Sweh is 
2 
Per i ke U 39 Per gram yo? 
charged consumed, fission + capture 
Total U __ 700 grams —~ 2.3 grams/gram 
FP active + inactive _ 254 grams ~ 0.85 gram/gram 
*FP active _ 31.5 grams —~0.10 gram/gram 
*FP active B ~ 210,000 curies —T700 curies/gram 
* 100 days cooling 
Chemical Processing. 
Until the present time, most reactors have been of the heterogeneous 
type. This means that the fuel elements are usually metallic and require 
complete dissolution in order to be processed. Nitric acid has been the 
solvent in almost every case. Fission products must be separated from 
the uranium to the same level as the natural background of uranium; in 
numbers the separation factors are greater than one part per million. 
It is also necessary to separate Th from 33 | or Pu from U, to an 
equivalent decontamination factor. Chemical separationsare accomplished 
by completely remote processes; three feet of concrete or more shield 
personnel. The processing equipment is designed and built to be maintained 
remotely or be chemically decontaminated before maintenance. Solvent ex- 
traction processes have been developed to decontaminate uranium and plutonium 
to natural backgrounds in two or more cycles. 
DECLASSIFIED 
