The Ottawa Journal du lieu suivant : Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Page 3

eates the trouble developed!" rUk when one or mora of the alumi num sheaths en the uranium1 rods developed a leak. uranium rods have double sheaths. One clings close to the uranium. The other is wider and in the space, between the two sheaths runs ordinary water used for cooling. Neither the cooling water nor the aluminum sheaths interferes with the atomic build-up crested by the close association of the uranium rods and the heavy water.

One symptom of the trouble was that cooling water began to show heavy radioactivity. demonstrating it had contact with a bare rod. t- Identification of the rods at fault, one or two among 171, la difficult. Radioactivity persists in the building and men searching for the trouble wear heavy masks. They are allowed to remain In the points of grestest danger for no more thsa two or three minutes.

i work haa been facilitated by a loan from the United States Navy, a television machine normally used for the Inspection of ship hulls under water. TV Camera Use. The television camera has been set up under the Chalk River reactor, showing the intricate mass of connections with the uranium rods. SclenUij and engineers examine the equipment on the television screen and decide where the next )ob in the danger area will be When the engineer goes this lone to check arrange for Its removal, he Is watched and guided by a colleague who Watches She tele-l vision screen' and direct his 'operations t. through a loudspeaker system.

The camera eye can be moved to any part of the reactor within vision by the men at the screen In a room storey above. The scientists, spesking to Ottawa reporters they guided through the reactor building all wearing masks and rubber clothing regretted the halt In operations and the production of laotoiiea. such aa those used day. Develop New Teekaiqnea. "Our problem Is thst we are restricted because we cannot go been cared for.

Dr. Keys said that if ordinary water used' for cooling became heavily radioactive a storage problem was created because it could not be -poured into the I Ottawa river in safety. Best Isotopes. Isotopes made st Chalk River, with their high tux, were counted the best in the world, having in intensity some 20 times higher than the United States best But the difficulty in repairing the' reactor must delay new production, apart from the production from ZEEP been In and from radioactive materials uranium! in store. "A man may work in the danger area for only a couple of minute and.

that's all be will be aUowed to work in that area for a week." Dr. Keys said that an seven occasions In five years the reactor had been closed down for periods of from Ave to eight weeks due to other difficulties and the December It shutdown was Only the most severe of a number. Dr. Lewis, vice- president, research and develop- knent. said work continued despite the NRX shutdown, even by the scientist who tor three years hsd observed the atomic reaction in the vat In an attempt to And one angle related to the movement of the neutron.

ere might "be much to at Chalk River with other processes to- be adopted in association with nuclear fission. But the atom plant of the future 4. 1 should be thought of "as an 1 industrial chemical plant rather in the Cobalt-80 "bomb" used VaarC fight cancer, but reiterated that TUI HU I CftJl NRX waa an experimental pilot plant, operated without zwiof experience as a guide. Dr. J.

Mackenzie, president of 'the Atomic Energy Control Board snd Atomic Energy Canada, told than anything to do with nuclear fission. The construction of NRU, now well started, would fire scientists a bigger stream of neutrons but in the main would be a "bigger and better NRX. Some of the NRX design now seems quite comic "Carbon-U has a half-life of 6,000 years so you can see we are not closed down for lack of radioactive materials because NRX is out of he said. IServed Post Office Never Late -for Duly mill I Recently T. J.

Harrington, 0( popular member of the Ottawa reporters Post Office staff, was presented before their tour thst those in' with a well-filled wsllet on the charge of the atomic plant ot hta retirement. to lesrn how to "clean -p'a The-presentation was-made breakdown auoh as that an by the Postmaster. E. J. Duguay, Industry might experience any, in the presence of District Post 1 fa t.

1 f.lJ a aViVaSIUfl OT ef. vuiugi aiiu ti- low workCT. Mr. HarrinftDfi wu rnior V- The Ottawa Journal THURSDAYr The Third Page JANUARY 8,, 1953,, Atom Teaching tvl 1 New jr JAMCS MrCOOK ef Tk iMnul Plant Leak Scientists 1 ecnniques NRX pile in deUil to see what has haorjened to it ia fiv yean. CHALK RIVER, Jan.

8 A There may be the opportunity radioactive leak on December to make modinestlons. 11 halted operations of the NRX) "Looking on the brightest side nuclear reactor for a period thatjwe feel that In three, or four may extend to months, but years we may Snd this was very atomic scientists here consider 1 advantageous. I think we have It an-opportunity not a possibility of making NRX They face task of a permanent Installation, ordinary difficulty In having tbelsomething we had not thought reactor, recognized as the most we could do. We may also be efficient la the world, placed in'ible to increase its volume, operation again. Dr.

W. A. Keyv chairman ef The damage came within the project to-ordinatiog corn-heart of the Chalk River project, mittee, said that although NRX in the massive vst where 178 had been closed down the fission uranium rods placed in heavy products continued to give off water are used to release the energy. Some continued to give fantastic power of the atom, the: oil energy for seconds; some for bulld-up of energy being con- years. trolled by cadmium and boron "The uranium rods have an rods and the ceaseless watch of; intensity equivalent to hundreds men and instruments.

of pounds of radium; you can't The heavy water-was with- go near them', said Keys. drawn from the vat as soon as In the reactor building. instruments gave warning of scientists showed how' a radio-, radioactivity where It should active uranium rod could be not be. The heavy water was from the reactor by a high drained off. and the chain reaction of atomic power halted.

This left 179 long radioactive rods, dangerous as cobras, as dangerous today as on December 12 when the trouble developed. Trenble Starts. The evidence available indl crane, guided into a water tunnel and towed to" a deep underground storage chamber where it could be kept In com paratlve safety. This was a slow, careful process and could not be undertaken until medical and scientific authorities had I III! ji II 1 iiiibiiiimiih mm mmnm 1 1 t- I 1 7 i DONE WITH MIRRORS Some radioactive materials at Chalk River are so dangerous they have to be handled with nine-toot tongs through a wall of lead nearly six feet thick. BOMBARDMENT MACHINERY Dr.

Don S. Craig. John Rothfels and James W. Jagger, left to right, with the 200-kilovplt high tension aet at Chalk River. They study the effects of bombarding light elements with hclium-J and hydro- a Nuclear Pill' Limerick Rocks Club Moments of mirth in the serious life of a nuclear scientist! Dr.

O. M. Solsndt, poker-faced chairman ot the Defence Research Board, sent members ot the Canadian Club Into, fits ot laughter yesterday, reciting this limerick which he said was the product of a nuclear scientist eoileague:" There Was a young man named Bill Who swallowed a-nuclear- pill The doctor said "cough" The damn thing went off And they found his head in Brazil 1 Ofiice Irupector G. K. MackletmlNPrnna UDeral OH On Boy Shot in Eye r.r rsdtiv.

equipment unl wJZt WX MfehaD It has been houseclesned heof worked AIUICIJ riDII0(i said, "we nave 10 oeveiop office, durinl technfques for desllng with the which time he-was never late I for duty, and accumulated -741 NRX was put In operation In of unused sick leave, -147 and It was estimated it, Mr. Harrlhaton was also pre-! would have a life at five yean. ted with a Certificate of Ser-The new NRU reactor, now, vlc from the Postmaster being built at a cost of 130.000.-, General. -000, always had been considered Thrpctoz Elect Aid. Hamilton developed at the first Canadian)- ir atomic tests during the "nr.l I OUnSl LnQinTlSn still to in service msklng Isotopes; 1 wu "'M" KINGSTON, Jan.

g-JCr A 15-year-old boy, ahot in the eye Tuesday In an archery accident, yesterday underwent a second operation to remove pieces of the arrow still in his right eye. William Eves wss first operated on Tuesday to remove iVt Inches of the arrow tip from his eye. Police said Eves and two young friends built a snow fort and hung three empty nail kegs Dul is a ti an the fort for arrherv UrrrU. miLvta.ef in thia While the other two were are advantages In u' l.k.l.. to shoot Eves went be- altuation.

although we never wanted ssid Dr. Msckenxie. I Convention Committee last year. hlnd the fort and looked out Waa named chairman at the. wrougn a uuee-incn noie in im "We have to learn to live with' fnrt wlL this sort of thing, the pattern of mittee -WecViesdsy.

AldermanfAl-that moment, an arrow radiation. What happened on glosn waa named vice-chairman was ahot at one of the kegs. It December 11 gives us what we 'for the new term. The meeting mimed the mark, flew directly would not have otherwise hsdJifee named various members to through the hole, and struck an opportunity of examining the Hi foursub-comrnlUeej. Ivtt in the eye.

This is done through, the help of The above picture, with the wall cut away, shows how the tongs are handled In moving small containers containing dangerous material. (Atomic Cmtst el Canada Ltd- Photo) MM --rv-ri t(' 1 i 'rt -crj' gen-J particles, which are generated in the cylinder at the top of the picture and accelerated through the guide tubes to the target being adjusted by Mr. Rothfels. (Atomic taerty ef Canada US- Pkrto) 1 IW yt inrtrnttHTMOB I i hi I 'Tpt mtrnt cnjpt 1 TT i 'II II la" 1 I ill I I Mtmmm-J -i, i -r I I WHERE ATOM'S TOWER RELEASED The heart ot the NRX reactor at Chalk River Is an aluminum tank containing heavy water, Into it are Inserted 17 aluminum tubes containing rods of nstursl uranlum- 23S atoms split they release' neutrons which -j split other urspium-239 atoms and set up a chain During this Buiort process great heat is created anJ radiation given. oft, and ordinary water and sir sreuard for eool-irt.

csdmiurn red thrust In thie is I- used to rontroi the speed of development of power. Material to be made radioactive Is put in balls and rolled Into the tank. The December 12 mishap which spread radioactivity throughout the reactor building and halted-ita operations is believed to; have been caused by holes in one or more of the shesths. Twvering the -uranium rods, allowing cooling wster to touch the rods and become radioactive. (Atomic Botror at Cuwli Ud.

rtwto) Can Finer 1 Spi to scientific- knowledge. Jsck Hardwick In the electronics building demonstrated a machine which counted (smma rays and gives exact data on the radioactivity of any specimen. Scientists are interested in the movement of radioactive materials in a living body; A guinea pig may be Injected with a radioactive substance, killed and its body examined. The counting machine will give information on the radioactivity of every part of the body. Cordon Maclusky hsd the data for a machine which will be attached to the new nuclear reactor NRU, which will automatically maintain a check en the atomic power which will develop there.

He has built an electrical equivalent of the reactor and applied to It the automatic brake which will watch Its operation ceaselessly. Cobalt Bomb. Stanley Whlttaker, chief designer, demonstrated an Intricate mechanism which will make possible the "handling" ef dangerous radioactive materials Board to Probe How Airman Able To Steal $14,000 RCAF Headquarters said Wed- aatoaiva' sa KMWsl sa Innn lore la Than Spid er CHALK RIVER. Jan. such as CobaU-60 behind a (Special) A machine spinning inches thick.

web finer than any. Spider's The instrument will be guided is a new pride of the Chalk vial of River atomic plant. 'material through mirrors. Cuupt Reporters visiting the plant and punches moved by hydraulic were shown, in the' Applied power will lift the -vial, dpen it; Physics Building, a machine dump the contents, and toad built by John Hitchcock, which them la a fresh capsule, all makes threads of quartz fibre without touch of human hand. down to one-twentieth the aize ''We have been uvng nine at a human hair.

A quartz rod foot manual fur toes is headed by a strong gas flame, operations, and it hasbeen very and the melting thread is carried said Mr. Whiltaker. to a spinning wheel sbout four "This process should be. taster." feet below. When the thread is' G.

W. Hatfield, manager of spinning on the wheel it to barely. Industrial operations, ssid that visihle unless the light catches the Cobalt-00 source now will it be radioactive pellets Instead of In the laboratory Mr. Hitch- steel discs or wsfers used In the -cock and Miss Msrjorie Hughes past and which were more dute Install these, tiny threads' In 'cult to handle. measuring devices of various) Major building project at kinds, including weighing! Chalk River, which now em- machine so sensitive that it will: ploys 1,900 workers.

Is at the weigh a smsll pencil dot a' site of the new NRU building, 'J piece of psper. I where the concrete foundations Valuable rejects. of the vst which will hold the "In scores of buildings, at the nevy. nd, rod pUnt almllsr proJecU vsluabla f0 to the work of atomic reeesrch lrt61n1 th are underway spsce to be availsble for assocl- v'ated laboratories and other Next door is the 14-ton Van juymj, De Graaff generator an "atom B.rnbrtdge. charge at i hlcn hurU, the isotopes lsboratory.

demon. nJL.11 V'itrated themethod. of shipments 3,000.000 electron volts st Lj topa, m.kinf .0 Tolue 01 hMV" them into different atoms. To, there-would be no the naked eye the effect of tne lounger asssult of this force on the smsll 1 iwa Joe Molloy. wearing a mask the nuclear reactor num.

lnothlng But change. jrwUed the afternoon of warning lighu flashed all through the warning system to show thst radioactive leakage had occurred. "The cadmium and boron con-trol rods in the pile held it under control until we got the hesvy wster drained awsy halted the reaction. No one was excited. The warning system worked perfectly." Dr.

W. A. Keys, chairman ot; the project co-ordinating com', mittee, ssid the scientists in charge of the reactor were eager to werk day and night in die- vs covering what had cauaed the December IS trouble and get the plant operating again. I The average age of the Chalk River -community is 32 yesrs. They have kept Canada in the', forefront of atomic energy de.

velopment for peaceful purpeaea. The efficiency of the NRX i reactor, haa made possible the development of the best Isotopes -In the world and provided Information for the development', ot power-producing reactors to drive machines In the future which could not be obtained elsewhere. Army Off icer, Loses Pant Speciatularly been established to determine A dolen T01 how TO O. A. J.

Martin wssto" their pants because Chalk v- RIVER, Ont, Jan. I. able to steal $14,000 in Air Force River's reactor broke down. buL xunos ounng tne ust 17 roontns. of them did It mnr.

v. Headquarter! said the board ill inquire into the "circumstances of the loar but until it makes its findings there will be no further comment on the theft FOMsrtln, 11-year-old ex it. IS I whose elevation to Cardinal hltlr1v ttarkiwl hyr tacuiariy than Capt R. H. Neame of TlmMfns.

Ont He cams here as head of the Army's radiation detection unit to help in the Job ot cleaning upO excess radioactivity. He weniv down Into the basement beneath tOttawa, hM been dismissed from "fi" fel' Wthe RCAF at TorontoTS sen-, diofcJlv Jwuf tenced to six months imprisonment following disclosure of the misappropriation. New Polish Cardinal Won't Leave Poland VATICAN CITY. Jan. WV-Arehbiahop Stefan Wya- puiiw wr uiKrn uvm mm and destroyed.

But otherwise he suffered no ill effects. Roughly a dozen others hsd to surrender' their pants, too, after they cam into contact with too much radiation. New pants are provided in all such canci, MontreVil.Truckcr Blamed iri fatality the'PolUh cress. telesrsDhed the' "MUNIKMIh Jsn. CP) Vatican today that he will not' Hubert MorrlasetJ.

84. waa leave Poland tt come here for erlmlnally responsibla his red hat at the Jan. 12 con- yesterday by a coroner's Jury tf''ry lor twla Wlllism His telegram gave no reason. 1 Mulr of suburbsn VerdurC Silled Vsticsn, sources said, however. wnen thrown from his ear Mon-It seemed clesr that the Polish after it was struck by Mor-primste wss unwilling to lesve truck- Morrissetta wUl his post for fear he might not be arraigned In court tatoft --permitted -back into the Iron! rrm ive hi nrwrn w-nirtw ua.

WHEAT. SHIPS SAIL. I (CP) Seventeen box cars ef a-VANCOUVER. Jan. (CP) 65-car frelcht train were derail- Three ahips loaded wtth ed yesterday 45 miles west of 69 bushels of whest left here here, tying up the main Cana-yesterday.

One ship carrying dle'n Pacific Railwav line bushels of wheat sailed tween Medicine Hat Snd from New Westminster. ,5 Canada Beats U.S. to Punch Tightening Up Treason Lavs Canada has beaten Senator' now' before Parliament Alexander Wiley of the United further increase It to 14 States to the punch try tighten-! Mf' 'T Ing laws desUng with treason: inaudewnmunlcaUon of InfoP-snd espionsge. fmaUon as part of the crime of Justice MlnaiterCrson Wed-i treason which carries a maxt- nesdayaaid Canada implemented mum penalty of death. How.

aome time ago Senator Wiley's ever," the Senate put that clause suggestion In Washington Tues-iin a of the Criminal day that the Weston Powers Code which carries a maximum tighten treaaon and espionage sentence of 14 years. Jlsws: I "It is, not, beyond He said that In 1931 Canada the power of the Housef Com-increased the Density for sedi-imons in its consideration of this lion to seven -from two to restore this suhsectlHn i A revision- of the Criminal Cod? rtitlon rt 1.