Hanford Works Monthly Report May 1949 (Deleted)

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Zag Jeffriee, Pittsfleld Hanford Operations Office Hanford Operatione Office Hnnf ord Operations Off ice Hanfozd Operatione Office Attention: F.C. Schlemmer, Manager Hanford Operatione Office Hanford Operations Office THIS DO CU KENT IS PUBLICLY THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED ON THE OPTICAL DISK DRIVE

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TABU OF CONTENTS Expansion problem Section .............. 25 Pile Technology Division .............. 73 Separations Technology Division ............ 80 Metallurgy and Control bivision ............ 99 General Accounthg Division ............... 149 Plant Seclirity and Seniicee Divisions ........... 165 Employee and Community Reletions Division .......... 208 Public Works Division ............... 231 Commercial Fec ili ties............... 245

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Manufa c t wing Divis ions A total of 44 tons of metal was discharged from the three piles at an average the naminal power level of 275 M.W. was maintained throughout the month exce?t a tD pile which was operated a t 290 M.W. after May 23, 1949. level is the highest yet achieved a t Hanford. Clam N metal (alpha-rolled, triple-dipped, but not 106 beta transformed) contipued t o give difficulty when diecharged a t concentrations above 320 MWD/ will be a t concentrations not higher than 320 MWD/ton. (completely beta transformed Clase IV metal) continued t o be eatiefactory a t The operating efficiency MS 87.9 percent and The new Dpile Future discharges or this metal, amounting t o approximately 70 tone total, One tonme pushed a t 368 WD/ton. A total of 55 tons of acceptable aluge was cenned in Myata yield of 9.9 - quality rods, t h e May yield of 71.6 percent representing a new high. A total of 44 batches was processed through the Separations operation. The machining yield continued t o improve ae R result of better The Traffic Section of t h e Trensportation I)ivision was transferred t o the Purchasing and Stores Division as of May 16, 1949. In addition t o continuing activities on the 100-H Area Program,. the Redox Progrern, and the Bola Program, the Section prepared for and participated in the initial stages of design effort for a DR Water Works.- Construction progresa ha8 been generally satisfactory. this work. There wbs IU) need for exceeded. The care and cleanliness exercised on the job -8 excellent. The Section arranged forP Division checking on the packing. shifts wae provided. Pocking of t h e process A total of anly twelve days wea used for tailoring,and tolernncee were nowhere Coverage on all Neutron diffusion tests ehaw that the purified graphite in place in the H P i l e ' I s of high quality and free of contamination. Immediate concern over t h e life of the p i l e shields has been eliminated by analysis of masonite scmplee removed from the innermoat layer of the top ehield of theF Pile. The power level of the D Pile was raised t o 290 MW as the first step planned rise t o 305 MU. in a No adverse effects were encountered.

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The carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere of the F Pile was raised t o motion of the far side shield mey be continuing. expansion of the B P i l e have been obeemed from the 404 carbon dioxide in use. The top shield of the F Pile has ceased its upward riee but outwerd. no beneficial effects on Extraction of lithium fluoride slugs for tritium production has been campleted and the P-10 facility is being converted for operation on lithim-eluminum In t h e Separatiuns Plant extrection conditions are being modified as metal approximately ‘jO$ of the alpha activity in an old metal waste from high g/cmaterial is due t o elements other than plutonium. engaged ln identifying these elementa which lead t o epparent high extraction losses when processing high g/t metal. amount of 1131 evolution a t various stages in the separations process. nary results indicate that about one-half the theoretical 1131 content is released during metal dissolution, and perhaps three-quarters of t h i s amount retained by t h e present vater scrubbers on the diseolver off-gam line. Preparations for start-up of 234-5 continue. Standards a r e being prepared. atthe end of last month is being checked and placed in condition for initial operation on dummy m s . designed a t Schenectndy have been reviewed by representatives of the Mnnufacturing Divisions and the l o c a l AEC, with generally favorcble coaments aa regards t h e extent of anticipated maintenance and t h e hazard involved in such work. Savings in metal waste volume a r e being realized with ~n analysie received recently from Argonne indicates t::-’ The Reseerch Section is Work is under way t o establish the Operating Logs and Operating Process bay equipment taken over from Constructic:. Mnintenmce aspects of the mechanical line being Additioml Redox Scale-up studies were carried out during t h e month with the O.R.N.L. flow sheet and the 5-inch column. that this column will have atleast a two-fold range in throughput while maintai ning the uranium content of the IBP stream atita specified limit. The IB Column runa demonstrated Similarly, theIC Column will have a t least a 2.5-fold range of capacity through which uranium loese8. will be less than t h e epecification figure of of all columns t o increase capacity of operation i e about @$ complete. Revision of the Demonstration Unit t o provide for cascade operation Redox laboratory research studies of the reactions between hexone and n i t r i c acid have continued, with further clarification of the mechanisrna involved. Preliminary investigationa are under way on the recovery of uranium and plutonium from aqueous Redox wastes by uranium precipitation. Further work hae been done on the preparation of a Redox feed from metal waste solutiona. uranyl hydrogen phosphate-uranyl hydroxide are being studied t o determine the preferred means of removing the interfering phosphate ion and extraneous salts. Improved ruthenium removal by ozonization (decontamination factors up t o 103) has followed t h e use of very f i n e dispersal of the ozone-bearlng gas stream. Zirconium scavenger studies have been extended t o establish means of minimizing plutonium holdup, and work has been started on the fundamental chemistry t h a t would be involved in a consolidation of the preeent wet processing steps carried out in 231-4-5 operations.

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General summary -3- MY 1949 Five b i l l e t s of uranium containing only 0.03 percent U-235 were made availa'ble by Oak Ridge. have been received in rod form. teated for diet or tion tendencies. here for other experimentation. Tvo of theee billets were rolled a t Lockport ear4 In May, and The other three billets are being reserved These will be processed Into slugs and p i l e Further research In t h e development of Redox analytical methods has led t o the com@letionand prelimimry testing of an all-automatic t it rating unit, the an indicator device and trigger circuit that automatically stops the t it ratio a a t the endpoint; many applications are foreseen. This Instrument performs a coulometric titration and contains The iaitlal phases in the development of 234-5 analytical procedurea have beer practically ccmpleted; personnel framthe Control Group8 have been trained i n most of the methods, and transfer of analytical equipment tothe 234-5 Bldg. laboratory hes been started. Health Inetrument Divisiona . The force decreased by three, There was one Special Hazard8 Incident, without Health Znstnrment Operational Division findings were generally normal. points in protection were observed in the P-10 operation, and In contamination control in the canyon buildlnga. Control re eu lts from the Development Division were also normal. Concern about ;rater table contomination below the 5-6 crib in the 200-E Area has diminished. Speculation6 are reported on t h e reeson for anomalous decoy rate of mixed t o other laboratories relying on such 8ources. If confirmed, this infonmtion should be disseminated Biology Divieiwn control monitoring showed no exceptibnal result. Ribbit thyroid8 in the 200-V Area were 2 - 5 timas more active than + the stated permissible limit, but thie is entirely compatible with the existing 1131 con tom in at ion. Plent Security and Serofces Divieions The Records Coatrol Divisim of the Office Services Division was organized There were no loet-time injuries There were 20 fire alerme in the fires accounted for the majority for the month, reducing the cumulative plant area with B dftmage lose of $10. of fire alanns. Employee ond Community Relation8 Divisions Open requfsltiona for additional personnel increased from 22 a t the beginning of the month t o 177 atthe end of the month. 136 employees during May due t o the general reduction of force. Total plant roll decreased by

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General Summary -4- May 1949 including terminations due tobck of work, during May amounted t o 2,54$, Turn-over rate, exclmive of terninations due t o lack of vork, amuhted t o Employee Servlces Coumelors m d e 1,323 cantacts during my. Ten employees retired during May; mven were 011 optional retirement basis. One employee decth occurred. Twenty-tvo suggestion awarde, total Mg $395, were granted. One award of $175 was given to a retired employee upon a revaluation of his suggestion. A damage suit in the amount of $42,912 ves filed against J. A. Terteling and Sons f o r negligence in protecting an excavation. Reimbursement vas -.de tothe Cmpany by the Wushingtau State Depa-ment of Labor and Industries in the amount of $102,029.64, a s the result of exceeses created in the Peneion Fund due t o marriage and death of widawed pensionere. A forty-hour, five-day training program for new supervisors vas held by the Treining and Progrrrm Development Group the week of May 16, with a total of 49 supervisors selected by the various divisions participating. were made for presenting t o supervisors, during the firat week of June, the talk given by Mr, G. H. Pfeif, Menager o f Union ReltItions, Schenectody, t o all Divieion Manegem and Superintendenta. This preeentation will be made through the u8e of vim recordings of Mr. Pfaif"8 t a l k . Plane are also being made fora follow-up program covering the Union contract in detail with all - The activities of the Ub or Relations end Wage Rete Division during the month of Map have been primarily directed toward the handling of negotiations with the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council and developing working arrangements for applying the resulting contract. Formal negotiations ceaeed on May 17, 1949, a f t e r which a number of informal discussions were held with representat ives of various unions and supervision. the contract on May 31, 1949, contingent upon AEC approval. The N.L.R.B. . conducted 8 -011 check t o aecertaln whether a substantion number of employees were involved in the petition requesting bargaining right8 by Henford Guard Local No. 21. In add&iar, a formal hear- ma scheduled f o r June 8, 1949. total of 38 e'levances have been proceesed during the la at three months in accordance with t h e interim grievance procednre. tion was submitted tothe AEC during May requeeting an additional claesification and three reimbursement authorizatione submitted previouely a r e pending approval. The Comp8ny and the Union ratified Correction of mieFnforPation concerning the amount of prof it General Electric is t o make on I t a contract with AEC was a project with received considerable attention from Community Relations during the month of May. This waa accom-: plished through releasee t o general newspapers, and through a statement in ... which it was requested that ATaMIC ENERGY NEWS UTTER publish a correction t o a misleading statement contained in a previous iseue of that publication. Arrangements were made t o assure maximum coverage of new8 developments arieFng from current investigation8 under way i n Washington, D. C. Fie1d.s of activity in which Community Relations is participating increased mter i ally during the month of May with the addition of responeibility for informing the public and, consequently, potential bidders, of General Electric ' s intention to call for bide on construction work outside perlmeter barricades. Community Relations works with the Contract Supervisor, Design and Construction Division, on this particular aesignmsnt.

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Preview showings of "By Their Works", a new 16 15color eound film release which reveals the wide miiriety of General Electric ' s research, development, and manufacturing activities, uere made during the month of May t o 42 members of the assistant superintendent, assistant division head, and above group. Results o f a "previewer's reaction" survey made among all who saw it during May indicate 8 strong feel- by a large msjority that -a l l supervieors, and -all employees of - -t h e Company at Hanford Works should see the film. General Electric ' s efforts to obtain bids from potential newspaper publishers received thorough publicity treatment through Community Reletions during the month. I n addition t o infonnative releases t o the prese, each publisher also received copies of a l l bid forme, invitatione t o bid, and other papers being Specisl Program completed during t h e month included preparation of ideas and actual rough finiehed deeigns for four "Safety Topic-of-the-Month" posters. In addition, t h e Kadlec Open Home publicity build-up and follov-up campaign vB8 conducted, as well as the May portion of the. Mobile Chest X-Ray publicity Twenty-fiye releaeea were sent out during May t o the nine newspapers and three radio ste ti one on the "Community" list, and ten releases were sent t o the fortyone leadhlg 196rt'hwest d a i l y newspapers and three radio etatione on the "General" Purchasing and Stores Divisions The Purchaoiog and Stores Divisions, Nucleonics Department, was esteblished Mag 16, 1949, (See Organization Announcezent L-1) comprising t h e Purchasing and Stores Division formerly in the Services Divisions, Construction Procurement Division formerly in the Design and Construction Divisions end the Traffic Sectfon formerly in t h e Transportatfan Division of the Manufacturing Divisions. Purchasing and Procurement Division8 together with the Traffic Section ere now housed in Bu53dinq,7W.--" which- waa the only space available a t the time. FollwingXe a persowel summexy indicating total number of employees of the Purchasing-W Stores Dtvisione a8 of May 16, 1949, and May 31, 1949. Total Personnel Total Personnel ea of 5/16/49 as of 5/31/49 N e t Decrease In addition t o the net decrease indicated above for t h e period 5/16/49 throw 5/31/49, eight additional employees will terminate t h e i r services during the

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The combined work load little change over the f o r the Purchasing Diviaion for the month indicated preceding month. Receipts of material for t h e month indicated as light incrkiee over the previous month; huwever, disbursercents were approximately $82,000 less. G. E. Hotaling v i s i t e d Schenectady and New Pork City in connection with the proposed cancellation of rive ordere for stainless ateel valued …