Hanford Laboratories Operation Monthly Activities Report March, 1957 (Deleted)

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Route To: P. R. No. Location Route Date BOX No This document cons Signature and Date MONTHLY ACTIVITIES REPORT HANFORD ATOMIC PPODUCTS OPERATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN SCANNED 7 IS STORED O N THE OPTICAL DISK DRIVE

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Atomic Energy Commission, Hanford Operations Office, E. J. Bloch, Director, Division of Production,

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ivS taff...................................... VF orce Report and Personnel Status Changes .................v iP ro motions and Transfers.......................... General Summary..........................vii through xii Reactor and Fuels Research and Development Physies and Instrument Research and Development Chemical Research and Development Operation Operations Research and Synthesis Operation ..........E - 1 through E-8 Financial Operation. ........................ 1-1 through 1-3

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Manager, Hanford Laboratories. ...................... Chemical Research and Development .......... Physics and Instrument Research and Reactor and Fuels Research and

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Research and Development Progress in programs supported by the product -ts has been generally favorable. Over the fiscal year to date the principal departures from schedule have occurred inoff - site development of zirconium process tubes and in irradiation testing of fuel elements, the latter a consequence of delays in activation of the KER test facility. Pla ~were formulated in detail and the necessary measures taken t o assure that expenditures on a l l research and development accounts of Banford Laboratories Operation WFIl be within budgeted limits a t the end of the fiscal year. Plans were developed with the Atomic Energy Commission t o reduce the scope of a current study of customer criteria and design criteria for a fuel elanent 1. Reactor and Fuels A prelim in a qes tin ate of the construction cost of the plutonium recycle demonstration reactor, based on the currently incamplete scope design, has exceeded available construction funds. ccuupletion of scope design KE being carried aut preparatory t o formulation of a new cost estimate. Further reduction of scope and A survey of materials for pressure tubing i n an organic cooled reactor those high temperature alloys comrmercially available with suitable neutron Swaged zirconium-clad, uranium oxide fuel elements of about 0.5" diameter have been made with 0% densities exceeding 85s of theoretical employing no heat tree bent or annealing operations. intermediate vacuum m e a l produced campacted cores with appro3LIp16ltcly Use of concentrated plutonium (as wires or thin rods) t o tslre advantage of self-shielding may provide a basis for extending the attainable exposure of Pu spike fuel in a plutonium recycle reactor. A similar process with an A de uber at ely defected and water-logged U02 tubular fuel element was irradiated one cycle in the MEB without apparent dimage tothe elunent. Rspid reactor start-up did not produce any noticeable distortion of the element jacket through rapid steam formation in the wet oxide core. Approximately 61 feet of aluminum-clad Pu-A1 fuel rods and 10 flux modto ring discs of the same alloy were delivered t o Physics and Instnnnent Research and Development Operation in March for P"R testing.

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2 . Phys ics and Instnnnrntr Expopential experiments on enriched I and E slugs, begun last xwnth, were 128 inhours greater for mse slugs than for noxmal solid slugs. GsFn In reactivity upon loss of water wa8 determined t o be The reactivity of a l+rge cored element and a seven-rod cluster being considered for the IPR were deteImined Fn a 7-1/2 inch lattice in the organic coolant was included in t h e cored elrmr?nt measurement. For the cluster, measurements were made with and without water, The second experiment in the series t o detexmine safe handling limits Acox tank for conducting experiments with heavy wster moderator was instctlled in the FCTR and reactor operation wa8 being checked out at Calculations on the reactor coolant loss problem was An aten sive study of the diffusion and trausport of stable atmosphereo was completed and a comprehensive Chemical Research and Development The G.E. mass spectrometer was converted t o employ a begun on the dog stack effluents in report has been Calibration was initiated by measuring the spectra of lanthantrm Basic ammonium fluoride solutions continue to show promise as a dejacketing media for fuels clad in z irc r ll oy. rates of 30 mils/hr with negligible attack on uranium resulted from smt a neo us exposure to boiling six molar NE@'. AveFage z irc alloy dissolution Attack on rrtainlesr The feasibility of separating plutonium from Purex IBP o r 2BP sol at ions wfth an anion exchange resin appears reasonable. Good decontaplFMtion and purification w1b0 obtained simultaneously with the production of a Studies on the formation of synthetic zeo lites (sodium alumin0 silicate) as a means for permanently fixing fission products continue to be promising. The coating wastes do not alwayls contain enough free caustic to produce gelling; however, additions of sodium hydroxide are satisfactory in obtaining

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Approximately 300 documents were reviewed for their applicability to the Industrial Irradiated Fuels Reprocessing Program. Two lots of special UO were prepared in the semi-works unit for evaluation Five tons we$e produced by hydrating and dehydrating UO fram the production plant continuous calciner and f i v e tons were produ 2ed without The presence of Np-237 in production plant UO analysis of the residue remaining from TllA dr action. w a s detected by alpha energy A;rther confirmation on the stratification of liquid wastes in ground water zone%was obtained. Vertical distribution of radioisotopes ina well i n 200 East Area were found t o be approximately 1,000-fold greater 30 f e e t below the ground water level than at the beginning of the ground water zone. Drilling costs for observation wells were reduced toa new low level of the present Schedule 30 mild steel casing. Kai-well "hard-red" steel casing w i l l be employed rather than The gastrointestinal absorption and skeletal deposition of P32 i n Z-atS was fc ir rd to be definitely a function of age - varying from in 1-1/2 yearold animals t o 11$ i n 4-month-old animals. Plutonium seem t o be transported i n the blood and excreted in the urine i n combination with an unidentified substance which is not a protein. Urine and feces concentrations of plutonium reached peaks at 72 hours after the injection into pigs' lungs of a soluble plutonium solution. Results on recent work on ruthenium absorption and retention tend t o deny Swine fed up t o 4 5 y c 1131/day have shown no thyroid damage. dose is estimated at 8,000 rads. These disturbing findings a r e being checked. 1131 thyroid and blood kinetics in pigs Twelve per cent of radioactive particles inhaled by mice were retained. After exposure this rapidly decreased t o 4s and then increased t o 8$. rational explanation is apparent. lung tumor in a mouse. Ru10602 wa6 found t o cause 8 malignant The well-known decrease i n iron uptake by whole-body irradiated atlimals was shown t o be partly caused by intestinal damage. In relative biological effectiveness work inconclusive results are being obtained. This is being ascribed to difficulties in techniques and unreliability of isotope solutions obtained from Oak Ridge.

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Chloride ion did not increase 1131 uptake by effect was less marked than with the iodide ion. I n checking old results, it appears that dichromate is not as toxic to plants as once supposed. absorbed preferential to calcium - a marked contrast to results obtained i n In other plant work, it appeared that strontium may be Technical and Other Services No radiation incidents involving exposure above permissible limits were reported. One incident, involving facial contamination and potential inhalation of plutonium by a maintenance employee, appeared t o be of minor consequence fram analysis of first bioassay samples. The employee was administered zirconium citrate as a Two cases of plutonium deposition were confirmed during t h e month. involved significant deposition. The total number of cases on record t o date is The recent ruptures of cored fuel elements and t h e consequent release of t h e noble fission gases around operating reactors has emphasized4he radiological problems with theee gases. of such gases was started to serve as a guide tothe Radiation Monitoring Operations A review of the information enrailable on the hazard A review of the information available on the effects of discharge of reactor effluent water along the shore of the river was made. Although no clear-cut evidence on this case is available, it appeared that a shoreline discharge at 1004 would increase the concentration of radioactive materials i n t h e 100-D intake by at least a factor of eight over the present concentration. Such an increaee would lead t o sizeable radiation dosage rates on the dry filter beds and would increase the internal radiation problem inthe 100 Areas. During a-1956 fission product isotopes inthe Columbia River reached 0.6 percent of the off-plant MPC. This is a factor of six increase since Cf-1953. Beta absorption and @.ti-chennelgama spectrometry have lead to the identification of Mn-54 and Tc-59 not previously found i n algae, plankton and insects taken fram Terrestrial and aquatic animals generally contained twice the contamination of one year ago. Two per cent reactor effluent increased mortality of whitefish during t h e warm season. At temperatures below Ljo C, they tolerated8 per cent effluent. Work inthe Radiographic T&ing Operation was concentrated on the zirconium process tube program. graphs, eddy current traces, dye penetrant tests and boroscope examinstion. Tubes are being examined by means of single wall radio-

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Work on Operation Pool proceeded satisfactorily with nearly all of the separate studies required assigned t o various Hanford components. The feasibility of employing a sample inventory plan t o estimate the General Stores' stock is being investigated. Such a plan would represent a considerable savings over the expense of a cmp let e physical inventory. A series of presentations on basic statistical quality control techniques tothe employees of t h e Fuels Preparation Department was very well received and has aroused considerable interest. Statistical analysis of the results of "run-to-rupture" tests and other pertinent information on rupture rates has resulted in a significant change inthe basic parameter used t o design such tests. Preparation of t h e Hanford Laboratories Operation Plant Acquisition and Construction Budget for FY 1959 and Revision tothe Budget for FY 1958 was completed and submitted t o Relations and Utilities for inclusion in the HAP0 budget submission. 1951 participants in the Savings and Stock Bonus Plan received their bonds, common stock and accumulated income during March. At the end of March the staff of the Hanford Laboratories Operation totalled ll71, including 477 ex- and 694 non-exempt personnel. Of the total exempt employees there were 415 with college degrees and of that number 398 have technical degrees In addition t h e r e were 37 non-exempt employees with degrees. The television program "Inside Hanford" was presented March 6, and included presentations by H. M. Parker, t h e General Managers of t h e Product Departments, as well as t h e General Manager - HAPO. to this program. There were many very favorable reactions Twelve suggestions were presented t o t h e Suggestion Board with 6 being adopted and representing a total savings of $323.00 and awards of $80.00. The nm-exempt employee outlook continues very favorable with only 4 openings a reasonably favorable level in all areas except that of broadly experienced, highly qualified specialists and technical managers. Technical personnel placement activities continue a t

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No grievances were received during t h e month of March. case continues unresolved and negotiations are continuing with the Regional Monitors. The Wonacott arbitration Hanford Laboratories personnel worked a t o t a l of 190,947 hours with no disabling injuries during March. of 1.98 as compared t o 1.73 for t h e previous month. There were 38 medical treatment injuries with a frequency The frequency for the year All secretaries in Bu3 have now been placed on the new secretarial plan.

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REACTOR AND FUELS EiE3EAFCZ AND DEVELOPMEh'T OPERATION Statistical Evaluation of Corrosion. Most of the available data on the uniform corrosion of aluminum, including laboratory, loop, and in-reactor data, have been correlated i n terms of temperature, power, and pH and Corrosion of Uranium i n Organic Coolants. the reaction between uranium metal and organic compounds at their decomposition temperatures t o form uranium carbide. This reaction i s assumed t o pass through a hydride intermediate step, since the rate of formation of uranium carbide is substantially reduced when hydrogen i s vented from the reaction vessel(e.g., the autoclave). Since hydrogen gas can be collected and vented from are circulating reactor system o r loop, the carbiding reaction does not appear t o be a severe threat to an organic Recent work has demonstrated A canned uranium sample with a 1/16-inch diameter hole drilled in the can has been under test in monoisopropyl biphenyl (MITB)for 56 days a t 400 C, with the total pressure maintained below 200 l b / sqin. by periodic venting of the autoclave. this time, the sample shows no visible evidence of swelling. Ina corresponding test i n which the total pressure was ailowed t o reach 680 l b / s q in., the sample was badly swollen after17 days. Although three charges of MIPB have been decomposed i n In a less drastic test a bare uranium sample has been i n refluxing MIPB at one atmosphere and 300 C f o r 81 days. The MIPB i s protected by a C02 blanket. The MIPB has suffered little if any thermal breakdown, and the uranium piece shows no swelling, spalling, o r other evidence of reaction. Three uranium dioxide pellets were tested in MIPB at 400 Cfor nine days ina closed system. The pellets were not damaged and the weight changes were within experimental error. A bare uranium piece tested i n the same manner ( a t 400 C ) was completely converted t o carbide In five days. From these tests, uranium dioxide appears t o be stable in MIPB, even above the decmposition temperature of the organic. "he maximum pressure was 880 l b / s q in.

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Corrosion of a New High Temperature Aluminum Alloy. mental data indicate a new aluminum alloy, A203, is significantly more resistant to high temperature water (370 C ) than any aluminum alloy than half that of either M400 o r M388. measurements almost all the corrosion of the new alloy occurred i n the first three to four days, with very small weight gains thereafter. If t h e weight gain studies a r e borne out by further metal loss analysis, this alloy represents a very substantial improvement over the best previous experience. The corrosion rate law for alloy A203 does not appear t o be parabolic; may possibly be either logarithmic o r inverse logarithmic. If true, this would mean that the weight loss at the end o f one year would be very small. The metal l o s s per square centimeter was …