Monthly Report Hanford Atomic Products Operation for February 1954 (Deleted)

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HANFORD ATOMIC PRODUCTS OP m TION AVAIL ABL EI Route To. Read By THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED ON THE OPTICAL DISK DRIVE

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Atomic Energy Commission Hanford Operations Office Atomic Energy Commission Hanford Operat ions Office Atomic Energy Commission

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Financial Department .................... 1-1 through 1 - 2 1 Plant Auxiliary Operations Department Employee and Public Relations Department ...........K - 1 through K-37 Public Works Unit........... .Recreation and Civic affairs Unit.... Engineering Unit........... .R eal Estate Section ............ .Housing and Real Estate Maintenance Unit Commercial Property Unit........ Richland Public Library .........

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RANFORD ATOXIC PRODUCTS OPZRATIONIn the M e t a l Preparation Section production of normal charge material for the sonth uaa 79 percent of forecast. Production ata level short of foE cast was due tothe continued diversion o f personnel t o the accelerated P-10 program. canning yield w a s 68.1 percent for Febmary. The total reactor input production o f plutonium durir?g Feb r Jaq was 99.5 percont of forecast. The reactor output production was lOl.5 percent of forecast. The forecast was exceeded due toa delayed discharge of P-10 material, and t o higher operating levels and time operating no failures of other types o f slugs during the month. A total of 15 rewar uranium sluss failed in Februaq?. There were The total production for the month from the Redox and T Plants was 86.2 percent of the forecast, with t h a t of the individual plants being 86 percent and 129 percent o f their respective forecasts. Parallei operations were continued throughout the month and the equipment perfomawe was generally satisfactory. The U03 facility production was 88 percent or“ forecast. The overall commitments for 2311-5 production were met. Design of the Hot Semiworks Conversion, CA-5134, is 9h percent complete. does not include the self-concentrator tank uhich i s an addition to’the original advanced t o 81 percent completion in February. was received during the month and scqe design is five percent complete. Mary project proposal request- funds and authorization for the initiation of t h e P-10 Irradiation Project was prepared and submitted t o the Commission early h.~ February. Overall design f o r -573, Hanford 3X Program - 300 Area, is 66 percent complete, an increase of W percent during the month. Packing of IW graphite began on the morning of February 16. stantially accomplished by the end or’ the month. TEP production was49 percent o f forecast. Detail design of the 300 Area Expansion Program, CW3.4, was The packfng uas SubPersonnel and Sefic es One major injury, the third for the year, occurred on Februan 2 b 3 l O minor injuries reported during the month. The employee separation rate increased from .h7 percent (adjusted rate) for January t o .52 percent for February. The total number of housing appllcati

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General Manager, Atomic Products Division ...........F.K. McCune General Manager, Hanford Atomic Products Operation ....... W. E. Johnson Manager, Community Operations and Real Estate ........ L. F. Huck

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Plant Auxiliary Operations Department Tl ect rica l Distribution SC Telephone Administration Main. Service Co;mrmnity Operations & Real Estate Dept. Pa poll & Auditing 26 Employee t Public Relations Department

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MEZAL PREPARATION SECTION The net production of acceptable slugs w a s 159 tons which was 79 percent o f the diversion of regular canning line personnel t o the accelsrstzd P-10 program. A t o t a l of 137 tons was canned as eight-inch pieces, and the remaining 22 tons as f o u r - Inch material v i t h canning yields of 68.8 percent f o r the eight-inch and 64.6 prcer.: foT the four-inch. The overall canning yield was 68.1 percent. for the eight-inch slugs dropped three percent below that of January due toa period when dark spots in the weld resulted in "yoor bond" rejects. Production at a level short of forecast was dua t o the continued There were no autoclave failures during this period. Seventy tons of recovered slugs were canned by the lead dip method. 'Ihe cold press c a ~ h gof P-10 slugs continued with an overall yield of 78 percent f o r the fuel slugs and 5 1 percent for the target slugs. canning fields were attributed to inexperienced personnel and mre rigid slug The canning of slugs for the 3X program production test inC pile was completed during the month. Approximately 1000 enriched fuel slugs and 950 Li-Al alloy slugs were acceptably canned using the hot press and aluminum-silicon dip processes. Due t o the lack of experience in the new technique, operating difficulties were encountered, and the reject rate was higher than anticipated. I n order t o compensate for the reject rate it is planned t o hot press can additional target and fcel slugs Fn Wch for the production test. The lower than averwe The total reactor input plutonium production was 99.5 percent of the of ft cia l forecast. 'Ilhe overall reactor operating efficiency, including the scheduled outsges aC F and Bfor the venturi installations, was 79.8 percent. the operat- efficiency was 83.3 percent. production adversely were as follows: activity and subaequent law power operation a t the F Reactor; by IYptured slugs, primarily at the C Reactor; removal of the balls from C Reactor. water leaks that resulted In a loss Of rethe outages caused ajar operating difficulties affecting and a 3X safety trip and subsequent 'Ihe established maximum operating levels of the reactors increased 141 MW i n February as follows: increase was attributed to the installation of 9.entufl.s and doubla orifices; and,

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Dur'ag the month, the AEC authorized a new maximum enrich ent level equivalent t o approximately one and one-half tFmes the current average enrichment level. lhis authorization vae a supplement t o the low concentration authorization and request received in Saauary. It i s planned tobee raising enrichment levels Approximately 75 tons of l o w concentration uranium was discharged A total of 1 5 regular uranium slugs failed In Febntary. slugs failed at C Reactor and one at H; Reactor and one at D Reactor. o f these ntptured slugs ms 186 hours. slug failures occurred in the high concentration tubes. failures occurred In tubes charged on August 3, 1953, sixty of the tubes charged on t h i s date that hed reached 133 percent of goal concentration were discharged t o minimibe the potential number of failures. Zlre total outage time required for removal 'bere were no failures of other types It is significant t o note that a t the C Reactor tea of the eleven Since s l x of the The F Reactor outage, started in January for venturi and double orifice install a - tion, was concluded on February 2 and resulted in a process water flow Increase of about 900 gpm along Kith as light reduction (approximately 10 psi) In water forecast was exceeded clue t o a delayed discharge of P-10 material, and t o higher operating levels and time operating efftciencies. tubes were discharged at DR and 170 (20 p a i r ) J-N tubes were charged. the f b s t loading of the second P-10 cycle in DR Reactor. richment tubes were charged in DRto compensate for reactivity losses due t o 88 part of a 3X prom production test to investigate the effects of high tube power exposure on hot press and aluminum-silicon bonded P-10 fuel and t a r g e t slugs. A total of 141 (Up air) J-I? Sixty (20 p a r ) P-10 tubes were charged in the C Reactor on February 19, On February 24, theB Reactor was shut dam fora scheduled seven day outage for installation of venturis and double orifices and other UnusuaLmaFntenaace items. Work In progress at month end Included removal of the rema- three of t h e original four rear-face catwalks, installation of "half rods" io. No. 2 and Ro. 8 horizontal rod po6ition ~ ,Installation of a new type horizontal rod in No. 9 rod position, rearraqement of tubes on cross-headers t o redistribute water flow, the panel lit gauge modifications t o accompany the venturi in st nl tion program, Installation of aluminum nozzles in place of the rear face fringe tube galvanized nozzles, and the installation of a Groves valve t o afford automatic operation Of the emergency'export water supply system. 'be horizontal rod Installed in DO. 9 position i s the first Fn the prop toe lim hate the necessity for the horizontal rod thimbles in t h e five oldest reactors. Loss of reactivity at F Reactor resulted i n an extended outage starting February 22 and a period of low l e v e l operation folloving startup on Feb- 26. pointed t o the possibility that leaks in both I?o. 8 horizontal rod and thinible had

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allowed boron from the rod t o be carried into the graphite. reactivity gain occurred resulting i n increased levels and water removal from During February, twenty-six reactor screw occurred. Twenty-two were at tri bu - table to nom panel lit system difficulties,two to partially plugged cone screens, one toa continuing high panel lit pressure apparently caused by a broken gasket i n the venturi assembly, and one t o undetermined Beckman diffi - culties. Total outage time charged t o these scrams was 13.4 hours. The total production for the month of Redox and T Plant was 86.2 percent of the forecast Kith t h a t of the Individual plants being 86 percent and 129 percent cf their respective forecasts. The Redox p l a n t was shut down on February 3 t o replace the H-2 centrifuge and D-12 waste concentrator pot. cul ties encountered with the 60 ton crane impact wrenches and optical system, a leaking coil in the new D-12 pot which necessitated its removal and installation of a second spare, and malfunctioning of the centrifuge electrical leads and hydraulic lines. Sustained operations were resumed on February 17 with feed rates f o r the balance of the w n t h varying from 5 tons per day t o 7 tons per day depending on t h e supply of feed. problem, t h e head-end treatment flow sheet was revised on a test basis. ingis being emp1oyed.b the oxidizer tower i n an attempt t o reduce the evolution of ruthenium from the Redox stack. intermittently as well-car contamination problems arose and the second failure cf the H - 2 centrifuge occurred on February 21. Instead of replacing the centrifuge, a head-end step involving complete dissolution of manganese dioxide was put ! vtr effect. This type of operation was continued t o t h e end of the month v i ' h nor~n-1 rates being achieved but with some loss i n decontamination efficiency. L h h e :1wm time for the plant was 363 hours during the month. Startup was delayed until February 15 due to diff i - In an effort to minimize the ruthenium emission Dissolver charging delays reduced feed supplirs The TBP Plant production was 149 percent of the forecast. were continued throughout the month and the equipment performance was generally pared from water sluiced material. due t o the low salt concentration. ment was achieved by blending this material with the richer supernate solution. Processing of the shorter decay cycle feed necessitated two stage carbonate washing of the solvent t o accomplish adequate decontamination of t h e RA column ter vals and required extensive column and vessel flushes each week. The total outage time for the A Line for the month was 124 hours, for the B Line 137 hours. Processing difficulties were experienced with feed batches preAbuild-up of solids i n both lines was experienced at frequent inlimitea by the availability of feed from the Redox and TBP Plants. A total cf eight cars of powder were shipped off - site. facility production was 88 percent of the forecast. The rates WCP

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'Ihe metal removal from the waste tanks vas adequate t o accomnodate feed for the TEP plant throughout the month. %e TX and BX Farms supplied the major portion of the feed solution for the math. sludge removal operation in C Farm was esse lzt id g cmpleted darlng tke month. One Ragle pump failed at TX Far!n. 'Ihe 234-5 cod t ment of shapes and buttons was attained. 'Ihe fabrication of the smaller model vas discontinued at the request of the AEC early In the month, and the balance of the product allocated t o t h i s node1 was diverted into additional production of the larger type. The waste evaporators operated during the month on T3P uaste with a volume reduction of 34.5 percent at B and 38.2 percent a t T. The required nitrate production was also fulfilled. The P-10 feed material f o r the month consisted of e .P-10-A flattelling material. y> percent of the s e l y of this mazerial has now Seer efiracted. inserting them in the metal line, about four liz ers of product that had diffused into the carrier escaped t o the stack. I n dismantling these tanks prior to AEC in conducting the members of the Daw-Detrsft-Edison Pcwer Study Camittee on a plant tour on February 25 and 26. Total oc Roll February 1, 1954 Total on Roll February 28, 1954 3377 *

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All persons engaged in work that might reasonably be expeczed 20 result in inventions o r discoveries advize that, t o the 'cesr, of their knowledge and belief, no inventions o r discoveries were made Fn the course of t h e i r work during the pericd covered by this report except as listed below. Such persons further advise that,for the period therein covered by %his report, notebook records, If any, kept in the course of t h e i r work have been examined for possible inventions o r discoveries. Dosage Rate Integrator

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There were no chaages in responsibility during this period. A. Operating Exp eriegce Febmazy January To Date Acceptable Pleces Canned (4")(Ton8)Het Acceptable Pleces Canned (8")(TOns)Gross Acceptable Pieces canned (8")(Tt3ns)Het Total Acceptable Pleces Canned (Tons)Cross Total Acceptable. Pieces Canned (Tons)Net

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305 Routine Tests (man hours) 305 Special Tests (man hours) Sanitary Water from 3000 Area Total Water from 3000 Area January To Date The net groduction of acceptable slugs was 159 tons of which 86 percent of t h e forecast for Februsry. This forecast was made before knowledge of the P-10 program and was based on the assumed operation of four canning lines. Due to conti u u iq demands of the P-10 program, only three canning l i n e s were utilized. Appmximately 30 operators, who were made available from the fourth canning line and from line relief, were train - ed inthe P-10 operation which is now opera ta on a three-shift basis. The canning …