Hanford Works Monthly Report for March 1952 (Deleted)

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Operated for the Atomic Energy Conrmission THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED O N THE OPTICAL DISK DRIVE 6.’ THiS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED

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Knolls Atomic Pouer Laboratary Knolls Atomic Power Labmatoleg Atomic Fnergy Cds sion Hanford Operatiom Office

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TABB OF CONTENTS Financial Department ...................... 1-1 through 1-3 Utilities and General Serpices Department Conkunity Real Estate and Services Department ................ El Real Estate Section .......................... 11-1 Real Estate Pngineering Unit.............. Lk-1 and Lk-2 Statistical and Computing Services Section Housing and Real Estate Maintenance Unit...... Lj-1 through Lj-10 700. 1100. 3000 Area Services Section .......... Ian-1 through h-6

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HBNF0R.D WORKS MONTHLY REPORT A l l production forecasts were axceebd during the month ekxcept one, uhkh reached 99.3% of forecast. The failure of o n l y ten slug jackets during the month indicates a continuation of i m - provement i n this difficulty. New high records were estabushed i n the reactor plants. Production operations were begun on the RMIl l i n e i n the plutonium fabrication The extraction of tritium uas completed'qd the final shipment has been made. The major design engineering effort during this month was applied t o the new "X" inthe form of P project proposal.. A preliminrrg plan f o r a major expansion of the plant was completed Intensive studies of the condition of t h e graphite i n the 'floodedportion of the F p i l e were made, as w e l l as the concurrent corrosion of the outside of the tubes. Developaent work and design engineering f o r a new separations plant based upon the %ex pxocess was accelerated. Expansion and Construction Construction of buildings in the Works hboratory Area was accelerated. Jurisdictional labor union disputes continue t o affect conptruction schedules Major construction projects i n the production areas are ovbr 80$ complete, bxC8pt for 1 0 0 4 , which i s over 50% complete. A substantial number of persons were trmsfemed t o the the assumption by the AEC on A p r i l 1, 1952 of construction; mrnrgement functions. t as a consequence of Personnel and Services i A seventy-five p a r ground lease for the construction of SbO Qelligg Units VIS approved Kith a private contractor. There were 685 applications f o r hoasing pending. The plant roll decreased slightly to 8,955, while the turnover rate increased t o The Company and t h e HAXTC agreed t o continue,the contract for another yew. The slight upward trend i n sickness absenteeism that has been apparent for several

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Design & Const. Section No. Richland Realty Metal Preparations Sect. General Acctg. Sect. General Cost Section EMPLOYEE & PUBLIC RELATIONS UTILITIES & GEm. SERV. DEFT. Elect. Dist. & Telephom 31

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METAL PREPARATION SECTION The total production for the month from Metal Preperstion was 144 tons resulting in 99.3 percent of forecast, tons of &inch pieces and 75 tons of 4-inch pieces. was 80,9 percent end 80.7 percent, respectively, f o r 4-lnch and &inch pieces, reflecting t h e continued receipt of good quality rods. The canning yield was 74.0 percent f o r &Inch pieces and 58.6 percmnt f o r &inch pieces. The decreaee in canning yield of 6.6 percent for both typs o f pieces resulted when more stringent lnspect3on standards were adopted in corrosion and outside stains obtained in t h e autoclave operation. This total production represents 69 The machlnbg yield Specificelly, a 6.5 percent reduction was realized from The Melt Plant produced 68 tons of billets and represents a new high record for this operation, control and efficiency. The billet yield was 86.5 percent and the s o l i d field This improoamant was attributed t o better operationel The reactm input was 109.3 percent of forecast which included en increase of 54 u n i c q in the per diem production due to continued graphite anneang and recallbration of B reactor graphite thermocouples. production and the per d i e m production repmaent new high records. reactor output we8 22 percent over forecast due t o rescheduling of discharges. Both the total input There were 10 uranium slug jacket f4lures during March, of w h i c h six were Group 8 material. This required 128.8 autage hours for removal operations which is the best perfonranee on this basis since June, 1951, were discharged within the scram recovery time avoiding qq~roxlmutely100 hours of potential outage time. The operating efficiency for the reactore was 83.9 percent. of ruptured pieces. of 51.4 percent, was not in omration until War& 15 f o r svalrration and reHovsver, the F reactor, with an operating efficiency nroval where necesrery, of tubk and leaks into the graphite Poderator. The Hre ~ cto rhad a vater leak into ruptured piece in tube 3565-H. tube chnnnals, brought the graphite moderator about by water A total of 122 runs and 2 acid washes was started, representing 106 percent o f forecast, Seventy-eight runs were started in Redox for 169 percent of

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forecast. A total of 177 mans and 2 acid washes was processed i n the Isolation BUding w h i c h vaa 1 2 5 percent of forecest and represents a new high rocord of produation. “he average cooling tb.vaa 49 day6 with a minimam of 40 day material boa usedo Tha avoraga pp1pity of the conplotad charges vaa 99 Fa en to A contixnaatlan of tho ry lr fo a problem in all columna I n Redox a t variopa timen during thls poriod rwultod in a mujor mdlflcation o f the hod end plaatonlum atmama docru6.d w i t h resultant hi& gama readings on PR containers up to 2000 =/hr reported, necessitating special handling in the Isolation Bpildine, Sedme cans processed through isolation were asido for o bom tion of decay rates. The decontadn&lon of the radiation to process in 2u-5 Bull d iq and were eet A total of 42 OM of uranlun a8 U 0 3 was produced t h i s month, with 20 tons Coneiderahle mchanical and electrical trouble experienced with the Naglo sludge pumps a t the 2 4 l - U taaL farm, coupled with mechanical difficulties with associated oquipnmnt curtailed progress in the waste metal removal Total on Roll February 29, 1952 3192

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PATENT RGPORT SUMMARY A l l persona ongagad l a work that might masoaably be expcted to result fn imentiona or diacoverios adv$at that, to the best of the- knavledge and belief, no imerptfons or dfscovefies were made in the course of their work during tho pariod covered by t h i s report except as listed below. Such perrrona further adrise that, for the perfod therein oorered by t h i s r8purt, notebook reaords, If any, kept in the course of their work haw ken examined for poadble inventions or df s cowries. Vacuum method of holding The Application of IonExchange Principle to Pile Eifluent Water Monitoring. (Thfs invention was inadvertently omitted from the Hovember, 1951 lame of thfa report,

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The instrument engineering staff, consisting of nine engineers and e steno-typist, was transferred to the Engineering Department, with responsibility for instrument development activities, effective Complete relief of responsibility for the White Bluffs ice plant was effected March 1, 1952 by the transfer of that proparty to the Atomic Feb ma q March Bare Pieces Machined (Tons 4n) 102 94

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February March' Year To Date Odde Burned (Weight Out Tons) 7 Poison canned (No. Pieces) 1081 305 Special Tests (Man hours) 313 Maximum Steam Generated (M lb/hr) 35.00 28.00 Total Coal Comd (Tons) 1,226 883 Sanitary Water from 3000 Area 2305 27 50 Well Water plrmped (Million g a l , ) 606 5075 Total Water Average Rate ( g p ) 722 617 Chlorine ~ es i du a l(ppm) 0 32 o 32 Approximately 7456 of the uranium machfned durfng the month was from vir- type-mterfal that was rolled durfng January and February because of the contfnued good rod qualfty. The machhhg yield was comparable t o that of The decreased owrall canning yfeld of four and eight inch slugs is attributable to adoptfon of more stringent inspection standards a t final inspection, Defects ch s s if i ed as corrosion and stabs accounted for approlcfmately 6.5% reduction in the final yield. of t h l s condition has not been determined. However, it does appear that the prevalence of std n is affected by the manner in which steam is added a t the begfnnfng of the autoStudy of this condition is being continued, O f the four autoclave failures of four inch slugs, all were believed attributable t o operator techniques, The four failures of eight inch slugs were attributed t o defective cans,

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Metal Preperation Section Better suprvfsory control i n the Chip Recovery operation resulted in better quality briquettes, lugher eolid yield in the Melt Plant. yield resulted from higher solid yield and improved operetio a el efficiency. The lncreesed billet The Badge House, hailding nOl, was remodeled top edt the in= stallation of clock alleys and tfme clocks. v8s completed and ready for semice a t month end, A complete surpcy of 300 Area bufldfngs was completed early i n the month and an analysis of occupancy and space utilfzation -de. Two man-~mnthe were required to accomplish t h i s with an approxfmately equal amount of tfmb expended by the Eh&eeripg Department, The information will be compiled into the semiannul report of lendlord responsibilities. 3. Swcial Ouerati ons of Eight Inch Uranium Slugs Ffibricated in Heavy Walled Aluminum fabricated b accordance with this test during the month. Nonseating continues to be the major cause f o r rejection. Canning and Irradiation of Salt nath Treated A l p h e Rolled Uranium Slugs," (W-22T70). heto wetting difficulties, no slugs wore led-dip canned during March, Efforts t o chemically remove the oxide coating formed in the carbonate salt bath have not been successful. A t month end a batch of 50 d u g 8 was heat treated in the normal trichloride salt presently u8ed a8 a flux on the bronse bath. It i s planned t o can these pieces early in April and evaluate the effect of the oxide formsd on d u g s heat treated in a chlorido bath. E v e hundred and ten sfmulakd "J" slugs were canned for the Atomic Energy Commission by the regular "Jn dug canning process. Machining production was 12.4% above forecast. butable t o a change in schedule in transferring personnel t o the cannfng production wae 0.7% below forecast, attributable to decreased yield in both four and eight inch material. Heating elements failed on two bronee fluPacea during the month. service period of these elements represented a 50% improvement in element l i f e and may be attributable to improved methods of ventilating the area housing the elements.

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Hw-23982 '. -The slug harking fluoroscope was out of service for three days due t o failure of the transformer, was on order, vas expedited t o return the equipment t o service without curtailing production Delivery of a spare essembly, which A frame vas designed end fabricated for carrying two eutoclave approximately 50% in this operation and represents a saving of one hour per day in operation of the fork Uft truck. This has resulted i n a reduction of carrying timS by 2. Inventions and Discoveries All people in the Metal Prepmetion Section engaged i n vork which might be expected to result in fm nt ions or discoveries have reported that M inventions or discoveries vere made during t h e period covered by this report, 1. po dect Status have been poured f o r septic tanks and forma were erected'for piers in sludge bed. Facilities. Design i s essentially complete. Construction was of equipment i s approximately 85% complete, A Manufacturing Standard Manuel (HW-23249) was issued during the month, consolidating all previously issued cost stenderds for operating labor and process mhterfals. Engineering studies were conducted on the following items: 1, EPaluEtion of the feasibility of spinning rather than crimping aluminum cans in the canning operation, appeer encouraging, Results 2. Design en improved canning jack, One has been fabricated 3 . Redesign bronze agitator for 8" slag caning to give e more rel is ble performance,

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Metal Preparation Section 40 Determine the most ecorurmical method of machining slugs f o r lead dip canning. Study was qupleted and report issued, 5 . Standerdization of mechfne and miscellaneous opereting tools. 6 , Survey buildings in 300 Area for the purpose of revising asbuilt drawings to reflect structural changes. Production Lot 283 WK Wright HW-23676 Study of Proposed Well Type Cap RC Aungst 2-27-52 Test a t Increased Feed Rate BB Bradford Monthlv Ueeklx Total Beginning of Month End of Month 75 394 469 There were no major and two sub-mjor lnjurles during the month. Four exposures in excess of 300 mrep per week were recorded by weekly were due t o operators' failure to use the vacuum attachment provided for oxide unloading. These operations are now be- continuously monitored to assure compliance with control procedures and t o determine if procedures m y be improved, An inexperienced operator received an exposure of 320 mrep while machining eight inch pieces on e six dey work week, The average normal exposure for machining eight inch pieces six days per week is approaching 300 mrep per week. Three of the exposures occurred i n the Melt Plant and

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Assigned responsibilltiee of the Reactor Section were not changed The total reacior input production was 109.3% of forecast and 9.6% greater than for February. total production both represent new record echierements. diem production exceeded that of F e b m , 1952, by 5 1 Units per day. Thee0 achievemnts are the reault of power level increases which have occurred over the past several months coupled uith a decrease in the number of ruptured slug6 and we= made desplte an extended outage a t 1004' h a for removal of stuck charges. The reactor output production was 22$ over forecast due t o rescheduling The per dsm production and the month's Established levels were increased 20 MW during the month due principally t o continued grephite annealing and the recalibration of B Reactor graphite themcouplas. There were 10 uranium slug jacket failures during March. Four were discharged within the scram recovery time limitation permitting immediate resumption of operation, It is estimated that these "fast" discharges made it possible to avoid approldmately 100 hours of potential outage time,

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Plutoniun Produatian Reg. Tho outqe bo contimod fu~$"1 March 15, Tha nmoval operation and .valuation of the condltlon of tha tab channoli rmquirod 347.9 hours of outaga tfar during March. (Document EIW-23915 w n tabs pr tin on t Information ragardlng the removal of chargor.) mrn invsstigatioas conducted to date it appcvs that the stuck chargos resultod from fornration …