Hanford Works Monthly Report April, 1948 (Deleted)

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aw+ - Office of Eanford Directed Cgeratims A l l - Office of Hanford Dt-eated Operations #12 - Offfoe of Fanford Directed Operations I @ - Office of Fanford Directed Operations THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED ON THE OPTICAL DISK DRIVE

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E leo trio el Division ................ 60 ......... .P urch s in q and Stores Division 135 ...... .Plant Seourity and Services Division 138 Health Instrument Division .............. 206

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Operation of buth D and F Piles continued normally at 275 MW except for o m extended artage of each pile to permit removal of a portion of the concrete block wall across ths top rear edge, au ow iq a more uniform upward expansion, A t o t a l of 37 batches were processed through the Canyon k il ding sad 36 through Concentration and Isolation with an average material halame af 98.7 ard average nrste losses of 2.5%. Preparations for startup of 100-8 are well under my. started on April 28 and requisitions for personnel required t o operate the area on a 40-harr week basis have been placed. however, t o start the operation by placing some groups on a 48-hour week u & i l additional.personne1 can be obtained. It will be necessary, Exclusive use of lead-dipped 4" utanhm slugs i n the piles started on a production h s i s on April 4. The batch of 4'' slugs reached t h e Separat ions Pb nts during the month. Operation of the D Pile at concentrations of carbon dioxide far above the preaent 25% is permitted by new calculations on reactivity transients. The concentration will be maintained at 2% Umtil it is demonstrated that the present high rate of consumption of carbon dioxide does nut i ldi cate A major simplification of segmented discharging operations was produced. The new proposal, which elimixates all remotely-controlled devlces on ithe i.mxccessible rear faae, is rapidly be iq developed. D a t a on ths corrosion of Pan Stone joints have indicated that cold working, externally applied elea tra not ive forces, and the ccmpesition of gaskets and nozzles are -0rtant. Attention is being centered on t h e effect of hairline cmaks, which are now regarded as the probable initiators of the pits whioh ca as tft ute the most serious corrosion problem. The principal maintensnce problem at the nmerrt is rsplaosslsnt af the 42" effluent lim at 1004' an which work gas started in April. Progress on 200 Area contrlminatioa problems included completion of in= stall ation af stainless steel fans and duct work ad installation of scrubbers i n dissolver "off gas" lines in the 200-East Area. bers appear t o remove 40 t o !50% of ths nitrous oxide and nearly all of the radio-iodine. Efforts are also continuing t o reduce the amount of active mist entrained in ventilation air drawn through the process cells. Technical supervision of all uranium rolling for Word was continued with three 300 Area Plant Assistance men assigned in pairs to cover t h i s work a t Ft, Tkyne, Indiana, and Lockport, New Yorlc. Quality was satisfactory, a d rod diameter was reduced from 1.5" t o 1.45'' late in the month. Rustless Iron ard Steel at Baltimore made a trial rolling on April 2, but subsequently decided not tobid for this work. Annealing of all rolled rod prior to machining pas continued, rrlth the Metallurgy LaSoratozy checking control samples.

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Mered strengthened in a "duplexing" rod fabrication process (mersize grurmrr sxtrusion f oll med by 400-650° F alpha rolling to site9, when the first smple8 prepared i n this fashion showed a recrystallized grain size similar to that of regular alpha rolled rod, suf fi cid duplexed metal t o evaluate process varinblea and furnish slugs for pile exposure i s being initiated. Meanwhile, attempts to alpha extrude bars billets i n the 300 Area press continued unsuccessful, and Revers vm8 contacted relative to making further trials at their Deconsultant far tho A. E. C., visited the Rojwt for conaultntion with the Medical and Health Instnmrent Divisions, i n regard t o the problem at' discussions. All agreed thc tall 'harmful particles or mists must be removed before renching the outlet of the stack even nough t h e o o s t be considerable. Dr. Tkrron approved the method af a t t a c k hero azd both he a d Dr. Fail la expressed the belief that the possibility of harmful effects toP ln at persorrnsl as D result of continuing operations as at present for a period of' three to six months llos extremely rsmote. stressed tbe need for reasonable haste in salving the problem. Immediate fabrication of As of April 30, 1948, Word R orb had operated 84 conrreoutive drys rcduced t o 0.38 for the year. The frequency rate on this date had been On April 25, 1948, the 100-F Area ccmpleted Its third On April 23, 1948, a battalion of Anny personael from a t the Rwks for the purpose d carving aut praotiae within the Plant per-ter. 8 Fort Lewis arrived

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Assistant to the General Manager Assistant t o the General llhnaser Assistant t o the General Yhnaqer and Bmagor, Desi@ and Caastruotion Divisions .......F.R, Creedon luanager, Mmufaoturing Didbions ............C. 14. Gross

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This report does not rd lect the n m organization, which wae effective 4 - 8 4 8 . rill be shown on next months report.

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Stanley Co Roat Donald Eo Graham Charlea So Grigor Wallace Lo Oliver marlea Po aston .

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The DdF Piles operated a t 275 ?LW. tiboughout April except far schedule$ Gltagss. %ch operating area had an exteded outrlqe to remma portion of the brick from +he d l which runs acm1 the mar edge of the top of t% uni5 d to replace the mrt ical neoprene seal betmen the front face and the experimental side shields. This progrm is described in detail der llechanical Experience. The B-Pile waa nmintainud i n stsndb7 cod it ion with a water flm of month. T h e 1QI Area discharge rate continued a t 60 tons per The exclusive uae of lead dipped 4" slugs fabricated from alpha rolled or alpha ext ded -tal was started effective Aprll 1. Vork waa started April 12 in the 300 A m 8 on a program of decanning 140 tons of 8n gamena extraded triple dip canned pieces which were not can sided goad riska for pilo operation. was placed on a 2 shift per day schedule on April 19 t o expedite this work so tha5 +hmetal can ba recast a d rolled a t the earliest The slug re cm eq operatim The 3OO Area canning production of 90 tons ma gwerned by the receipt of rolled rods. A t month e d a backlog of about 30 tons of rolled In conformqa~eKith the general reorganization of the Genelal Electric Company Nucledcs Program on April 9, the P DeF i ent became the P Divisi a of the Mamfacturing Divisions. Number of Empluyees on Payroll - April Eeglming of Ilonth: A tats1 of nine cle kcal personnel wre transferred on April5 from the Accounting Division t o tho P Division as follows:

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* One male clerk of this group m a transferred t o the Construction Division on April 19 and ma replaced. mre hired for the 300 Area and are await hg clearance. Two new clerical personnel One C h b f Operator from 103-3 Area was transferred t o the 3'30 Area, a d two experienced 300 AA-.-aoperators were transferred 50 the 100 Areas in prepbration for c:ie 100-3 A r e q startup. Four new opezstors were hired ard assigied t o the 300 Area, E. L. Emry, - IS s is t mt Chief Supemisor, Process Control Group, waa 3. G. Swift and B. E, Dalton completed their training pericds and wem assigned as Shift SuperPisora t o tlh 301, Area. Wtlet Water Tempsnture (Maximum oc, 10 tubes, G%on zone) Nimbr of Scrim Number of Purges Inhcrrug Gained (this month) *High helium collsumgtion attributed prene seal mplacemnt work,, Wmnty-five inhmrs of tiis at tri h td to the use of carbon diaxide In the gas circulating ap ten.

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Whese shutdm ualls scheduled a cmnemtim Sundays t o allow special tests an the B.P.P. ayah. Whe length of the allarrablo stnrtdom tiplb tm 4 - 4 4 nas inmfficieat t o canplste the work lod ; an exteadad shutdown m a I.hquired necessitating a subsequent shau+dorm QI 4-5-48 as idicated. -lptteadad outage far brick mmapal ad seal replacement. A number of S poi al -Request samples worn processed during April; details of their irndirrtfan may be i d i n tho Technical Section of this report. Pmductlan Testa haplag operationdl slgnlficance d w the month are Tvo tubs of 4n SI- were successWy discharged a t Tube No. 2579-F, containing a thenocouple slug a d 16 piece6 of' regular 3 metal, m a discharged normally on April ll a t twice normal concentratim, (Effect of Fabrication Temperature on Bliatering) A total of 25 tubes containing various combinations of alpha axxi gamma fabricated metal, both lead dipped and triple Upped, vas discharged on April .G and ll at D Area with no difficulty. TRenty-six tubes containing similar

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anterial were discharged at F Area on A p d . 1 26. Difficulty ma encountered in discharging s i x of these tubs aa detailsd uxrier Kechaaical Ecparience. (%placement of Pile Helium Atmoaphsre with Carban The percentaga of carbon dicxide in the D - P i l e atmcap&m mu maintained at 2% except during the wlzhaut difficulty frm the center of drg tube No. Two fringb tubes which lzad been previmly damaged curd two f i b g o tubea which were being wed rrith special mars la nozzles mere mmd from senrice at F-Pile makfng a total of 78 such tubs. All horizontal slrl vertical safety rcds a m in satisfactorg opezmtLng rods as followst Considerable work vma done at F Area on vertical from Eo. 31 -d,wI"Cii-talled fall wing bdfink; of the tip and rod r i d s Wos, 10, U,'X, 15, 20, 21, 26, 30, 3 1 , 3'7, and 3 1 failed A mw tip ma installed on r d Xo. 30 Rnd the original tip

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It m s determined that the bottom of tile thimbles contained verg fine iron d u s t which could on17 be gartially rammed by a mag&, A program for remo tr al of this material is being fornarlated, At 0ha vertical rads Noe. ll and 16 we= satisfactorily loosened and all vertical rods were again t rts ted with nut preventive oil. The periodic pneumatic test4ag of the rod thimbles waa canpletsd. Horismtal rod 1B.4* a t F Area was faurd t o have sewral deep scratch a 0x1 April 30 d it was even a casting of Aqua-Dag. Adjustment of the hose reel ternion m No. 5 rod a t F Area relieved the birding pre via w ly encountered. A layer 02 brick m a removed from the d l between the top of the unit a d the discharge face atD Area from April 11-16 datF Area from April shields. Acwui curtain m s installed omr the front o f the opening t o avoid ventilation disturbances, a d led brick ra3 placed behind it t o reduce radiation fram the rear face during discharge opsrstlons. Durlnn the sem sbutdowna the front vertical neoprem seals a t the experimental sido shield were replaced became of excessive stretching, Conaidernble difficulty ma experienced atF Area in obtaining a proper This work ~ I MCone t o sUon equal :tpward expansion of the top Difficulty nas experienced a t F Area in dischaqing r3 tubs. Special equipneat and s--=r..anaive oiling were required tm April 25 t o 3ischarge imr ’ iated in accozdance with Prahctfon Teat 105-ll94, Fagalar metal charges in T?lbes Nce, 2”%l and 3575 also required special equipment for discfiarging. Forces up t o 3030 pda per square inch were necessary t o mavb tb c’%u-gea in Tubes ??os. 1155 rrad 3576, Tube No, 3575 mad m ged a d it waa filled with dunrmies prior t o replacement. Tube No, 116F a& replaced during the April 25 shut dm with tubes of the type intended for frau 04200w t o 0.240” orifices on April 25 t o relieve high temperature Tork ~ 9 8s brted cm t4he lnstdllatim of the new sewer line between The sewer line from Bu fl dings 105-B t o 1G7-B mm laid bare a t three points with one slight crack being visible, Further investigation will be de. The voids under the floors of the 105-F Building were filled with clay anl cament thus zunpleting t3is work rrhich vas brought about by under-

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cuter lens diaintegmted with considerable force. . 100 &eaa at this location and the use of t h i s equipment has been limited ' to emergenay m k only, It appears that the Plexiglass has been installed in a l l@.ass was under intarnal strain. found to opemte satisfactorixy. A mamter trsverse m a made on Tube 110. G74-D on April I& concurrently with tnnsit surveys of the discharge wi experimental faces and the unit Work continued by the Process Control group on the development snd evaluation of pca aib h rear face ch~r3ingmachines, graup remala that considerable helium eccxmies can be reRlized by mdif ' y h gc ert a in operating techniques during ahutdoms, Essentially, the change which has been adopted aa standard involves addition of helium mslcaup until the gmphite temperature has cooled to equilibrium. Then e small helium flow is fed directly into the syatem. Extensive atudy by the same The north retention basin a t Building lCn-D was pumped dawn d the known leaks were treated nith P & B paint thus stopping s i x of tire nine leaks. In the south section of the Bail d in d 1W-B basir., which wss treated with chlorine in Aplrl, it t ; ~& a e d tlzat the algae 81x9 dead LLt no marked peeling from the =Us has yet resdted, Calcium hypochlorfh, used-in the north section of the basin, killed the algae emom mpidlg than did the chlorine ani with smaller quantities. Further obervationa are The first car of 99.N purity hlfum m s unloaded a t Building UO-F without puriricntioa, thereby s ~ v i n gabout 15,m cubic feet of helium, Continued surveys of tb experimental si&e top neoprene seal indicated a reading of 29 m/hr aa camparad t o 17 m/b in llarch. Film aumeys shm the beam t o bo shout 30 inchea in width, The lead bricka placed on the discharge area side of the openinqs cut in the mil. aamss tha unit top do not give adequate shielding and rill be replaced with …