. T-his program called for publication in each Friday's issue of the WGRKS hmS the list of telephones installed during the previous week. On the last Friday during the month, the RORKS ii'EnS contained a separate insert which listed, in alphabetical order, all ofthe names of residents, their addresses, end the numbers assigned t o all telephones installed during the month of October. i Continuing the effort of acquainting Xanford Works people with the background of the General S lect ric Company started here when the Company assumed responsibility for operating Hanford Iiorks, the RORKS NEW published a story in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the electric lamp by Thomas Edison. entitled "Edison and Slectricity1I was inserted for the same purpose. Inthe October 21 …