Hanford Laboratories Operation Monthly Activities Report December, 1957

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This document consi FLILdEFi PIP HANFORD LABORATORIES OPERATION MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT THIS DOCUMENT IS PUBLICLY THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED AND IS STORED O N THE OPTICAL DISK DRIVE This report was prepared only for use within General Electric Company i n the course of work under Atomic Energy Commission the report are those of the authors only. Any views o r opinions expressed in

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Atomic Energy Commission, Hanford Operations Office E. J. Bloch, Director, Division of Production, Savannah River Operations Office, Aiken, South Carolina

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Force Report and Personnel Status Changes ............V Promotions and Transfers vi. ................... General Summary....................vii through xiv Reactor and Fuels Research and Development Operation A 1- 1 through A 1 - 3 1 Physics and Instrument Research and Development Chemical Research and Development Operation ..... Financial Operation ................... 1-1 through 1-6

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Manager, Hanford Laboratories............. Manager (Acting), Chemical Research and Development . Manager, Physics and Instrument Research and Manager, Radiation Protection............ Manager, Reactor and Fuels Research and Manager, Employe e R el ations ............

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BUDGETS AND COSTS Fiscal year to-date costs are $8,208,000 atthe end of December or46 of the $17,759,000 FY 1958 Mid-Year Review Budget. showed as light reduction from November. Cost-budget relationship of end programs through December are, for the most spent and reduced spending will be required during the balance of the year. December costs of $1,440,000 The authorization for F'PD Research and Development i s 6046 Plutonium recycle costs are only 37$ of t h e annual budget however, t h e annual budget i s based on $3,500,000 (excludes $500,000 equipment) as compared with $3,000,000 (excludes equipment) contained in the financial plan. expenditures for prototypes and off - site services will substantially increase the spending rate for this program during the last half of this fiscal year. CPD Research and Development - Separations is 62qb of the budget; the budget for Separations Processes f o r Non-Production Fuels is only 6$ spent. two programs a r e 47'$ of authorized funds. Reductions i n FPD and IPD Process Technology took place i n December as plasned. While additional reductions appear necessary, it i s planned that costs of these two programs will remain within authorized funds this fiscal year. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 1. Reactor and Fuels IBM computations indicate that i n PRPR operation on steady state fuel cycles without segregation of plutonium according t o exposure history, maximum exposures are attained a t 3-5$ rather than zero processing loss. These maximum exposures, with D20 reflector,are about 6000 MWD/T for the uniformly enriched reactor and about 3700 MWD/T for the spike enriched reactor. The PRPR preliminary safeguards analysis was reviewed by the General Electric Company Reactor Safeguards Committee on December 9 . agreed that the reactor design met all present safety standards, further study of t h e degree and consequences of metal-water reaction following an incident was recommended and will be done. The design of PRPR Phase I1 ( s e r v i c e area) and Phase I11 (reactor and auxiliaries) is IS$ complete. Scope changes include removal of the turbo - generator and associated changes, and modification of the wall between the lower face access room and the process cell. The LeFiell Manufacturing Company (Los Angeles) succeeded i n mechanically forming t h e flanged and tapered sections on short, prototype PRPR Zircaloy-2 process tubes. Although further study is required, the outlook i s quite Zircaloy-2 end fittings fabricated from bar stock by machining have been a

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substantial element in fuel assembly costs. parts made by an off - site vendor indicates excellent quality at considerably Examination of vacuum cast Frequent ruptures have occurred i n attempting t o swage t o high density sin - tered and ground U02 powder contained in thin wall, 1" OD, Zircaloy-3 tubing. In a test at a vendor plant this did not occur using a stationary spindle Unsintered U02 powder specimens irradiated in the hER have shown no increase in fission gas release with increasing exposure inthe range of hundreds of Examination of Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-3 specimens after prolonged exposure i n H-Reactor led to the following conclusions: reactor gas can be predicted from out-of-reactor test data, b) cold worked zirconium, Zircaloy-2, and Zircaloy-3 are annealed and re crystallized in less than tkee months a t 410 C,c) 450 C appears t o be the upper temperature limit for prolonged exposure of Zrto reactor atmosphere, and d) aside from the effect of m ealing, 1000 days of exposure had little effect on mechania) rates of reaction with Two-tube charges of experimental hot-press canned and vacuum canned I and E fuel elements have been discharged after irradiation to about 800 MWD/T a t a power level of about 50 kw/ft. appeared t o be i n good condition. Preliminary corrosion tests of four experimental aluminum alloys prepared by a commercial vendor have given results inferior to those obtained on alloys of t h e same chemical composition prepared by ANL. associated with metallurgical history are indicated. N o ruptures occurred and all test elements Effects of variables Exposure of conventional, asbestos-insulated thermocouple are for eight hours i n an inert atmosphere at 600 C resulted in a 2000-fold reduction i n electrical insulation resistance. and/or other carburizing substances with oxygen restored t h e insulation resistance to greater than the old value. of this magnitude would invalidate the temperature-reading of the thermocouple and explains t h e premature failure of many asbestos-insulated thermocouples in Buford reactors. However, burnout of impregnating material A loss of electrical resistance Near saturation of the physical distortion of CSF graphite caused by irradi ation at 30 C has been observed for the first time i n samples recently discharged with an accumulated exposure of 5725 MD/T. In ex-reactor loop tests of two weeks duration employing MIPB coolant at TOO F, fuel elements with nickel or graphite diffusion barriers clad with aluminum, steel and Zircaloy-2 exhibited an absence of the distortion previously observed under similar conditions employing AlSi o r no diffusion barrier. Magnesium coupons were found t o be extensively attacked by traces of water i n MIPB.

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2. Chemical. Research and Development I n Non-Production Fuels Reprocessing, some 20 different processes are being studied for technical and economic feasibility wit.h reprocessing of plutonium recycle fuels included inthe scope. More work on chloride removal from Darex dissolver solution by either solvent extraction o r boil-off techniques solutions potentially capable of dissolving either stainless steel o r z3rconium. Continued study of uranium, plutonium, thorium, and cerium oxide solutes i n molten potassium-aluminum chloride with subsequent reduction reactions t o produce metallic uranium, thorium, o r plutonium has brought to light some potentially sFmple and interesting decontanination or partition processes. Corrosion tests are narrowing down materials suitable fer Haynes 25 alloy looks promising t o contain HNO -HF Use of tri-laurylamine as a specific plutonium extractant i s reported t o be more promising than previous alkylamines tested. Basic chemical feasibility of plutonium recovery from Wex LWW wastes by anion exchange looks encouraging although several practical problems are yet various anion exchange resins. Absorption desorption kinetic studies are reported for Economic analysis and laboratory exploration was initiated on "dry" storage methods for Purex wastes. Complete dehydration t o stable salts retained i n steel pipes is visualized. continue t o be studied. Methods of stabilizing or calcining gel wastes Potential substitution of stainless steel in lieu of platinum for Flurex anodes may be economically 8ttrac"uive. Two independent mechanisms are reported t o account for the effective removal of strontium ion from solution by c a l c i t e in the presence of phosphate ion. 3 . Physics and Instruments The reactivity loss which will result from loading I and E slugs in the K reactors was determined by experiment inthe PCTR. inhours, was determined with an estimated e r r o r of f 40 inhours by development of an improved technique for using the PCTR i n difference-type Work continued on determining the nuclear physics parameters for cluster type fuel elements for the NPR program, and progress was also made i n the program t o develop improved methods for calculating such information. tion of the isotopic composition of plutonium produced i n reactors having moderator temperatures up t o 1200" C received special attention. The gathering of experimental information needed in setting critical mass limits for the chemical processing of slightly enriched fuel elements continued. This program has now been broadened t o include consideration of enrichments up t o 1.4$. Problems will exist in both the dissolvers and the calciners at these concentrations. Data were obtained on randorcly stacked,

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1$ enriched, I and E slugs, and on oxide mixtures of l o w water content. the latter the maximum enrichment which will have k less than unity under any conditions has now been established as 1.02 5 0.0%. In the Plutonium Recycle Program, PCTR experiments were completed on the Mark I1 annular f u e l element and the data are now being analyzed. Continued high demand f o r PCTR time necessitated two-shift operation throughThe simulation, from an atmospheric physics standpoint, of "slow simmer" reactor disasters continued. Tracer materials emitted from 100-H and 100-B have been me sured a t distances up to8 miles from the source and at, dilu - tions of lo3 of the source strength. Since experiments t o date have been under only one set of atmospheric conditions, no general conclusions can be A body monitor shield has been constructed in 329 Bldg. of 100-pound bags of crushed talc. The development of the pulse method for reading pencils was completed and extensive field testing by Radiation Protection Operation is under way. Satisfactory progress was made in the development of instruments for radiation detection use. alpha hand counter was demonstrated by campletion of two months' use without any maintenance or re calibration being required. the development of nine other instruments o r major components. Satisfactory operation of a scintillation,transistor i zed Progress was also made on Work i n the basic data field continued on programs mentioned i n previous months. A significant increase in beam current of the Van-de-Graaff has been achieved by improved alignment. P32 contamination in whitefish available t o fishermen at Ringold increased toa point where the consumption of 0.3 lb/week would furnish the offsite The same level was also found in the flesh of From the standpoint of gross beta emitters picked up by Columbia River fish, there appears t o be no advantage in retaining reactor effluent for decay of Prompt treatment with chel-330 appears t o removal of plutonium from t h e body. Three malignant tumors were found in mice and one eter administration of RU''~~O,. lung mlignancy caused by a beta emitter. be superior t o EDTA for after administration of The latter is the first Calc ip, phosphate, and carbonate were all effective i n reducing deposition of Sr9 and Ca45, but in varying degrees for the two isotopes. increased t h e deposition. Sodium The results attest to the complexity of the

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interrelationships involved and point up the inadequacy of the commonly accepted concept that calcium Wiil behave simply as an isotopic diluent of Technical and Other Services Two cases of plutonium deposition were confirmed; one case involving a contaminated minor injury and a small excision of skin. indicated less than ten per cent MPL i n both cases. plutonium deposition on record i s 212, of which 168 are on the active rolls. An ROF of thirty clerical employees in the Radiation Protection Operation was announced t o be effective in January. expected gains from improvements in t h e film badge and pencil programs. The i o d i n e - 1 3 emission rate averaged seven curies per week which included a single emission of 14 curies from the Redox sand filter. Statistical and mathematical assistance on 37 separate problems was given t o Initial bioassay analyses The total number of cases of This was necessary because of earlier than The following items are typical : 1. Control charts currently maintained forI and Efuel element production were reviewed and changes recommended. Fission product gas activity data from a U02 irradiation experiment were analyzed with respect t o surface area, packing density, enrichment, neutron flu, and exposure time. Radiation exposure data from different tasks within the "Z" plant are being analyzed with the objective of correlating with processing variables i n the reactors and separation plants. Assistance was given in a determination of confidence limits on data f o r a critical mass study concernkg randomly dumped fuel elements. All projects are proceeding substantially on schedule with the exception of C A - 6 5 8 , Shielded Personnel Monitoring Station; Project CA-681,Hanford Equipment inthe ETR; and Project CA-695, Radiotelemetering Network. Four project proposals were submitted during the month. These were as follows: CG-660 - Modification and Additions tothe Metallographic Cell Project CA-784 - Alterations tothe 327 Building - was returned unapproved by Completion notices were issued on two informal requests: t r o l l e d Activity Water System, 100-F Area and IR-232, Repair Damage and Additions t o Heating System, 747 Building.

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A successful demonstration run was made with the vacuum furnace installed on Project CG-620 which removes the exception t o the completion of t h i s project. The modified IBM system introduced last month for cont rsl of classified documents i s working very satisfactorily. since billings so far include conversion costs. Technical Information were obtained by transferring security control of SS accountability data sheets tothe SS Accountability Operation. Information was transmitted t o AEC regarding situations where compliance with the existing word Classification Guide will be particularly difficult. Drafts of c e r t a i n sections of the Hanford Classification Guide have been prepared by the respective product departments. It i s not yet possible t o analyze costs A Financial Plan, dated December 20, 1957, has been received from HOO-AEC f o r FY 1958. A summation of the contents of this plan which makes comparisons with HLO's needs as forecasted inthe Mid-Year Budget Review i s being prepared for distribution early in January. plan a r e as follows: Highlights of the new financial 2000 Program Research and Development has been increased t o provide $1.7 million for NPR work this fiscal year. 3000 Program Research and Development was increased t o $333,000 from $164,000 inthe preliminary financial plan. 4000 Program Research and Development decreased from $4.0 million t o $3.5 million, including equipment. A meeting was held with HOO-AEC operating and budget personnel t o make a strong bid for the recovery of the serious effects this reduction will have on the plutonium recycle HOO-AEC i s advising AEC Washington early i n January of 6000 Program Research and Development increases from $1.8 million t o $1.92 million t o provide additional funds f …