Management of tritium at nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

This report presents extending summaries of the works of the participants to an IAEA co-ordinated research programme, ''Handling Tritium - bearing effluents and wastes''. The subjects covered include production of tritium in nuclear power plants (mainly heavy water and light water reactors), as well as at reprocessing plants; removal and enrichment of tritium at nuclear facilities; conditioning methods and characteristics of immobilized tritium of low and high concentration; some potential methods of storage and disposal of tritium. In addition to the conclusions of this three-years work, possible activities in the field are recommended

Tritium monitoring equipments for animal experiment facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Hiroo

1980-01-01

Animal experiment facilities using tritium are described with reference to laws and regulations concerning radiological safety. Usual breeding facilities and surrounding conditions at non-radioactive animal experiments are summarized on feasible and effective designs of tritium monitors. Characteristics and desirable arrangements of various kinds of tritium monitors such as ionization chambers, proportional counters and liquid scintillation detectors are discussed from the standpoint of monitoring for room, glove-box, stack, liquid waste and personnel. (J.P.N.)

Design and operations at the National Tritium Labelling Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morimoto, H.; Williams, P.G.

1991-09-01

The National Tritium Labelling Facility (NTLF) is a multipurpose facility engaged in tritium labeling research. It offers to the biomedical research community a fully equipped laboratory for the synthesis and analysis of tritium labeled compounds. The design of the tritiation system, its operations and some labeling techniques are presented

The INEL Tritium Research Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhurst, G.R.

1990-01-01

The Tritium Research Facility (TRF) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) is a small, multi-user facility dedicated to research into processes and phenomena associated with interaction of hydrogen isotopes with other materials. Focusing on bench-scale experiments, the main objectives include resolution of issues related to tritium safety in fusion reactors and the science and technology pertinent to some of those issues. In this report the TRF and many of its capabilities will be described. Work presently or recently underway there will be discussed, and the implications of that work to the development of fusion energy systems will be considered. (orig.)

The INEL Tritium Research Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Longhurst, G.R. (Idaho National Engineering Lab., Idaho Falls (USA))

1990-06-01

The Tritium Research Facility (TRF) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) is a small, multi-user facility dedicated to research into processes and phenomena associated with interaction of hydrogen isotopes with other materials. Focusing on bench-scale experiments, the main objectives include resolution of issues related to tritium safety in fusion reactors and the science and technology pertinent to some of those issues. In this report the TRF and many of its capabilities will be described. Work presently or recently underway there will be discussed, and the implications of that work to the development of fusion energy systems will be considered. (orig.).

The Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) Facility: Status-2004

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderl, R.A.; Longhurst, G.R.; Pawelko, R.J.; Sharpe, J.P.; Schuetz, S.T.; Petti, D.A.

2005-01-01

The Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) Facility, a US DOE National User Facility at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), comprises capabilities and infrastructure to support both tritium and non-tritium research activities important to the development of safe and environmentally friendly fusion energy. Research thrusts include (1) interactions of tritium and deuterium with plasma-facing-component (PFC) materials, (2) fusion safety issues [PFC material chemical reactivity and dust/debris generation, activation product mobilization, tritium behavior in fusion systems], and (3) molten salts and fusion liquids for tritium breeder and coolant applications. This paper updates the status of STAR and the capabilities for ongoing research activities, with an emphasis on the development, testing and integration of the infrastructure to support tritium research activities. Key elements of this infrastructure include a tritium storage and assay system, a tritium cleanup system to process glovebox and experiment tritiated effluent gases, and facility tritium monitoring systems

Design options to minimize tritium inventories at Savannah River

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klein, J.E., E-mail: james.klein@srnl.doe.gov; Wilson, J.; Heroux, K.J.; Poore, A.S.; Babineau, D.W.

2016-11-01

Highlights: • La-Ni-Al alloys are used as tritium storage materials and retain He-3. • La-Ni-Al He-3 effects decrease useable process tritium inventory. • Use of Pd or depleted uranium beds decreases process tritium inventories. • Reduced inventory tritium facilities will lower public risk. - Abstract: Large quantities of tritium are stored and processed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) Tritium Facilities. In many design basis accidents (DBAs), it is assumed the entire tritium inventory of the in-process vessels are released from the facility and the site for inclusion in public radiological dose calculations. Pending changes in public dose calculation methodologies are driving the need for smaller in-process tritium inventories to be released during DBAs. Reducing the in-process tritium inventory will reduce the unmitigated source term for public dose calculations and will also reduce the production demand for a lower inventory process. This paper discusses process design options to reduce in-process tritium inventories. A Baseline process is defined to illustrate the impact of removing or replacing La-Ni-Al alloy tritium storage beds with palladium (Pd) or depleted uranium (DU) storage beds on facility in-process tritium inventories. Elimination of La-Ni-Al alloy tritium storage beds can reduce in-process tritium inventories by over 1.5 kg, but alternate process technologies may needed to replace some functions of the removed beds.

Design options to minimize tritium inventories at Savannah River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klein, J.E.; Wilson, J.; Heroux, K.J.; Poore, A.S.; Babineau, D.W.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • La-Ni-Al alloys are used as tritium storage materials and retain He-3. • La-Ni-Al He-3 effects decrease useable process tritium inventory. • Use of Pd or depleted uranium beds decreases process tritium inventories. • Reduced inventory tritium facilities will lower public risk. - Abstract: Large quantities of tritium are stored and processed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) Tritium Facilities. In many design basis accidents (DBAs), it is assumed the entire tritium inventory of the in-process vessels are released from the facility and the site for inclusion in public radiological dose calculations. Pending changes in public dose calculation methodologies are driving the need for smaller in-process tritium inventories to be released during DBAs. Reducing the in-process tritium inventory will reduce the unmitigated source term for public dose calculations and will also reduce the production demand for a lower inventory process. This paper discusses process design options to reduce in-process tritium inventories. A Baseline process is defined to illustrate the impact of removing or replacing La-Ni-Al alloy tritium storage beds with palladium (Pd) or depleted uranium (DU) storage beds on facility in-process tritium inventories. Elimination of La-Ni-Al alloy tritium storage beds can reduce in-process tritium inventories by over 1.5 kg, but alternate process technologies may needed to replace some functions of the removed beds.

Tritium handling facilities at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J.L.; Damiano, F.A.; Nasise, J.E.

1975-01-01

A new tritium facility, recently activated at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, is described. The facility contains a large drybox, associated gas processing system, a facility for handling tritium gas at pressures to approximately 100 MPa, and an effluent treatment system which removes tritium from all effluents prior to their release to the atmosphere. The system and its various components are discussed in detail with special emphasis given to those aspects which significantly reduce personnel exposures and atmospheric releases. (auth)

Tritium surveillance around nuclear facilities in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Y.; Kasida, Y.

1978-01-01

In order to measure the tritium levels in the environmental water around the nuclear facilities, the tritium surveillance program began in 1967 locally at Tsuruga and Mihama districts. Nowadays it has been expanded to the ten commercial nuclear power stations and three nuclear facilities. For samples whose tritium concentration is believed less than about 100 pCi/l, they were electrolytically enriched, and then counted by the liquid scintillation counter. Some of samples believed higher than 100 pCi/l were analysed without any enrichment by the low background liquid scintillation counters, Aloka LB 600 or Aloka LB 1. The results of each station are listed in Table. The sampling points corresponding to each results are shown in Figure. Tritium from the effluent was not reflected in all the land water and the tap water around the nuclear power stations and the nuclear facilities. Tritium concentration in rivers, streams, and reservoirs (pools) decreased exponentially from about 600 pCi/l in 1967 to about 150 pCi/l in 1972 at Tsuruga and Mihama, and 360 pCi/l in 1968 to 120 pCi/l in 1973 at Genkai, with the half life of about 2.5 years in both cases. After around 1972, tritium levels of river system in all districts of Japan kept nearly constant up to the end of 1975 and they were in the range from 100 to 300 pCi/l corresponding to the districts. Thereafter, it seems to start to decrease again in 1976. Sea water sampled at the intake of the station or on the seashore far from the outlet was regarded not to be influenced by the effluent from the nuclear reactors or facilities. Tritium concentration in these coastal waters decreased from 100 - 300 pCi/l in 1971 to 30 - 40 pCi/l in 1972 in Fukushima, Ibaraki and Fukui prefectures. (author)

Degradation of elastomers by tritium beta radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zapp, P.E.; Tuer, G.L. Jr.

1984-01-01

Based on its tritium radiation resistance, ethylene propylene rubber has been selected as a candidate for replacement of nitrile rubber in the SRP tritium facilities. A specification for flange gasket material has been developed for ethylene propylene such that its mechanical properties are similar to those of nitrile rubber. In-process testing of ethylene propylene and nitrile gaskets will be conducted in the tritium facilities under identical exposure conditions

Calibrations of a tritium extraction facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bretscher, M.M.; Oliver, B.M.; Farrar, H. IV.

1983-01-01

A tritium extraction facility has been built for the purpose of measuring the absolute tritium concentration in neutron-irradiated lithium metal samples. Two independent calibration procedures have been used to determine what fraction, if any, of tritium is lost during the extraction process. The first procedure compares independently measured 4 He and 3 H concentrations from the 6 Li(n,α)T reaction. The second procedure compared measured 6 Li(n,α)T/ 197 Au (n,γ) 198 Au thermal neutron reaction rate ratios with those obtained from Monte Carlo calculations using well-known cross sections. Both calibration methods show that within experimental errors (approx. 1.5%) no tritium is lost during the extraction process

Tritium transport around nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Sweet, C.W.

1981-01-01

The transport and cycling of tritium around nuclear facilities is reviewed with special emphasis on studies at the Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina. These studies have shown that the rate of deposition from the atmosphere, the site of deposition, and the subsequent cycling are strongly influenced by the compound with which the tritium is associated. Tritiated hydrogen is largely deposited in the soil, while tritiated water is deposited in the greatest quantity in the vegetation. Tritiated hydrogen is converted in the soil to tritiated water that leaves the soil slowly, through drainage and transpiration. Tritiated water deposited directly to the vegetation leaves the vegetation more rapidly after exposure. Only a small part of the tritium entering the vegetation becomes bound in organic molecules. However, it appears tht the existence of soil organic compounds with tritium concentrations greater than the equilibrium concentration in the associated water can be explained by direct metabolism of tritiated hydrogen in vegetation

History of 232-F, tritium extraction processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blackburn, G.W.

1994-08-01

In 1950 the Atomic Energy Commission authorized the Savannah River Project principally for the production of tritium and plutonium-239 for use in thermonuclear weapons. 232-F was built as an interim facility in 1953--1954, at a cost of $3.9M. Tritium extraction operations began in October, 1955, after the reactor and separations startups. In July, 1957 a larger tritium facility began operation in 232-H. In 1958 the capacity of 232-H was doubled. Also, in 1957 a new task was assigned to Savannah River, the loading of tritium into reservoirs that would be actual components of thermonuclear weapons. This report describes the history of 232-F, the process for tritium extraction, and the lessons learned over the years that were eventually incorporated into the new Replacement Tritium Facility

Low-level tritium research facility for the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kherani, N.P.; Shmayda, W.T.

1984-06-01

The objective of the Low-level Tritium Research Facility for the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) is to investigate tritium-material interactions and how they differ with respect to protium and deuterium. The tritium laboratory will also be employed to study tritium retention, tritium imaging, and the effect of tritium on diagnostic devices. This report is a preliminary design document of the UTIAS Low-Level Tritium Research Facility including the fundamentals of tritium, a description of the facility, tritium laboratory requirements and the safety analysis of the laboratory. The facility is designed to handle a total elemental tritium inventory of 10 Ci, though it will initially commence operation with 1 Ci and later increased to the maximum value. In the event of an instantaneous emission of the total tritium inventory within the laboratory, the working personnel would be exposed to an airborne tritium concentration less than the maximum permissible. Moreover, with all the safety features included in this design the likelihood of such an accident is very remote. Thus, the tritium laboratory design is intrinsically safe

Introduction to Wolsong Tritium Removal Facility (WTRF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, K. M.; Sohn, S. H.; Kang, D. W.; Chung, H. S.

2005-01-01

Four CANDU 6 reactors have been operated at Wolsong site. Tritium is primarily produced in heavywater-moderated-power reactors by neutron capture of deuterium nuclei in the heavy water moderator and coolant. The concentration of tritium in the reactor moderator and coolant systems increases with time of reactor operation. For CANDU 6 reactors, the estimated equilibrium values are ∼3 TBq/kg-D 2 O in the moderator and ∼74 GBq/kg-D 2 O in the coolant, where the production rate is balanced by tritium decay and water makeup and loss process. The tritium level in the moderator heavy water of Wolsong Unit-1 is getting higher for about 20-year operation and is over 2.22x10 12 Bq/kg at the end of 2003. It was known that the tritium levels in the moderators of the other units would be also steadily increased. In order to reduce the tritium activity, KHNP has committed to construct a Tritium Removal Facility (TRF) at the Wolsong site

Weapons engineering tritium facility overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Najera, Larry [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2011-01-20

Materials provide an overview of the Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility (WETF) as introductory material for January 2011 visit to SRS. Purpose of the visit is to discuss Safety Basis, Conduct of Engineering, and Conduct of Operations. WETF general description and general GTS program capabilities are presented in an unclassified format.

Survey of tritium wastes and effluents in near-term fusion-research facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bickford, W.E.; Dingee, D.A.; Willingham, C.E.

1981-08-01

The use of tritium control technology in near-term research facilities has been studied for both the magnetic and inertial confinement fusion programs. This study focused on routine generation of tritium wastes and effluents, with little referene to accidents or facility decommissioning. This report serves as an independent review of the effectiveness of planned control technology and radiological hazards associated with operation. The facilities examined for the magnetic fusion program included Fusion Materials Irradiation Testing Facility (FMIT), Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA), and Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) in the magnetic fusion program, while NOVA and Antares facilities were examined for the inertial confinement program

Production sources and management of tritium generated by nuclear facilities. Works reporting from the reflection group 'tritium defense-in-depth'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

This report synthesizes current knowledge of tritium, its sources of tritium and its behavior in reactors and nuclear facilities. In addition, liquid and gaseous tritiated releases and the processes of separation and possible trapping of this radionuclide are displayed. This report also provides elements of reflection on the management of tritium produced today by these facilities, both in France and abroad. It presents insights on the relevance of current management modes of tritiated liquid and solid waste and also on the associated measures to reduce releases of tritium into the environment. (author)

Tritium monitoring in environment at ICIT Tritium Separation Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varlam, Carmen; Stefanescu, I.; Vagner, Irina; Faurescu, I.; Toma, A.; Dulama, C.; Dobrin, R.

2008-01-01

Full text: The Cryogenic Pilot is an experimental project developed within the national nuclear energy research program, which is designed to develop the required technologies for tritium and deuterium separation by cryogenic distillation of heavy water. The process used in this installation is based on a combination between liquid-phase catalytic exchange (LPCE) and cryogenic distillation. Basically, there are two ways that the Cryogenic Pilot could interact with the environment: by direct atmospheric release and through the sewage system. This experimental installation is located 15 km near the region biggest city and in the vicinity - about 1 km, of Olt River. It must be specified that in the investigated area there is an increased chemical activity; almost the entire Experimental Cryogenic Pilot's neighborhood is full of active chemical installations. This aspect is really essential for our study because the sewerage system is connected with the other three chemical plants from the neighborhood. For that reason we progressively established elements of an environmental monitoring program well in advance of tritium operation in order to determine baseline levels. The first step was the tritium level monitoring in environmental water and wastewater of industrial activity from neighborhood. In order to establish the base level of tritium concentration in the environment around the nuclear facilities, we investigated the sample preparation treatment for different types of samples: onion, green beams, grass, apple, garden lettuce, tomato, cabbage, strawberry and grapes. We used azeotropic distillation of all types of samples, the carrier solvent being toluene from different Romanian providers. All measurements for the determination of environmental tritium concentration were performed using liquid scintillation counting (LSC), with the Quantulus 1220 spectrometer. (authors)

Darlington tritium removal facility and station upgrading plant dynamic process simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Busigin, A.; Williams, G. I. D.; Wong, T. C. W.; Kulczynski, D.; Reid, A.

2008-01-01

Ontario Power Generation Nuclear (OPGN) has a 4 x 880 MWe CANDU nuclear station at its Darlington Nuclear Div. located in Bowmanville. The station has been operating a Tritium Removal Facility (TRF) and a D 2 O station Upgrading Plant (SUP) since 1989. Both facilities were designed with a Distributed Control System (DCS) and programmable logic controllers (PLC) for process control. This control system was replaced with a DCS only, in 1998. A dynamic plant simulator was developed for the Darlington TRF (DTRF) and the SUP, as part of the computer control system replacement. The simulator was used to test the new software, required to eliminate the PLCs. The simulator is now used for operator training and testing of process control software changes prior to field installation. Dynamic simulation will be essential for the ITER isotope separation system, where the process is more dynamic than the relatively steady-state DTRF process. This paper describes the development and application of the DTRF and SUP dynamic simulator, its benefits, architecture, and the operational experience with the simulator. (authors)

Integrated numerical platforms for environmental dose assessments of large tritium inventory facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro, P.; Ardao, J.; Velarde, M.; Sedano, L.; Xiberta, J.

2013-01-01

Related with a prospected new scenario of large inventory tritium facilities [KATRIN at TLK, CANDUs, ITER, EAST, other coming] the prescribed dosimetric limits by ICRP-60 for tritium committed-doses are under discussion requiring, in parallel, to surmount the highly conservative assessments by increasing the refinement of dosimetric-assessments in many aspects. Precise Lagrangian-computations of dosimetric cloud-evolution after standardized (normal/incidental/SBO) tritium cloud emissions are today numerically open to the perfect match of real-time meteorological-data, and patterns data at diverse scales for prompt/early and chronic tritium dose assessments. The trends towards integrated-numerical-platforms for environmental-dose assessments of large tritium inventory facilities under development.

Tritium labeling for bio-med research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemmon, R.M.

1980-01-01

A very large fraction of what we know about biochemical pathways in the living cell has resulted from the use of radioactively-labeled tracer compounds; the use of tritium-labeled compounds has been particularly important. As research in biochemistry and biology has progressed the need has arisen to label compounds of higher specific activity and of increasing molecular complexity - for example, oligo-nucleotides, polypeptides, hormones, enzymes. Our laboratory has gradually developed special facilities for handling tritium at the kilocurie level. These facilities have already proven extremely valuable in producing labeled compounds that are not available from commercial sources. The principal ways employed for compound labeling are: (1) microwave discharge labeling, (2) catalytic tritio-hydrogenation, (3) catalytic exchange with T 2 O, and (4) replacement of halogen atoms by T. Studies have also been carried out on tritiation by the replacement of halogen atoms with T atoms. These results indicate that carrier-free tritium-labeled products, including biomacromolecules, can be produced in this way

Tritium dynamics in soils and plants at a tritium processing facility in Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mihok, S.; St-Amanat, N.; Kwamena, N.O. [Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (Canada); Clark, I.; Wilk, M.; Lapp, A. [University of Ottawa (Canada)

2014-07-01

The dynamics of tritium released as tritiated water (HTO) have been studied extensively with results incorporated into environmental models such as CSA N288.1 used for regulatory purposes in Canada. The dispersion of tritiated gas (HT) and rates of oxidation to HTO have been studied under controlled conditions, but there are few studies under natural conditions. HT is a major component of the tritium released from a gaseous tritium light manufacturing facility in Canada (CNSC INFO-0798). To support the improvement of models, a garden was set up in one summer near this facility in a spot with tritium in air averaging ∼ 5 Bq/m{sup 3} HTO (passive diffusion monitors). Atmospheric stack releases (575 GBq/week) were recorded weekly. HT releases occur mainly during working hours with an HT:HTO ratio of 2.6 as measured at the stack. Soils and plants (leaves/stems and roots/tubers) were sampled for HTO and organically-bound tritium (OBT) weekly. Active day-night monitoring of air was conducted to interpret tritium dynamics relative to weather and solar radiation. The experimental design included a plot of natural grass/soil, contrasted with grass (sod) and Swiss chard, pole beans and potatoes grown in barrels under different irrigation regimes (in local topsoil at 29 Bq/L HTO, 105 Bq/L OBT). All treatments were exposed to rain (80 Bq/L) and atmospheric releases of tritium (weekdays), and reflux of tritium from soils (initial conditions of 284 Bq/L HTO, 3,644 Bq/L OBT) from 20 years of operations. Three irrigation regimes were used for barrel plants to mimic home garden management: rain only, low tritium tap water (5 Bq/L), and high tritium well water (mean 10,013 Bq/L). This design provided a range of plants and starting conditions with contrasts in initial HTO/OBT activity in soils, and major tritium inputs from air versus water. Controls were two home gardens far from any tritium sources. Active air monitoring indicated that the plume was only occasionally present for

Review of the Tritium Extraction Facility design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barton, R.W.; Bamdad, F.; Blackman, J.

2000-01-01

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) is an independent executive branch agency responsible for technical safety oversight of the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) defense nuclear facilities. One of DNFSB's responsibilities is the review of design and construction projects for DOE's defense nuclear facilities to ensure that adequate health and safety requirements are identified and implemented. These reviews are performed with the expectation that facility designs are being developed within the framework of a site's Integrated Safety Management (ISM) program. This paper describes the application of ISM principles in DNFSB's ongoing review of the Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) design/construction project

Review of the Tritium Extraction Facility Design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ronald W. Barton; Farid Bamdad; Joel Blackman

2000-01-01

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) is an independent executive branch agency responsible for technical safety oversight of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) defense nuclear facilities. One of DNFSB's responsibilities is the review of design and construction projects for DOE's defense nuclear facilities to ensure that adequate health and safety requirements are identified and implemented. These reviews are performed with the expectation that facility designs are being developed within the framework of a site's Integrated Safety Management (ISM) program. This paper describes the application of ISM principles in DNFSB's ongoing review of the Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) design/construction project

Distribution and behavior of tritium in the Coolant-Salt Technology Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mays, G.T.; Smith, A.N.; Engel, J.R.

1977-04-01

A 1000-MW(e) Molten-Salt Breeder Reactor (MSBR) is expected to produce 2420 Ci/day of tritium. As much as 60 percent of the tritium produced may be transported to the reactor steam system (assuming no retention by the secondary coolant salt), where it would be released to the environment. Such a release rate would be unacceptable. Experiments were conducted in an engineering-scale facility--the Coolant-Salt Technology Facility (CSTF)--to examine the potential of sodium fluoroborate, the proposed coolant salt for an MSBR, for sequestering tritium. The salt was believed to contain chemical species capable of trapping tritium. A series of 5 experiments--3 transient and 2 steady-state experiments--was conducted from July of 1975 through June of 1976 where tritium was added to the CSTF. The CSTF circulated sodium fluoroborate at temperatures and pressures typical of MSBR operating conditions. Results from the experiments indicated that over 90 percent of tritium added at steady-state conditions was trapped by sodium fluoroborate and appeared in the off-gas system in a chemically combined (water-soluble) form and that a total of approximately 98 percent of the tritium added at steady-state conditions was removed through the off-gas system overall

Tritium dynamics in soils and plants grown under three irrigation regimes at a tritium processing facility in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mihok, S.; Wilk, M.; Lapp, A.; St-Amant, N.; Kwamena, N.-O.A.; Clark, I.D.

2016-01-01

The dynamics of tritium released from nuclear facilities as tritiated water (HTO) have been studied extensively with results incorporated into regulatory assessment models. These models typically estimate organically bound tritium (OBT) for calculating public dose as OBT itself is rarely measured. Higher than expected OBT/HTO ratios in plants and soils are an emerging issue that is not well understood. To support the improvement of models, an experimental garden was set up in 2012 at a tritium processing facility in Pembroke, Ontario to characterize the circumstances under which high OBT/HTO ratios may arise. Soils and plants were sampled weekly to coincide with detailed air and stack monitoring. The design included a plot of native grass/soil, contrasted with sod and vegetables grown in barrels with commercial topsoil under natural rain and either low or high tritium irrigation water. Air monitoring indicated that the plume was present infrequently at concentrations of up to about 100 Bq/m"3 (the garden was not in a major wind sector). Mean air concentrations during the day on workdays (HTO 10.3 Bq/m"3, HT 5.8 Bq/m"3) were higher than at other times (0.7–2.6 Bq/m"3). Mean Tissue Free Water Tritium (TFWT) in plants and soils and OBT/HTO ratios were only very weakly or not at all correlated with releases on a weekly basis. TFWT was equal in soils and plants and in above and below ground parts of vegetables. OBT/HTO ratios in above ground parts of vegetables were above one when the main source of tritium was from high tritium irrigation water (1.5–1.8). Ratios were below one in below ground parts of vegetables when irrigated with high tritium water (0.4–0.6) and above one in vegetables rain-fed or irrigated with low tritium water (1.3–2.8). In contrast, OBT/HTO ratios were very high (9.0–13.5) when the source of tritium was mainly from the atmosphere. TFWT varied considerably through time as a result of SRBT's operations; OBT/HTO ratios showed no clear

The operation of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor Tritium Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gentile, C.A.; LaMarche, P.H.

1995-01-01

The TFTR tritium operations staff has successfully received, stored, handled, and processed over five hundred thousand curies of tritium for the purpose of supporting D-T (Deuterium-Tritium) operations at TFTR. Tritium operations personnel nominally provide continuous round the clock coverage (24 hours/day, 7 days/week) in shift complements consisting of I supervisor and 3 operators. Tritium Shift Supervisors and operators are required to have 5 years of operational experience in either the nuclear or chemical industry and to become certified for their positions. The certification program provides formal instruction, as well as on the job training. The certification process requires 4 to 6 months to complete, which includes an oral board lasting up to 4 hours at which time the candidate is tested on their knowledge of Tritium Technology and TFTR Tritium systems. Once an operator is certified, the training process continues with scheduled training weeks occurring once every 5 weeks. During D-T operations at TFTR the operators must evacuate the tritium area due to direct radiation from TFTR D-T pulses. During '' time operators maintain cognizance over tritium systems via a real time TV camera system. Operators are able to gain access to the Tritium area between TFTR D-T pulses, but have been excluded from die tritium area during D-T pulsing for periods up to 30 minutes. Tritium operators are responsible for delivering tritium gas to TFRR as well as processing plasma exhaust gases which lead to the deposition of tritium oxide on disposable molecular sieve beds (DMSB). Once a DMSB is loaded, the operations staff remove the expended DMSB, and replace it with a new DMSB container. The TFIR tritium system is operated via detailed procedures which require operator sign off for system manipulation. There are >300 procedures controlling the operation of the tritium systems

A small and compact AMS facility for tritium depth profiling

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Depth profiling measurements of tritium in carbon samples have been performed during the past seven years at the AMS facility installed at the Rossendorf 3 MV Tandetron. The samples have been cut from the inner walls of the fusion experiments ASDEX-upgrade/Garching and JET/Culham. The tritium content of the ...

Health physics manual of good practices for tritium facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blauvelt, R.K.; Deaton, M.R.; Gill, J.T.

1991-12-01

The purpose of this document is to provide written guidance defining the generally accepted good practices in use at Department of Energy (DOE) tritium facilities. A open-quotes good practiceclose quotes is an action, policy, or procedure that enhances the radiation protection program at a DOE site. The information selected for inclusion in this document should help readers achieve an understanding of the key radiation protection issues at tritium facilities and provide guidance as to what characterizes excellence from a radiation protection point of view. The ALARA (As Low as Reasonable Achievable) program at DOE sites should be based, in part, on following the good practices that apply to their operations

Assessment of the cryogenic distillation system in Cernavoda tritium removal facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasca, Gheorghe; Draghia, Mirela; Porcariu, Florina; Ana, George

2010-01-01

Full text: This paper aims at presenting an assessment of the Cryogenic Distillation system (CD) in the Cernavoda Tritium Removal Facility (CTRF). The cryogenic distillation system is one of the key components of the CTRF which comprises other systems as: the liquid phase catalytic exchange system, designed to transfer tritium from heavy water to a deuterium stream to be fed into the CD system; the atmosphere detritiation system; the tritium recovery system; the tritium/hydrogen monitoring system; the central interlocking system; the tritium extraction and storage system. Thus, the need to build a tritium separation and recovery system results from economic opportunities offered both by heavy water reuse and tritium production, but, at the same time, it offers an alternative for the storage of tritiated heavy water as radioactive waste. (authors)

Tritium emissions reduction facility (TERF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamberger, P.H.; Hedley, W.H.

1993-01-01

Tritium handling operations at Mound include production of tritium-containing devices, evaluation of the stability of tritium devices, tritium recovery and enrichment, tritium process development, and research. In doing this work, gaseous process effluents containing 400,000 to 1,000,000 curies per year of tritium are generated. These gases must be decontaminated before they can be discharged to the atmosphere. They contain tritium as elemental hydrogen, as tritium oxide, and as tritium-containing organic compounds at low concentrations (typically near one ppm). The rate at which these gases is generated is highly variable. Some tritium-containing gas is generated at all times. The systems used at Mound for capturing tritium from process effluents have always been based on the open-quotes oxidize and dryclose quotes concept. They have had the ability to remove tritium, regardless of the form it was in. The current system, with a capacity of 1.0 cubic meter of gas per minute, can effectively remove tritium down to part-per-billion levels

Health physics manual of good practices for tritium facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blauvelt, R.K.; Deaton, M.R.; Gill, J.T. [and others

1991-12-01

The purpose of this document is to provide written guidance defining the generally accepted good practices in use at Department of Energy (DOE) tritium facilities. A {open_quotes}good practice{close_quotes} is an action, policy, or procedure that enhances the radiation protection program at a DOE site. The information selected for inclusion in this document should help readers achieve an understanding of the key radiation protection issues at tritium facilities and provide guidance as to what characterizes excellence from a radiation protection point of view. The ALARA (As Low as Reasonable Achievable) program at DOE sites should be based, in part, on following the good practices that apply to their operations.

D ampersand D Characterization of the 232-F Old Tritium Facility at the Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scallon, K.L.; England, J.L.

1995-01-01

The 232-F ''Old Tritium Facility'' operated in the 1950s as the first tritium production facility at the Savannah River Site (SRS). In 1957, the 232-F operation ceased with tritium production turned over to a larger, technologically improved facility at SRS. The 232-F Facility was abandoned in 1958 and the process areas have remained contaminated with radiological, hazardous and mixed constituents. Decontamination and decommissioning (D ampersand D) of the 232-F Facility is scheduled to occur in the years 1995-1996. This paper presents the D ampersand D characterization efforts for the 232-F Facility

Environmental monitoring for tritium in tritium separation facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varlam, Carmen; Stefanescu, Ioan; Steflea, Dumitru; Lazar, Roxana Elena

2001-01-01

The Cryogenic Pilot is an experimental project in the nuclear energy national research program, which has the aim of developing technologies for tritium and deuterium separation by cryogenic distillation. The experimental installation is located 15 km near the highest city of the area and 1 km near Olt River. An important chemical activity is developed in the area and chemical plants make up almost entire neighborhood of the Experimental Cryogenic Pilot. It is necessary to emphasize this aspect because the hall sewage system of the pilot is connected with the one of other three chemical plants from vicinity. This is the reason why we progressively established elements of an environmental monitoring program well in advance of tritium operation in order to determine baseline levels. The first step was the tritium level monitoring in environmental water and sewage from neighboring industrial activity. In this work, a low background liquid scintillation was used to determine tritium activity concentration according to ISO 9698/1998 standard. We measured drinking water, precipitation, river water, underground water and wastewater. The tritium level was between 10 TU and 27 TU what indicates that there is no source of tritium contamination in the neighborhood of Cryogenic Pilot. In order to determine baseline levels we decided to monitor monthly each location. In this paper it is presented a standard method used for tritium determination in water samples, the precautions needed to achieve reliable results and the evolution of tritium level in different location near the Experimental Pilot for Tritium and Deuterium Cryogenic Separation. (authors)

Environmental monitoring for tritium at tritium separation facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varlam, C.; Stefanescu, I.; Steflea, D.; Lazar, R.E.

2001-01-01

The Cryogenic Pilot is an experimental project in the nuclear energy national research program, which has the aim of developing technologies for tritium and deuterium separation by cryogenic distillation. The experimental installation is located 15 km near the highest city of the area and 1 km near Olt River. An important chemical activity is developed in the area and the Experimental Cryogenic Pilot's, almost the entire neighborhood are chemical plants. It is necessary to emphasize this aspect because the sewerage system is connected with the other three chemical plants from the neighborhood. This is the reason that we progressively established elements of an environmental monitoring program well in advance of tritium operation in order to determine baseline levels. The first step was the tritium level monitoring in environmental water and waste water of industrial activity from neighborhood. In this work, a low background liquid scintillation is used to determine tritium activity concentration according to ISO 9698/1998. We measured drinking water, precipitation, river water, underground water and waste water. The tritium level was between 10 TU and 27 TU that indicates there is no source of tritium contamination in the neighborhood of Cryogenic Pilot. In order to determine baseline levels we decide to monitories monthly each location. In this paper a standard method is presented which it is used for tritium determination in water sample, the precautions needed in order to achieve reliable results, and the evolution of tritium level in different location near the Experimental Pilot Tritium and Deuterium Cryogenic Separation.(author)

Tritium contamination experience in an operational D-T fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gentile, C.A.; Ascione, G.

1994-01-01

During December 1993, the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) injected a mixture of deuterium and tritium in the TFTR vacuum vessel for the purpose of creating D-T plasmas. The tritium used in these D-T plasmas was stored, delivered and processed in the TFTR tritium facility that includes the tritium vault, waste handling area, clean-up area, and gas holding tank room. During this time period, several components in the tritium process system were found to have tritium leaks which led to tritium deposition on process skids, components and floor area. Radiological surveys of surfaces contaminated with tritium oxide indicate a decrease in surface contamination in time (on the order of 12 to 36 hours) as the result of room ventilation. In instances where the facility HVAC system was maintained in the purge mode, a dramatic decrease in surface contamination was observed. Areas contaminated with tritium oxide (> 16.6 Bq/100 cm 2 ) were found to be clean ( 2 ) after several hours of continuous purging by the facility HVAC system. In instances where relative humidity was not decreased, the tritium surface contamination was found to be attenuated. During the months of December 1993, January and February 1994 tritium leaking components were either replaced, redesigned or repaired. During this time period, data were collected in the form of contamination surveys, real time tritium monitor output, and HVAC configuration indicating the correlation of purge ventilation leading to a decrease in tritium oxide surface contamination

Confinement and Tritium Stripping Systems for APT Tritium Processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hsu, R.H. [Westinghouse Savannah River Company, AIKEN, SC (United States); Heung, L.K.

1997-10-20

This report identifies functions and requirements for the tritium process confinement and clean-up system (PCCS) and provides supporting technical information for the selection and design of tritium confinement, clean-up (stripping) and recovery technologies for new tritium processing facilities in the Accelerator for the Production of Tritium (APT). The results of a survey of tritium confinement and clean-up systems for large-scale tritium handling facilities and recommendations for the APT are also presented.

Confinement and Tritium Stripping Systems for APT Tritium Processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, R.H.; Heung, L.K.

1997-01-01

This report identifies functions and requirements for the tritium process confinement and clean-up system (PCCS) and provides supporting technical information for the selection and design of tritium confinement, clean-up (stripping) and recovery technologies for new tritium processing facilities in the Accelerator for the Production of Tritium (APT). The results of a survey of tritium confinement and clean-up systems for large-scale tritium handling facilities and recommendations for the APT are also presented

Environmental health-risk assessment for tritium releases from the National Tritium Labeling Facility (NTLF) at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McKone, T.E.; Brand, K.P.

1994-12-01

This report is a health risk assessment that addresses continuous releases of tritium to the environment from the National Tritium Labeling Facility (NTLF) at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL). The NTLF contributes approximately 95% of all tritium releases from LBL. Transport and transformation models were used to determine the movement of tritium releases from the NRLF to the air, surface water, soils, and plants and to determine the subsequent doses to humans. These models were calibrated against environmental measurements of tritium levels in the vicinity of the NTLF and in the surrounding community. Risk levels were determined for human populations in each of these zones. Risk levels to both individuals and populations were calculated. In this report population risks and individual risks were calculated for three types of diseases--cancer, heritable genetic effects, and developmental and reproductive effects.

Environmental health-risk assessment for tritium releases from the National Tritium Labeling Facility (NTLF) at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKone, T.E.; Brand, K.P.

1994-12-01

This report is a health risk assessment that addresses continuous releases of tritium to the environment from the National Tritium Labeling Facility (NTLF) at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL). The NTLF contributes approximately 95% of all tritium releases from LBL. Transport and transformation models were used to determine the movement of tritium releases from the NRLF to the air, surface water, soils, and plants and to determine the subsequent doses to humans. These models were calibrated against environmental measurements of tritium levels in the vicinity of the NTLF and in the surrounding community. Risk levels were determined for human populations in each of these zones. Risk levels to both individuals and populations were calculated. In this report population risks and individual risks were calculated for three types of diseases--cancer, heritable genetic effects, and developmental and reproductive effects

Tritium monitoring for nuclear facilities and environment in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Huaiyuan

1995-12-01

Reviews of achievement and great progress of tritium monitoring techniques for nuclear facility and environment in China over the past 30 years are made which including the development experiences of several important detectors and instruments for health physics monitoring on site and some sampling and measuring methods for environmental monitoring and assessment. Information on nation wide survey activities during 1970∼1980 years on natural environmental radioactivity level in China and the related tritium data are given. (28 refs., 6 tabs.)

Medical Isotope Production With The Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buckner, M.; Cappiello, M.; Pitcher, E.; O'Brien, H.

1998-01-01

In order to meet US tritium needs to maintain the nuclear weapons deterrent, the Department of Energy (DOE) is pursuing a dual track program to provide a new tritium source. A record of decision is planned for late in 1998 to select either the Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) or the Commercial Light Water Reactor (CLWR) as the technology for new tritium production in the next century. To support this decision, an APT Project was undertaken to develop an accelerator design capable of producing 3 kg of tritium per year by 2007 (START I requirements). The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) was selected to lead this effort with Burns and Roe Enterprises, Inc. (BREI) / General Atomics (GA) as the prime contractor for design, construction, and commissioning of the facility. If chosen in the downselect, the facility will be built at the Savannah River Site (SRS) and operated by the SRS Maintenance and Operations (M ampersand O) contractor, the Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC), with long-term technology support from LANL. These three organizations (LANL, BREI/GA, and WSRC) are working together under the direction of the APT National Project Office which reports directly to the DOE Office of Accelerator Production which has program authority and responsibility for the APT Project

Tritium contamination experience in an operational D-T fusion reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gentile, C.A.; Ascione, G. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Plasma Physics Lab.; Anderson, J.L. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)] [and others

1994-09-01

During December 1993, the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) injected a mixture of deuterium and tritium in the TFTR vacuum vessel for the purpose of creating D-T plasmas. The tritium used in these D-T plasmas was stored, delivered and processed in the TFTR tritium facility that includes the tritium vault, waste handling area, clean-up area, and gas holding tank room. During this time period, several components in the tritium process system were found to have tritium leaks which led to tritium deposition on process skids, components and floor area. Radiological surveys of surfaces contaminated with tritium oxide indicate a decrease in surface contamination in time (on the order of 12 to 36 hours) as the result of room ventilation. In instances where the facility HVAC system was maintained in the purge mode, a dramatic decrease in surface contamination was observed. Areas contaminated with tritium oxide (> 16.6 Bq/100 cm{sup 2}) were found to be clean (< 16.6 Bq/100 cm{sub 2}) after several hours of continuous purging by the facility HVAC system. In instances where relative humidity was not decreased, the tritium surface contamination was found to be attenuated. During the months of December 1993, January and February 1994 tritium leaking components were either replaced, redesigned or repaired. During this time period, data were collected in the form of contamination surveys, real time tritium monitor output, and HVAC configuration indicating the correlation of purge ventilation leading to a decrease in tritium oxide surface contamination.

Tritium dynamics in soils and plants grown under three irrigation regimes at a tritium processing facility in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Mihok, S; Wilk, M; Lapp, A; St-Amant, N; Kwamena, N-O A; Clark, I D

2016-03-01

The dynamics of tritium released from nuclear facilities as tritiated water (HTO) have been studied extensively with results incorporated into regulatory assessment models. These models typically estimate organically bound tritium (OBT) for calculating public dose as OBT itself is rarely measured. Higher than expected OBT/HTO ratios in plants and soils are an emerging issue that is not well understood. To support the improvement of models, an experimental garden was set up in 2012 at a tritium processing facility in Pembroke, Ontario to characterize the circumstances under which high OBT/HTO ratios may arise. Soils and plants were sampled weekly to coincide with detailed air and stack monitoring. The design included a plot of native grass/soil, contrasted with sod and vegetables grown in barrels with commercial topsoil under natural rain and either low or high tritium irrigation water. Air monitoring indicated that the plume was present infrequently at concentrations of up to about 100 Bq/m(3) (the garden was not in a major wind sector). Mean air concentrations during the day on workdays (HTO 10.3 Bq/m(3), HT 5.8 Bq/m(3)) were higher than at other times (0.7-2.6 Bq/m(3)). Mean Tissue Free Water Tritium (TFWT) in plants and soils and OBT/HTO ratios were only very weakly or not at all correlated with releases on a weekly basis. TFWT was equal in soils and plants and in above and below ground parts of vegetables. OBT/HTO ratios in above ground parts of vegetables were above one when the main source of tritium was from high tritium irrigation water (1.5-1.8). Ratios were below one in below ground parts of vegetables when irrigated with high tritium water (0.4-0.6) and above one in vegetables rain-fed or irrigated with low tritium water (1.3-2.8). In contrast, OBT/HTO ratios were very high (9.0-13.5) when the source of tritium was mainly from the atmosphere. TFWT varied considerably through time as a result of SRBT's operations; OBT/HTO ratios showed no clear temporal

Levels of tritium in soils and vegetation near Canadian nuclear facilities releasing tritium to the atmosphere: implications for environmental models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, P.A.; Kwamena, N.-O.A.; Ilin, M.; Wilk, M.; Clark, I.D.

2015-01-01

Concentrations of organically bound tritium (OBT) and tritiated water (HTO) were measured over two growing seasons in vegetation and soil samples obtained in the vicinity of four nuclear facilities and two background locations in Canada. At the background locations, with few exceptions, OBT concentrations were higher than HTO concentrations: OBT/HTO ratios in vegetation varied between 0.3 and 20 and values in soil varied between 2.7 and 15. In the vicinity of the four nuclear facilities OBT/HTO ratios in vegetation and soils deviated from the expected mean value of 0.7, which is used as a default value in environmental transfer models. Ratios of the OBT activity concentration in plants ([OBT] plant ) to the OBT activity concentration in soils ([OBT] soil ) appear to be a good indicator of the long-term behaviour of tritium in soil and vegetation. In general, OBT activity concentrations in soils were nearly equal to OBT activity concentrations in plants in the vicinity of the two nuclear power plants. [OBT] plant /[OBT] soil ratios considerably below unity observed at one nuclear processing facility represents historically higher levels of tritium in the environment. The results of our study reflect the dynamic nature of HTO retention and OBT formation in vegetation and soil during the growing season. Our data support the mounting evidence suggesting that some parameters used in environmental transfer models approved for regulatory assessments should be revisited to better account for the behavior of HTO and OBT in the environment and to ensure that modelled estimates (e.g., plant OBT) are appropriately conservative. - Highlights: • We measured tritium in soils and plants near four nuclear facilities in Canada. • OBT/HTO ratios in plants are higher than default value in environmental models. • OBT/HTO ratios in background soils reflect historically higher atmospheric tritium. • Implications for environmental transfer models are discussed

Draft programmatic environmental impact statement for tritium supply and recycling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-02-01

Tritium, a radioactive gas used in all of the Nation's nuclear weapons, has a short half-life and must be replaced periodically in order for the weapon to operate as designed. Currently, the Nation has no tritium production capability. The Tritium Supply and Recycling PEIS evaluates the alternatives for the siting, construction, and operation of tritium supply and recycling facilities at each of five candidate sites: the Idaho Engineering Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site, the Oak Ridge Reservation, the Pantex Plant, and the Savannah River Site. Alternatives for new tritium supply and recycling facilities consist of four different tritium supply technologies; Heavy Water Reactor, Modular High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor, Advanced Light Water Reactor, and Accelerator Production of Tritium. The PEIS also evaluates the impacts of using a commercial light water reactor, either as a contingency in the event of a national emergency or if purchased by the DOE and converted to defense purposes. Additionally, the PEIS includes an analysis of multi-purpose reactors which would produce tritium, dispose of plutonium and produce electricity. Volume I contains the findings of these analyses, Volume II contains the Appendices and supporting data

Administrative limits for tritium concentrations found in non-potable groundwater at nuclear power facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parker, R.; Hart, D.; WIllert, C.

2012-01-01

Currently, there is a regulatory limit available for tritium in drinking water, but no such limit for non-potable groundwater. Voluntary administrative limits for site groundwater may be established at nuclear power facilities to ensure minimal risk to human health and the environment, and provide guidance for investigation or other actions intended to prevent exceedances of future regulatory or guideline limits. This work presents a streamlined approach for nuclear power facilities to develop three tiers of administrative limits for tritium in groundwater so that facilities can identify abnormal/uncontrolled releases of tritium at an early stage, and take appropriate actions to investigate, control, and protect groundwater. Tier 1 represents an upper limit of background, Tier 2 represents a level between background and Tier 3, and Tier 3 represents a risk-based concentration protective of down-gradient receptors. (author)

Projected tritium releases from F ampersand H Area Seepage Basins and the Solid Waste Disposal Facilities to Fourmile Branch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Looney, B.B.; Haselow, J.S.; Lewis, C.M.; Harris, M.K.; Wyatt, D.E.; Hetrick, C.S.

1993-01-01

A large percentage of the radioactivity released to the environment by operations at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is due to tritium. Because of the relative importance of the releases of tritium from SRS facilities through the groundwater to the environment, periodic evaluation and documentation of the facility operational status, proposed corrective actions, and projected changes/reductions in tritium releases are justified. Past, current, and projected tritium releases from the F and H Area Seepage Basins and the Solid Waste Disposal Facilities (SWDF) to Fourmile Branch are described. Each section provides a brief operational history along with the current status and proposed corrective actions. A conceptual model and quantitative estimates of tritium release from the facilities into the groundwater and the environment are developed. Tritium releases from the F and H Area Seepage Basins are declining and will be further reduced by the implementation of a groundwater corrective action required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Tritium releases from the SWDF have been relatively stable over the past 10 years. It is anticipated that SWDF tritium releases to Fourmile Branch will remain approximately at current levels for at least 10--20 years. Specific characterization activities are recommended to allow an improved projection of tritium flux and to assist in developing plans for plume mitigation. SRS and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control are developing groundwater corrective action plans for the SWDF. Portions of the SWDF are also regulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Reduction of tritium flux is one of the factors considered in the development of the RCRA/CERCLA groundwater corrective action. The final section of the document presents the sum of the projected tritium fluxes from these facilities to Fourmile Branch

Construction and operation of a tritium extraction facility at the Savannah River Site. Final environmental impact statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-03-01

DOE proposes to construct and operate a Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) at H Area on the Savannah River Site (SRS) to provide the capability to extract tritium from commercial light water reactor (CLWR) targets and from targets of similar design. The proposed action is also DOE's preferred alternative. An action alternative is to construct and operate TEF at the Allied General Nuclear Services facility, which is adjacent to the eastern side of the SRS. Under the no-action alternative DOE could incorporate tritium extraction capabilities in the accelerator for production of tritium. This EIS is linked to the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Tritium Supply and Recycling, from which DOE determined that it would produce tritium either in an accelerator or in a commercial light water reactor. The purpose of the proposed action and alternatives evaluated in this EIS is to provide tritium extraction capability to support either tritium production technology. The EIS assesses the environmental impacts from the proposed action and the alternatives, including the no action alternative

Tritium monitoring in groundwater and evaluation of model predictions for the Hanford Site 200 Area Effluent Treatment Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnett, D.B.; Bergeron, M.P.; Cole, C.R.; Freshley, M.D.; Wurstner, S.K.

1997-08-01

The Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF) disposal site, also known as the State-Approved Land Disposal Site (SALDS), receives treated effluent containing tritium, which is allowed to infiltrate through the soil column to the water table. Tritium was first detected in groundwater monitoring wells around the facility in July 1996. The SALDS groundwater monitoring plan requires revision of a predictive groundwater model and reevaluation of the monitoring well network one year from the first detection of tritium in groundwater. This document is written primarily to satisfy these requirements and to report on analytical results for tritium in the SALDS groundwater monitoring network through April 1997. The document also recommends an approach to continued groundwater monitoring for tritium at the SALDS. Comparison of numerical groundwater models applied over the last several years indicate that earlier predictions, which show tritium from the SALDS approaching the Columbia River, were too simplified or overly robust in source assumptions. The most recent modeling indicates that concentrations of tritium above 500 pCi/L will extend, at most, no further than ∼1.5 km from the facility, using the most reasonable projections of ETF operation. This extent encompasses only the wells in the current SALDS tritium-tracking network

A study on the primary requirement for the safety of the Wolsong tritium removal facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, K. H.; Lee, K. J.; Jeong, C. W.

2001-01-01

Owing to the using a heavy water as a moderator and a coolant in Heavy water reactor, A large mount of tritium is produced due to a reaction of deuterium with neutron in the reactor and some of tritium is released to the environment. In Wolsong, 4 units (CANDU-600 type) Heavy water reactor is in operation. And the generated amount of tritium is increased with the increase of operational year of the Wolsong nuclear reactor. Decommissioning of the Wolsong unit 1 is expected to start at 2013. Before 2013, to reduce the workers internal radiation doses and environmental release of tritium, Tritium Removal Facility (TRF) is required and should be operated. Wolsong TRF (WTRF) is under developing stage by Korea Electric Power Corporation(KEPCO)and scheduled to start operation about 2006. Once the facility begins operation it can be contributed to the greatly reduction of tritium release to the environment and worker's expose. In this situation, study about the safety assessment method and regulatory requirement is essential for safety insurance of WTRF. And this helps the safety acquirement, successful operation and reliance of WTRF

Tritium monitoring at the Sandia Tritium Research Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devlin, T.K.

1978-10-01

Sandia Laboratories at Livermore, California, is presently beginning operation of a Tritium Research Laboratory (TRL). The laboratory incorporates containment and cleanup facilities such that any unscheduled tritium release is captured rather than vented to the atmosphere. A sophisticated tritium monitoring system is in use at the TRL to protect operating personnel and the environment, as well as ensure the safe and effective operation of the TRL decontamination systems. Each monitoring system has, in addition to a local display, a display in a centralized control room which, when coupled room which, when coupled with the TRL control computer, automatically provides an immediate assessment of the status of the entire facility. The computer controls a complex alarm array status of the entire facility. The computer controls a complex alarm array and integrates and records all operational and unscheduled tritium releases

Tritium technology. A Canadian overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hemmings, R.L. [Canatom NPM (Canada)

2002-10-01

An overview of the various tritium research and operational activities in Canada is presented. These activities encompass tritium processing and recovery, tritium interactions with materials, and tritium health and safety. Many of these on-going activities form a sound basis for the tritium use and handling aspects of the ITER project. Tritium management within the CANDU heavy water reactor, associated detritiation facilities, research and development facilities, and commercial industry and improving the understanding of tritium behaviour in humans and the environment remain the focus of a long-standing Canadian interest in tritium. While there have been changes in the application of this knowledge and experience over time, the operating experience and the supporting research and development continue to provide for improved plant and facility operations, an improved understanding of tritium safety issues, and improved products and tools that facilitate tritium management. (author)

Tritium technology. A Canadian overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hemmings, R.L.

2002-01-01

An overview of the various tritium research and operational activities in Canada is presented. These activities encompass tritium processing and recovery, tritium interactions with materials, and tritium health and safety. Many of these on-going activities form a sound basis for the tritium use and handling aspects of the ITER project. Tritium management within the CANDU heavy water reactor, associated detritiation facilities, research and development facilities, and commercial industry and improving the understanding of tritium behaviour in humans and the environment remain the focus of a long-standing Canadian interest in tritium. While there have been changes in the application of this knowledge and experience over time, the operating experience and the supporting research and development continue to provide for improved plant and facility operations, an improved understanding of tritium safety issues, and improved products and tools that facilitate tritium management. (author)

Final programmatic environmental impact statement for tritium supply and recycling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-10-01

Tritium, a radioactive gas used in all of the Nation's nuclear weapons, has a short half-life and must be replaced periodically in order for the weapon to operate as designed. Currently, there is no capability to produce the required amounts of tritium within the Nuclear Weapons Complex. The PEIS for Tritium Supply and Recycling evaluates the alternatives for the siting, construction, and operation of tritium supply and recycling facilities at each of five candidate sites: the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site, the Oak Ridge Reservation, the Pantex Plant, and the Savannah River Site. Alternatives for new tritium supply and recycling facilities consist of four different tritium supply technologies: Heavy Water Reactor, Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor, Advanced Light Water Reactor, and Accelerator Production of Tritium. The PEIS also evaluates the impacts of the DOE purchase of an existing operating or partially completed commercial light water reactor or the DOE purchase of irradiation services contracted from commercial power reactors. Additionally, the PEIS includes an analysis of multipurpose reactors that would produce tritium, dispose of plutonium, and produce electricity. Evaluation of impacts on land resources, site infrastructure, air quality and acoustics, water resources, geology and soils, biotic resources, cultural and paleontological resources, socioeconomics, radiological and hazardous chemical impacts during normal operation and accidents to workers and the public, waste management, and intersite transport are included in the assessment

Maintenance and waste treatment of tritium existing in and out of the fusion reactor systems. 6. Study of tritium confinement in the facility of a fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Kazuhiro

2000-01-01

In a future fusion reactor, tritium confinement is one of the key issues for safety. Large amount of tritium (a few grams to a hundred grams level) has been handled safely at the several facilities in the world for fusion research under the multiple confinement concept. In this chapter, the study of tritium behavior in large space such as the building is described using the Caisson Assembly for Tritium Safety (CATS) study such as the final confinement and the present R and D status concerning the tritium confinement is reviewed. (author)

Tritium research and technology facilities at the JRC-Ispra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dworschak, H.; Mannone, F.; Perujo, A.; Pierini, G.; Reiter, F.; Vassallo, G.; Viola, A.; Camposilvan, J.; Douglas, K.; Grassi, G.; Lolli Ceroni, P.; Simonetta, A.; Spelta, B.

1990-01-01

A set of experiments which are of prominent interest for the development of nuclear fusion technology in Europe are planned by the JRC-Ispra for the near future, in the frame of experimental activities to be performed in ETHEL, the European Tritium Handling Experimental Laboratory under construction at the Ispra site. These experiments already included for the most part as JRC-Task Action Sheets in the 1989-1991 European Technology Programme Actions will initiate in ETHEL on a fully active laboratory scale starting mid-1991. They will concern the following research areas: Recycling of tritium from first wall materials; Tritium recovery from water cooled Pb-17Li blankets; Detritiation of ventilation atmospheres; Plasma exhaust processing; Tritiazed waste management. In view of fully active tritium experiments in ETHEL and to obtain information of the basic processes involved, since 1985 preparatory experimental studies are being performed at the JRC-Ispra laboratories using hydrogen and deuterium. Furthermore, always with regard to ETHEL experiments, particular attention is given to possible technical and managerial problems which potentially may arise in this context. To identify at an early stage such problems a questionnaire has been developed and distributed to researchers in conjunction with an ETHEL information packet. The questionnaire demands information regarding the scope, design and operation of the intended experiment as well as planning and required support to be supplied by ETHEL. A brief description of experimental preparatory studies and future tritium handling experiments in ETHEL as well of the ETHEL facility is here presented. (orig.)

Sources of tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, J.E.; Easterly, C.E.

1980-12-01

A review of tritium sources is presented. The tritium production and release rates are discussed for light water reactors (LWRs), heavy water reactors (HWRs), high temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGRs), liquid metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs), and molten salt breeder reactors (MSBRs). In addition, release rates are discussed for tritium production facilities, fuel reprocessing plants, weapons detonations, and fusion reactors. A discussion of the chemical form of the release is included. The energy producing facilities are ranked in order of increasing tritium production and release. The ranking is: HTGRs, LWRs, LMFBRs, MSBRs, and HWRs. The majority of tritium has been released in the form of tritiated water

Daily tritium intakes by people living near a heavy-water research reactor facility: dosimetric significance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trivedi, A.; Cornett, R.J.; Galeriu, D.; Workman, W.; Brown, R.M.

1997-02-01

We have estimated the relative daily intakes of tritiated water (HTO) and organically bound tritium (OBT), and have measured HTO-in-urine, in an adult population residing in the town of Deep River, Ontario, near a heavy-water research reactor facility at Chalk River. The daily intake of elevated levels of atmospheric tritium has been estimated from its concentration in environmental and biological samples, and various food items from a local tritium-monitoring program. Where the available data were inadequate, we used estimates generated by an environmental tritium-transfer model. From these data and estimates, we calculated a total daily tritium intake of about 55 Bq. Of this amount, 2.5 Bq is obtained from OBT-in-diet. Inhalation of HTO-in-air (15 Bq d -1 ) and HTO-in-drinking water (15 Bq d -1 ) accounts for more than half of the HTO intake. Skin absorption of HTO from air and bathing or swimming (for 30 min d -1 ) accounts for another 9 Bq d -1 and 0.1 Bq d -1 , respectively. The remaining intake of HTO is from food as tissue-free water tritium. The International Commission on Radiological Protection's recommended two-compartment metabolic model for tritium predicts an equilibrium body burden of about 900 Bq from HTO (818 Bq) and OBT (83 Bq) in the body, which corresponds to an annual tritium dose of 0.41 μSv. The model-predicted urinary excretion of HTO (∼18 Bq L -1 ) agrees well with measured HTO-in-urine (range, 10-32 Bq L -1 ). The OBT dose contribution to the total tritium dose is about 16%. We conclude that for the people living near the Chalk River research reactor facility, the bulk of the tritium dose is due to HTO intake. (author)

Some new techniques in tritium gas handling as applied to metal hydride synthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nasise, J.E.

1988-01-01

A state-of-the-art tritium Hydriding Synthesis System (HSS) was designed and built to replace the existing system within the Tritium Salt Facility (TSF) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. This new hydriding system utilizes unique fast-cycling 7.9 mole uranium beds (47.5g of T at 100% loading) and novel gas circulating hydriding furnaces. Tritium system components discussed include fast-cycling uranium beds, circulating gas hydriding furnaces, valves, storage volumes, manifolds, gas transfer pumps, and graphic display and control consoles. Many of the tritium handling and processing techniques incorporated into this system are directly applicable to today's fusion fuel loops. 12 refs., 7 figs

TFTR tritium operations lessons learned

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gentile, C.A.; Raftopoulos, S.; LaMarche, P.

1996-01-01

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor which is the progenitor for full D-T operating tokamaks has successfully processed > 81 grams of tritium in a safe and efficient fashion. Many of the fundamental operational techniques associated with the safe movement of tritium through the TFTR facility were developed over the course of many years of DOE tritium facilities (LANL, LLNL, SRS, Mound). In the mid 1980's The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at LANL began reporting operational techniques for the safe handling of tritium, and became a major conduit for the transfer of safe tritium handling technology from DOE weapons laboratories to non-weapon facilities. TFTR has built on many of the TSTA operational techniques and has had the opportunity of performing and enhancing these techniques at America's first operational D-T fusion reactor. This paper will discuss negative pressure employing 'elephant trunks' in the control and mitigation of tritium contamination at the TFTR facility, and the interaction between contaminated line operations and Δ pressure control. In addition the strategy employed in managing the movement of tritium through TFTR while maintaining an active tritium inventory of < 50,000 Ci will be discussed. 5 refs

Tritium Assay and Dispensing of KEPRI Tritium Lab

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohn, S. H.; Song, K. M.; Lee, S. K.; Lee, K.W.; Ko, B. W.

2009-01-01

The Wolsong Tritium Removal Facility(WTRF) has been constructed to reduce tritium levels in the heavy water systems and environmental emissions at the site. The WTRF was designed to process 100 kg/h of heavy water with the overall tritium extraction efficiency of 97% per single pass and to produce ∼700 g of tritium as T2 per year at the feed concentration of 0.37 TBq/kg. The high purity tritium greater than 99% is immobilized as a metal hydride to secure its long term storage. The recovered tritium will be made available for industrial uses and some research applications in the future. Then KEPRI is constructing the tritium lab. to build-up infrastructure to support tritium research activities and to support tritium control and accountability systems for tritium export. This paper describes the initial phases of the tritium application program including the laboratory infrastructure to support the tritium related R and D activities and the tritium controls in Korea

The LLNL portable tritium processing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

The end of the Cold War significantly reduced the need for facilities to handle radioactive materials for the US nuclear weapons program. The LLNL Tritium Facility was among those slated for decommissioning. The plans for the facility have since been reversed, and it remains open. Nevertheless, in the early 1990s, the cleanup (the Tritium Inventory Removal Project) was undertaken. However, removing the inventory of tritium within the facility and cleaning up any pockets of high-level residual contamination required that we design a system adequate to the task and meeting today's stringent standards of worker and environmental protection. In collaboration with Sandia National Laboratory and EG ampersand G Mound Applied Technologies, we fabricated a three-module Portable Tritium Processing System (PTPS) that meets current glovebox standards, is operated from a portable console, and is movable from laboratory to laboratory for performing the basic tritium processing operations: pumping and gas transfer, gas analysis, and gas-phase tritium scrubbing. The Tritium Inventory Removal Project is now in its final year, and the portable system continues to be the workhorse. To meet a strong demand for tritium services, the LLNL Tritium Facility will be reconfigured to provide state-of-the-art tritium and radioactive decontamination research and development. The PTPS will play a key role in this new facility

Environmental monitoring for tritium separation facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varlam, Carmen; Stefanescu, Ioan; Steflea, Dumitru; Lazar, Roxana Elena

2001-01-01

The Cryogenic Pilot is an experimental project within the nuclear energy national research program, which has the aim of developing technologies for tritium and deuterium separation by cryogenic distillation. The experimental installation is located 15 km near the highest city of the area and 1 km near Olt River. An important chemical activity is developed in the area and almost all the neighbors of the Experimental Cryogenic Pilot are chemical plants. It is necessary to emphasize this aspect because the sewage system is connected with the other tree chemical plants from the neighborhood. In this work, a low background liquid scintillation is used to determine tritium activity concentration according to ISO 9698/1998. We measured drinking water, precipitation, river water, underground and waste water. The tritium level was between 10 TU and 27 TU what indicates that there is no sources of tritium contamination in the neighborhood of Cryogenic Pilot. In order to determine baseline levels we decided to monitor monthly each location. In this paper it is presented the standard method used for tritium determination in water samples, the precautions needed in order to achieve reliable results, and the evolution of tritium level in different location near the Tritium and Deuterium Cryogenic Separation Experimental Pilot. (authors)

Tritium containment in fusion facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J.L.

1978-01-01

The key environmental control systems that have been identified and are being developed are listed. A brief description of each of the following systems is given: primary process materials, permeation barriers, secondary containment, tritium waste treatment, emergency tritium cleanup, maintenance procedures, and tertiary containment

Structural acceptance criteria Remote Handling Building Tritium Extraction Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mertz, G.

1999-12-16

This structural acceptance criteria contains the requirements for the structural analysis and design of the Remote Handling Building (RHB) in the Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF). The purpose of this acceptance criteria is to identify the specific criteria and methods that will ensure a structurally robust building that will safely perform its intended function and comply with the applicable Department of Energy (DOE) structural requirements.

Structural acceptance criteria Remote Handling Building Tritium Extraction Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mertz, G.

1999-01-01

This structural acceptance criteria contains the requirements for the structural analysis and design of the Remote Handling Building (RHB) in the Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF). The purpose of this acceptance criteria is to identify the specific criteria and methods that will ensure a structurally robust building that will safely perform its intended function and comply with the applicable Department of Energy (DOE) structural requirements

Final programmatic environmental impact statement for tritium supply and recycling. Volume III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-10-01

Tritium, a radioactive gas used in all of the Nation's nuclear weapons, has a short half-life and must be replaced periodically in order for the weapon to operate as designed. Currently, there is no capability to produce the required amounts of tritium within the Nuclear Weapons Complex. The PEIS for Tritium Supply and Recycling evaluates the alternatives for the siting, construction, and operation of tritium supply and recycling facilities at each of five candidate sites: the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site, the Oak Ridge Reservation, the Pantex Plant, and the Savannah River Site. Alternatives for new tritium supply and recycling facilities consist of four different tritium supply technologies: Heavy Water Reactor, Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor, Advanced Light Water Reactor, and Accelerator Production of Tritium. The PEIS also evaluates the impacts of the DOE purchase of an existing operating or partially completed commercial light water reactor or the DOE purchase of irradiation services contracted from commercial power reactors. Additionally, the PEIS includes an analysis of multipurpose reactors that would produce tritium, dispose of plutonium, and produce electricity. Evaluation of impacts on land resources, site infrastructure, air quality and acoustics, water resources, geology and soils, biotic resources, cultural and paleontological resources, socioeconomics, radiological and hazardous chemical impacts during normal operation and accidents to workers and the public, waste management, and intersite transport are included in the assessment

Tritium systems test assembly stabilization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jasen, William G.; Michelotti, Roy A.; Anast, Kurt R.; Tesch, Charles

2004-01-01

The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) was a facility dedicated to tritium technology Research and Development (R and D) primarily for future fusion power reactors. The facility was conceived in mid 1970's, operations commenced in early 1980's, stabilization and deactivation began in 2000 and were completed in 2003. The facility will remain in a Surveillance and Maintenance (S and M) mode until the Department of Energy (DOE) funds demolition of the facility, tentatively in 2009. A safe and stable end state was achieved by the TSTA Facility Stabilization Project (TFSP) in anticipation of long term S and M. At the start of the stabilization project, with an inventory of approximately 140 grams of tritium, the facility was designated a Hazard Category (HC) 2 Non-Reactor Nuclear facility as defined by US Department of Energy standard DOE-STD-1027-92 (1997). The TSTA facility comprises a laboratory area, supporting rooms, offices and associated laboratory space that included more than 20 major tritium handling systems. The project's focus was to reduce the tritium inventory by removing bulk tritium, tritiated water wastes, and tritium-contaminated high-inventory components. Any equipment that remained in the facility was stabilized in place. All of the gloveboxes and piping were rendered inoperative and vented to atmosphere. All equipment, and inventoried tritium contamination, remaining in the facility was left in a safe-and-stable state. The project used the End Points process as defined by the DOE Office of Environmental Management (web page http://www.em.doe.- gov/deact/epman.htmtlo) document and define the end state required for the stabilization of TSTA Facility. The End Points process added structure that was beneficial through virtually all phases of the project. At completion of the facility stabilization project the residual tritium inventory was approximately 3,000 curies, considerably less than the 1.6-gram threshold for a HC 3 facility. TSTA is now

Safe handling of tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The main objective of this publication is to provide practical guidance and recommendations on operational radiation protection aspects related to the safe handling of tritium in laboratories, industrial-scale nuclear facilities such as heavy-water reactors, tritium removal plants and fission fuel reprocessing plants, and facilities for manufacturing commercial tritium-containing devices and radiochemicals. The requirements of nuclear fusion reactors are not addressed specifically, since there is as yet no tritium handling experience with them. However, much of the material covered is expected to be relevant to them as well. Annex III briefly addresses problems in the comparatively small-scale use of tritium at universities, medical research centres and similar establishments. However, the main subject of this publication is the handling of larger quantities of tritium. Operational aspects include designing for tritium safety, safe handling practice, the selection of tritium-compatible materials and equipment, exposure assessment, monitoring, contamination control and the design and use of personal protective equipment. This publication does not address the technologies involved in tritium control and cleanup of effluents, tritium removal, or immobilization and disposal of tritium wastes, nor does it address the environmental behaviour of tritium. Refs, figs and tabs

Storage and Assay of Tritium in STAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhurst, Glen R.; Anderl, Robert A.; Pawelko, Robert J.; Stoots, Carl J.

2005-01-01

The Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) facility at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is currently being commissioned to investigate tritium-related safety questions for fusion and other technologies. The tritium inventory for the STAR facility will be maintained below 1.5 g to avoid the need for STAR to be classified as a Category 3 nuclear facility. A key capability in successful operation of the STAR facility is the ability to receive, inventory, and dispense tritium to the various experiments underway there. The system central to that function is the Tritium Storage and Assay System (SAS).The SAS has four major functions: (1) receiving and holding tritium, (2) assaying, (3) dispensing, and (4) purifying hydrogen isotopes from non-hydrogen species.This paper describes the design and operation of the STAR SAS and the procedures used for tritium accountancy in the STAR facility

Tritium conference days; Journees tritium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garnier-Laplace, J.; Lebaron-Jacobs, L.; Sene, M.; Devin, P.; Chretien, V.; Le Guen, B.; Guetat, Ph.; Baglan, N.; Ansoborlo, E.; Boyer, C.; Masson, M.; Bailly-Du-Bois, P.; Jenkinson, St.; Wakeford, R.; Saintigny, Y.; Romeo, P.H.; Thompson, P.; Leterq, D.; Chastagner, F.; Cortes, P.; Philippe, M.; Paquet, F.; Fournier, M.

2009-07-01

This document gathers the slides of the available presentations given during this conference day. Twenty presentations out of 21 are assembled in the document and deal with: 1 - tritium in the environment (J. Garnier-Laplace); 2 - status of knowledge about tritium impact on health (L. Lebaron-Jacobs); 3 - tritium, discrete but present everywhere (M. Sene); 4 - management of tritium effluents from Areva NC La Hague site - related impact and monitoring (P. Devin); 5 - tritium effluents and impact in the vicinity of EDF's power plants (V. Chretien and B. Le Guen); 6 - contribution of CEA-Valduc centre monitoring to the knowledge of atmospheric tritiated water transfers to the different compartments of the environment (P. Guetat); 7 - tritium analysis in environment samples: constraints and means (N. Baglan); 8 - organically-linked tritium: the analyst view (E. Ansoborlo); 9 - study of tritium transfers to plants via OBT/HTO{sub air} and OBT/HTO{sub free} (C. Boyer); 10 - tritium in the British Channel (M. Masson and P. Bailly-Du-Bois); 11 - tritium in British coastal waters (S. Jenkinson); 12 - recent results from epidemiology (R. Wakeford); 13 - effects of tritiated thymidine on hematopoietic stem cells (P.H. Romeo); 14 - tritium management issue in Canada: the point of view from authorities (P. Thompson); 15 - experience feedback of the detritiation process of Valduc centre (D. Leterq); 16 - difficulties linked with tritiated wastes confinement (F. Chastagner); 17 - optimisation of tritium management in the ITER project (P. Cortes); 18 - elements of thought about the management of tritium generated by nuclear facilities (M. Philippe); 19 - CIPR's position about the calculation of doses and risks linked with tritium exposure (F. Paquet); 20 - tritium think tanks (M. Fournier). (J.S.)

Final programmatic environmental impact statement for tritium supply and recycling. Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-10-01

Tritium, a radioactive gas used in all of the Nation's nuclear weapons, has a short half-life and must be replaced periodically in order for the weapon to operate as designed. Currently, there is no capability to produce the required amounts of tritium within the Nuclear Weapons Complex. The PEIS for Tritium Supply and Recycling evaluates the alternatives for the siting, construction, and operation of tritium supply and recycling facilities at each of five candidate sites: the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, the Nevada Test Site, the Oak Ridge Reservation, the Pantex Plant, and the Savannah River Site. Alternatives for new tritium supply and recycling facilities consist of four different tritium supply technologies: Heavy Water Reactor, Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor, Advanced Light Water Reactor, and Accelerator Production of Tritium. The PEIS also evaluates the impacts of the DOE purchase of an existing operating or partially completed commercial light water reactor or the DOE purchase of irradiation services contracted from commercial power reactors. Additionally, the PEIS includes an analysis of multipurpose reactors that would produce tritium, dispose of plutonium, and produce electricity. Evaluation of impacts on land resources, site infrastructure, air quality and acoustics, water resources, geology and soils, biotic resources, cultural and paleontological resources, socioeconomics, radiological and hazardous chemical impacts during normal operation and accidents to workers and the public, waste management, and intersite transport are included in the assessment. 550 refs

A study concerning tritium concentration evolution in the moderator of a CANDU reactor connected on-line to a detritiation facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bidica, Nicolae; Bornea, Anisia

2005-01-01

The present work is a theoretical study on the tritium concentration evolution in the CANDU reactor moderator connected on-line with a detritiation facility. This study is based on a calculation model which takes into account the evolution curve of the tritium concentration in the absence of detritiation process in both the moderator and SPTC of the Unit 1 CANDU reactor at Cernavoda NPP. This study leads to determination of the tritium concentration evolution in the moderator in the presence of the detritiation process for both a range of intake flows and initial concentration. Also, the intake flow change will be analyzed for a detritiation facility as a function of tritium initial concentration existing in the moderator in the case of a survey of the detritiation over a given period of time. The conclusions of this study were the following: - an optimum of the detritiation factor can be determined; - detritiation starts at a lower value for the tritium concentration in moderator which reduces the strain upon the detritiation facility and therefore the costs of its building, maintenance and operation. (authors)

Consideration for a tritium removal facility at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Full text: A pre-feasibility study considering process options for a Tritium Removal Facility at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Station has been completed by ICIT and AECL. Three different process options were considered. These three options differ in the front-end process used to transfer tritium from heavy water to deuterium gas. All three options use cryogenic distillation (CD) as a back end process to extract tritium from the deuterium gas stream and concentrate it into a small volume stream of pure DT or T 2 that can be immobilized on a titanium sponge. The first option for the front-end process is Liquid Phase Catalytic Exchange (LPCE). The LPCE column is used to transfer the tritium from the heavy water to a recirculating stream of deuterium gas. The separation of hydrogen isotopes takes place in the cryogenic distillation column. Tritium-depleted deuterium gas from the CD system is fed back to the LPCE column. The cryogenic distillation system concentrates the tritium into a small volume of elemental tritium for storage. Tritiated heavy water that has been purified to remove catalyst poisons is fed to the top of the LPCE column. The heavy water leaving the column is depleted in deuterium. Both existing detritiation plants built to detritiate CANDU reactors (the Darlington TRF in Canada and the Wolsung TRF in Korea) use variations of the LPCE-CD process. The second option uses electrolysis to convert tritiated heavy water into oxygen and tritiated deuterium gas. The deuterium gas is sent to the Cryogenic Distillation system to extract and concentrate the tritium. The tritium depleted deuterium gas is recombined with the electrolytic oxygen to give a tritium-depleted heavy water product. The third option uses a Combined Electrolysis and Catalytic Exchange (CECE) front end. A CECE process concentrates the tritium in the water and, using water electrolysis, converts the concentrated tritium into deuterium gas. An overhead catalytic recombiner converts the

Operating Experience Review of Tritium-in-Water Monitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

S. A. Bruyere; L. C. Cadwallader

2011-09-01

Monitoring tritium facility and fusion experiment effluent streams is an environmental safety requirement. This paper presents data on the operating experience of a solid scintillant monitor for tritium in effluent water. Operating experiences were used to calculate an average monitor failure rate of 4E-05/hour for failure to function. Maintenance experiences were examined to find the active repair time for this type of monitor, which varied from 22 minutes for filter replacement to 11 days of downtime while waiting for spare parts to arrive on site. These data support planning for monitor use; the number of monitors needed, allocating technician time for maintenance, inventories of spare parts, and other issues.

Recent developments in IFE safety and tritium research and considerations for future nuclear fusion facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes, Susana; Anklam, Tom; Meier, Wayne; Campbell, Patrick; Babineau, Dave; Becnel, James; Taylor, Craig; Coons, Jim

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The safety characteristics and at risk inventories in an IFE facility are discussed. • The primary nuclear hazard is the potential exposure of workers and/or the public to tritium and/or neutronically activated products. • Recent technology developments in tritium processing are key for minimization of inventories. • Initial safety studies indicate that hazards associated to the use of liquid lithium can be appropriately managed. • Simulation of worst-case scenarios indicate that the accident consequences are limited and below the limit for public evacuation. - Abstract: Over the past five years, the fusion energy group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has made significant progress in the area of safety and tritium research for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE). Focus has been driven towards the minimization of inventories, accident safety, development of safety guidelines and licensing considerations. Recent technology developments in tritium processing and target fill have had a major impact on reduction of tritium inventories in the facility. A safety advantage of inertial fusion energy using indirect-drive targets is that the structural materials surrounding the fusion reactions can be protected from target emissions by a low-pressure chamber fill gas, therefore eliminating plasma-material erosion as a source of activated dust production. An important inherent safety advantage of IFE when compared to other magnetic fusion energy (MFE) concepts that have been proposed to-date (including ITER), is that loss of plasma control events with the potential to damage the first wall, such as disruptions, are non-conceivable, therefore eliminating a number of potential accident initiators and radioactive in-vessel source term generation. In this paper, we present an overview of the safety assessments performed to-date, comparing results to the US DOE Fusion Safety Standards guidelines and the recent lessons-learnt from ITER safety and

Recent developments in IFE safety and tritium research and considerations for future nuclear fusion facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reyes, Susana, E-mail: reyes20@llnl.gov [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States); Anklam, Tom; Meier, Wayne; Campbell, Patrick [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States); Babineau, Dave; Becnel, James [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States); Taylor, Craig; Coons, Jim [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • The safety characteristics and at risk inventories in an IFE facility are discussed. • The primary nuclear hazard is the potential exposure of workers and/or the public to tritium and/or neutronically activated products. • Recent technology developments in tritium processing are key for minimization of inventories. • Initial safety studies indicate that hazards associated to the use of liquid lithium can be appropriately managed. • Simulation of worst-case scenarios indicate that the accident consequences are limited and below the limit for public evacuation. - Abstract: Over the past five years, the fusion energy group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has made significant progress in the area of safety and tritium research for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE). Focus has been driven towards the minimization of inventories, accident safety, development of safety guidelines and licensing considerations. Recent technology developments in tritium processing and target fill have had a major impact on reduction of tritium inventories in the facility. A safety advantage of inertial fusion energy using indirect-drive targets is that the structural materials surrounding the fusion reactions can be protected from target emissions by a low-pressure chamber fill gas, therefore eliminating plasma-material erosion as a source of activated dust production. An important inherent safety advantage of IFE when compared to other magnetic fusion energy (MFE) concepts that have been proposed to-date (including ITER), is that loss of plasma control events with the potential to damage the first wall, such as disruptions, are non-conceivable, therefore eliminating a number of potential accident initiators and radioactive in-vessel source term generation. In this paper, we present an overview of the safety assessments performed to-date, comparing results to the US DOE Fusion Safety Standards guidelines and the recent lessons-learnt from ITER safety and

Tritium protective clothing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuller, T.P.; Easterly, C.E.

1979-06-01

Occupational exposures to radiation from tritium received at present nuclear facilities and potential exposures at future fusion reactor facilities demonstrate the need for improved protective clothing. Important areas relating to increased protection factors of tritium protective ventilation suits are discussed. These areas include permeation processes of tritium through materials, various tests of film permeability, selection and availability of suit materials, suit designs, and administrative procedures. The phenomenological nature of film permeability calls for more standardized and universal test methods, which would increase the amount of directly useful information on impermeable materials. Improvements in suit designs could be expedited and better communicated to the health physics community by centralizing devlopmental equipment, manpower, and expertise in the field of tritium protection to one or two authoritative institutions

Tritium protective clothing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuller, T. P.; Easterly, C. E.

1979-06-01

Occupational exposures to radiation from tritium received at present nuclear facilities and potential exposures at future fusion reactor facilities demonstrate the need for improved protective clothing. Important areas relating to increased protection factors of tritium protective ventilation suits are discussed. These areas include permeation processes of tritium through materials, various tests of film permeability, selection and availability of suit materials, suit designs, and administrative procedures. The phenomenological nature of film permeability calls for more standardized and universal test methods, which would increase the amount of directly useful information on impermeable materials. Improvements in suit designs could be expedited and better communicated to the health physics community by centralizing devlopmental equipment, manpower, and expertise in the field of tritium protection to one or two authoritative institutions.

The application of integrated safety management principles to the Tritium Extraction Facility project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hickman, M.O.; Viviano, R.R.

2000-01-01

The DOE has developed a program that is accomplishing a heightened safety posture across the complex. The Integrated Safety Management (ISM) System (ISMS) program utilizes five core functions and seven guiding principles as the basis for implementation. The core functions define the work scope, analyze the hazards, develop and implement hazard controls, perform the work, and provide feedback for improvement. The guiding principles include line management responsibility, clear roles and responsibilities, competence per responsibilities, identification of safety standards/requirements, tailored hazard control, balanced priorities, and operations authorization. There exists an unspecified eighth principle, that is, worker involvement. A program requiring the direct involvement of the employees who are actually performing the work has been shown to be quite an effective method of communicating safety requirements, controlling work in a safe manner, and reducing safety violations and injuries. The Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) projects, a component of the DOE's Commercial Light Water Reactor Tritium Production program, has taken the ISM principles and core functions and applied them to the project's design. The task of the design team is to design a facility and systems that will meet the production requirements of the DOE tritium mission as well as a design that minimizes the workers' exposure to adverse safety situations and hazards/hazardous materials. During the development of the preliminary design for the TEF, design teams consisted of not only designers but also personnel who had operational experience in the existing tritium and personnel who had operational experience in the existing tritium and personnel who had specialized experience from across the DOE complex. This design team reviewed multiple documents associated with the TEF operation in order to identify and document the hazards associated with the tritium process. These documents include hazards

Cleanup of a Department of Energy Nonreactor Nuclear Facility: Experience at the Los Alamos National Laboratory High Pressure Tritium Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horak, H.L.

1995-01-01

On October 25, 1990, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) ceased programmatic operations at the High Pressure Tritium Laboratory (HPTL). Since that time, LANL has been preparing the facility for transfer into the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Decontamination and Decommissioning Program. LANL staff now has considerable operational experience with the cleanup of a 40-year-old facility used exclusively to conduct experiments in the use of tritium, the radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Tritium and its compounds have permeated the HPTL structure and equipment, have affected operations and procedures, and now dominate efforts at cleanup and disposal. At the time of shutdown, the HPTL still had a tritium inventory of over 100 grams in a variety of forms and containers

Levels of tritium in soils and vegetation near Canadian nuclear facilities releasing tritium to the atmosphere: implications for environmental models.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, P A; Kwamena, N-O A; Ilin, M; Wilk, M; Clark, I D

2015-02-01

Concentrations of organically bound tritium (OBT) and tritiated water (HTO) were measured over two growing seasons in vegetation and soil samples obtained in the vicinity of four nuclear facilities and two background locations in Canada. At the background locations, with few exceptions, OBT concentrations were higher than HTO concentrations: OBT/HTO ratios in vegetation varied between 0.3 and 20 and values in soil varied between 2.7 and 15. In the vicinity of the four nuclear facilities OBT/HTO ratios in vegetation and soils deviated from the expected mean value of 0.7, which is used as a default value in environmental transfer models. Ratios of the OBT activity concentration in plants ([OBT]plant) to the OBT activity concentration in soils ([OBT]soil) appear to be a good indicator of the long-term behaviour of tritium in soil and vegetation. In general, OBT activity concentrations in soils were nearly equal to OBT activity concentrations in plants in the vicinity of the two nuclear power plants. [OBT]plant/[OBT]soil ratios considerably below unity observed at one nuclear processing facility represents historically higher levels of tritium in the environment. The results of our study reflect the dynamic nature of HTO retention and OBT formation in vegetation and soil during the growing season. Our data support the mounting evidence suggesting that some parameters used in environmental transfer models approved for regulatory assessments should be revisited to better account for the behavior of HTO and OBT in the environment and to ensure that modelled estimates (e.g., plant OBT) are appropriately conservative. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tritium and ignition target management at the National Ignition Facility.

Science.gov (United States)

Draggoo, Vaughn

2013-06-01

Isotopic mixtures of hydrogen constitute the basic fuel for fusion targets of the National Ignition Facility (NIF). A typical NIF fusion target shot requires approximately 0.5 mmoles of hydrogen gas and as much as 750 GBq (20 Ci) of 3H. Isotopic mix ratios are specified according to the experimental shot/test plan and the associated test objectives. The hydrogen isotopic concentrations, absolute amounts, gas purity, configuration of the target, and the physical configuration of the NIF facility are all parameters and conditions that must be managed to ensure the quality and safety of operations. An essential and key step in the preparation of an ignition target is the formation of a ~60 μm thick hydrogen "ice" layer on the inner surface of the target capsule. The Cryogenic Target Positioning System (Cryo-Tarpos) provides gas handling, cyro-cooling, x-ray imaging systems, and related instrumentation to control the volumes and temperatures of the multiphase (solid, liquid, and gas) hydrogen as the gas is condensed to liquid, admitted to the capsule, and frozen as a single spherical crystal of hydrogen in the capsule. The hydrogen fuel gas is prepared in discrete 1.7 cc aliquots in the LLNL Tritium Facility for each ignition shot. Post-shot hydrogen gas is recovered in the NIF Tritium Processing System (TPS). Gas handling systems, instrumentation and analytic equipment, material accounting information systems, and the shot planning systems must work together to ensure that operational and safety requirements are met.

Tritium inventory tracking and management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eichenberg, T.W.; Klein, A.C.

1990-01-01

This investigation has identified a number of useful applications of the analysis of the tracking and management of the tritium inventory in the various subsystems and components in a DT fusion reactor system. Due to the large amounts of tritium that will need to be circulated within such a plant, and the hazards of dealing with the tritium an electricity generating utility may not wish to also be in the tritium production and supply business on a full time basis. Possible scenarios for system operation have been presented, including options with zero net increase in tritium inventory, annual maintenance and blanket replacement, rapid increases in tritium creation for the production of additional tritium supplies for new plant startup, and failures in certain system components. It has been found that the value of the tritium breeding ratio required to stabilize the storage inventory depends strongly on the value and nature of other system characteristics. The real operation of a DT fusion reactor power plant will include maintenance and blanket replacement shutdowns which will affect the operation of the tritium handling system. It was also found that only modest increases in the tritium breeding ratio are needed in order to produce sufficient extra tritium for the startup of new reactors in less than two years. Thus, the continuous operation of a reactor system with a high tritium breeding ratio in order to have sufficient supplies for other plants is not necessary. Lastly, the overall operation and reliability of the power plant is greatly affected by failures in the fuel cleanup and plasma exhaust systems

Tritium Mitigation/Control for Advanced Reactor System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Xiaodong; Christensen, Richard; Saving, John P

2018-03-31

A tritium removal facility, which is similar to the design used for tritium recovery in fusion reactors, is proposed in this study for fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactors (FHRs) to result in a two-loop FHR design with the elimination of an intermediate loop. Using this approach, an economic benefit can potentially be obtained by removing the intermediate loop, while the safety concern of tritium release can be mitigated. In addition, an intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) that can yield a similar tritium permeation rate to the production rate of 1.9 Ci/day in a 1,000 MWe PWR needs to be designed to prevent the residual tritium that is not captured in the tritium removal system from escaping into the power cycle and ultimately the environment. The main focus of this study is to aid the mitigation of tritium permeation issue from the FHR primary side to significantly reduce the concentration of tritium in the secondary side and the process heat application side (if applicable). The goal of the research is to propose a baseline FHR system without the intermediate loop. The specific objectives to accomplish the goals are: 1. To estimate tritium permeation behavior in FHRs; 2. To design a tritium removal system for FHRs; 3. To meet the same tritium permeation level in FHRs as the tritium production rate of 1.9 Ci/day in 1,000 MWe PWRs; 4. To demonstrate economic benefits of the proposed FHR system via comparing with the three-loop FHR system. The objectives were accomplished by designing tritium removal facilities, developing a tritium analysis code, and conducting an economic analysis. In the fusion reactor community, tritium extraction has been widely investigated and researched. Borrowing the experiences from the fusion reactor community, a tritium control and mitigation system was proposed. Based on mass transport theories, a tritium analysis code was developed, and the tritium behaviors were analyzed using the developed code. Tritium removal facilities

Development of tritium technology at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J.L.; Bartlit, J.R.

1982-01-01

The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is dedicated to the development, demonstration, and interfacing of technologies related to the deuterium-tritium fuel cycle for large scale fusion reactor systems starting with the Fusion Engineering Device (FED) or the International Tokamak Reactor (INTOR). This paper briefly describes the fuel cycle and safety systems at TSTA including the Vacuum Facility, Fuel Cleanup, Isotope Separation, Transfer Pumping, Emergency Tritium Cleanup, Tritium Waste Treatment, Tritium Monitoring, Data Acquisition and Control, Emergency Power and Gas Analysis systems. Discussed in further detail is the experimental program proposed for the startup and testing of these systems

A review of tritium licensing requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meikle, A.B.

1982-12-01

Present Canadian regulations and anticipated changes to these regulations relevant to the utilization of tritium in fusion facilities and in commercial applications have been reviewed. It is concluded that there are no serious licensing obstacles, but there are a number of requirements which must be met. A license will be required from Atomic Energy Control Board if Ontario Hydro tritium is to be applied by other users. A license is required from the Federal Government to export or import tritium. A licensed container will be required for the storage and shipping of tritium. The containers being designed by AECL and Ontario Hydro and which are currently being tested will adequately store and ship all of the Ontario Hydro tritium but are unnecessarily large for the small quantities required by the commercial tritium users. Also, some users may prefer to receive tritium in gaseous form. An additional, smaller container should be considered. The licensing of overseas fusion facilities for the use of tritium is seen as a major undertaking offering opportunities to Canadian Fusion Fuels Technology Project to undertake health, safety and environmental analysis on behalf of these facilities

Sirius-T, a symmetrically illuminated ICF tritium production facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sviatoslavsky, I.N.; Sawan, M.E.; Moses, G.A.; Kulcinski, G.L.; Engelstad, R.L.; Larsen, E.; Lovell, E.; MacFarlane, J.; Peterson, R.R.; Wittenberg, L.J.

1989-01-01

A scoping study of a symmetrically illuminated ICF tritium production facility utilizing a KrF laser is presented. A single shell ICF target is illuminated by 92 beams symmetrically distributed around a spherical cavity filled with xenon gas at 1.0 torr. The driver energy and target gain are taken to be 2 MJ and 50 for the optimistic case and 1 MJ and 100 for the conservative case. Based on a graphite dry wall evaporation rate of 0.1 cm/y for a 100 MJ yield, the authors estimate a cavity radius of 3.5 m for a rep-rate of 10 Hz and 3.0 m for 5 Hz. A spherical structural frame has been scoped out capable of supporting 92 blanket modules, each with a beam port in the center. They have selected liquid lithium in vanadium structure as the primary breeding concept utilizing beryllium as a neutron multiplier. A tritium breeding ratio of 1.83 can be achieved in the 3 m radius cavity which at 10 Hz and an availability of 75% provides an annual tritium surplus of 32.6 kg. Assuming 100% debt financing over a 30 year reactor lifetime, the production cost of T 2 for the 2 MJ driver case is $7,325/g for a 5% interest rate and $12,370/g for a 10% interest rate. 8 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs

Tritium decontamination of machine components and walls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hircq, B.; Wong, K.Y.; Jalbert, R.A.; Shmayda, W.T.

1991-01-01

Tritium decontamination techniques for machine components and their application at tritium handling facilities are reviewed. These include commonly used methods such as vacuuming, purging, thermal desorption and isotopic exchange as well as less common methods such as chemical/electrochemical etching, plasma discharge cleaning, and destructive methods. Problems associated with tritium contamination of walls and use of protective coatings are reviewed. Tritium decontamination considerations at fusion facilities are discussed

Study of measurement method of tritium induced in concrete of high-energy proton accelerator facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohtsuka, N.; Ishihama, S.; Kunifuda, T.; Hayasaka, N.; Miura, T.

2001-01-01

Various long-loved radionuclides, 3 H, 7 Be, 22 Na, 51 Cr, 54 Mn, 56 Co, 57 Co, 60 Co, 134 Cs, 152 Eu and 154 Eu, have been produced in the shielding concrete of high energy proton accelerator facility through both nuclear spallation reactions and thermal neutron capture reactions of concrete elements, during machine operation. Tritium is the most important nuclide from the radiation protection. There were, however, few measurements of tritium concentration induced in the shielding concrete. In this study, the conditions of measurement method of tritium concentration induced in shielding concrete have been investigated using the activated shielding concrete of the 12 GeV proton beam-line tunnel at KEK and the standard rock (JG-1) irradiated of thermal neutron at the reactor. And the depth profiles of tritium induced in the shielding concrete of slow extracted proton beam line at KEK were determined using this method. (author)

Tritium monitoring techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeVore, J.R.; Buckner, M.A.

1996-05-01

As part of their operations, the U.S. Navy is required to store or maintain operational nuclear weapons on ships and at shore facilities. Since these weapons contain tritium, there are safety implications relevant to the exposure of personnel to tritium. This is particularly important for shipboard operations since these types of environments can make low-level tritium detection difficult. Some of these ships have closed systems, which can result in exposure to tritium at levels that are below normally acceptable levels but could still cause radiation doses that are higher than necessary or could hamper ship operations. This report describes the state of the art in commercial tritium detection and monitoring and recommends approaches for low-level tritium monitoring in these environments

Management of Tritium in ITER Waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosanvallon, S.; Benchikhoune, M.; Ciattaglia, S.; Uzan, J. Elbez; Na, B. C.; Taylor, N.; Gastaldi, O.

2011-01-01

ITER will use tritium as fuel. Procedures and processes are thus put in place in order to recover the tritium that is not used in the fusion reaction, including from waste and effluents. The tritium thus recovered can be re-injected into the fuel cycle. Moreover, tritium content and thus outgassing may be a safety concern, because of the potential for releases to the environment, both from the facility and from the final disposal (subjected to stringent acceptance criteria in the current waste final disposal). The aim of this paper is to present the measures considered to deal with the specific case of tritium in the liquid and solid waste that will arise from ITER operation and decommissioning. It concerns the processes that are considered from the waste production to its final disposal and in particular: the tritium removal stages (in-situ divertor baking at 350 C and tritium removal from solid waste and liquid and gaseous effluents), the removal of dust contamination (dust containing tritium produced by plasma-wall interaction and by the maintenance/ refurbishment processes) and the measures to enable safe processing and storage of the waste (wall-liner in the hot cell facility to limit concrete contamination and interim storage enabling tritium decay for waste that could not be directly accepted in the host-country final disposal facilities). (authors)

An assembly of tritium production experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, Toshihiko

1981-01-01

An assembly for tritium production experiment, i.e. Tritium Extraction System (TREX) constructed as a small scale test facility for tritium production, and Tritium Removal System (TRS) attached to TREX, and the preliminary results of the experiments with them are described. The radiological safety of the process and operation is also an important consideration. Lithium-aluminum alloy was selected as the most promising target material. The following matters are involved in the scope of production technology: the selection of a target material and target preparation, reactor irradiation, the construction of a facility for the extraction of tritium from the irradiated target, the establishment of the optimum conditions of extraction, the purification, collection and storage of tritium, and the inspection of the product. The tritium production experiment at JAERI is yet on the initial stage; the development is to be continued with the stepwise increase of the scale of tritium production. (J.P.N.)

Water detritiation processing of JET purified waste water using the TRENTA facility at Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michling, R., E-mail: robert.michling@kit.edu; Bekris, N.; Cristescu, I.; Lohr, N.; Plusczyk, C.; Welte, S.; Wendel, J.

2013-10-15

Highlights: • Operation of a water detritiation facility under optimized conditions for high detritiation performances. • Improvement of operational procedures to process tritiated waste water. • Handling and reduction of tritiated waste water to achieve enriched low volume tritiated water for sufficient storage. • Demonstration of the efficient availability of the TRENTA WDS facility for technical scale operation. -- Abstract: A Water Detritiation System (WDS) is required for any Fusion machine in order to process tritiated waste water, which is accumulated in various subsystems during operation and maintenance. Regarding the European procurement packages for the ITER tritium fuel cycle, the WDS test facility TRENTA applying the Combined Electrolysis Catalytic Exchange (CECE) process was developed, installed and is currently in operation at the Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe (TLK). Besides the on-going R and D work for the design of ITER WDS, the current status of the TRENTA facility provides the option to utilize the WDS for processing tritiated water. Therefore, in the framework of the EFDA JET Fusion Technology Work Programme 2011, the TLK was able to offer the capability on a representative scale to process tritiated water, which was produced during normal operation at JET. The task should demonstrate the availability of the CECE process to handle and detritiate the water in terms of tritium enrichment and volume reduction. The operational program comprised the processing of purified tritiated water from JET, with a total volume of 180 l and an activity of 74 GBq. The paper will give an introduction to the TRENTA WDS facility and an overview of the operational procedure regarding tritiated water reduction. Data concerning required operation time, decontamination and enrichment performances and different operating procedures will be presented as well. Finally, a preliminary study on a technical implementation of processing the entire stock of JET

Water detritiation processing of JET purified waste water using the TRENTA facility at Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michling, R.; Bekris, N.; Cristescu, I.; Lohr, N.; Plusczyk, C.; Welte, S.; Wendel, J.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Operation of a water detritiation facility under optimized conditions for high detritiation performances. • Improvement of operational procedures to process tritiated waste water. • Handling and reduction of tritiated waste water to achieve enriched low volume tritiated water for sufficient storage. • Demonstration of the efficient availability of the TRENTA WDS facility for technical scale operation. -- Abstract: A Water Detritiation System (WDS) is required for any Fusion machine in order to process tritiated waste water, which is accumulated in various subsystems during operation and maintenance. Regarding the European procurement packages for the ITER tritium fuel cycle, the WDS test facility TRENTA applying the Combined Electrolysis Catalytic Exchange (CECE) process was developed, installed and is currently in operation at the Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe (TLK). Besides the on-going R and D work for the design of ITER WDS, the current status of the TRENTA facility provides the option to utilize the WDS for processing tritiated water. Therefore, in the framework of the EFDA JET Fusion Technology Work Programme 2011, the TLK was able to offer the capability on a representative scale to process tritiated water, which was produced during normal operation at JET. The task should demonstrate the availability of the CECE process to handle and detritiate the water in terms of tritium enrichment and volume reduction. The operational program comprised the processing of purified tritiated water from JET, with a total volume of 180 l and an activity of 74 GBq. The paper will give an introduction to the TRENTA WDS facility and an overview of the operational procedure regarding tritiated water reduction. Data concerning required operation time, decontamination and enrichment performances and different operating procedures will be presented as well. Finally, a preliminary study on a technical implementation of processing the entire stock of JET

On-line tritium production and heat deposition rate measurements at the Lotus facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joneja, O.P.; Scherrer, P.; Anand, R.P.

1994-01-01

Integral tritium production and heat deposition measurement in a prototype fusion blanket would enable verification of the computational codes and the data based employed for the calculations. A large number of tritium production rate measurements have been reported for different type of blankets, whereas the direct heat deposition due to the mixed radiation field in the fusion environment, is still in its infancy. In order to ascertain the kerma factors and the photon production libraries, suitable techniques must be developed to directly measure the nuclear heat deposition rates in the materials required for the fusion systems. In this context, at the Lotus facility, we have developed an extremely efficient double ionizing chamber, for the on-line tritium production measurements and employed a pure graphite calorimeter to measure the nuclear heat deposition due to the mixed radiation field of the 14 MeV, Haefely neutron generator. This paper presents both systems and some of the recent measurements. (authors). 8 refs., 13 figs

Target/Blanket Design for the Accelerator Production of Tritium Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cappiello, M. W.

1997-01-01

The Accelerator Production of Tritium Target/Blanket (T/B) system is comprised of the T/B assembly and the attendant heat removal systems. The T/B assembly produces tritium using a high energy proton beam, and a spallation neutron source. The supporting heat removal systems safely remove the heat deposited by the proton beam during both normal and off-normal conditions. All systems reside within the T/B building, which is located at the end of a linear accelerator. Protons are accelerated to an energy of 1700 MeV at a current of 100 mA and are directed onto the T/B assembly. The protons interact with tungsten and lead nuclei to produce neutrons through the process of nuclear spallation. Neutron capture in 3 He gas produces tritium which is removed on a continual basis in an adjacent Tritium Separation Facility (TSF). The T/B assembly is modular to allow for replacement of spent components and minimization of waste. Systems and components are designed with safety as a primary consideration to minimize risk to the workers and the public

Disposal of tritium-exposed metal hydrides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nobile, A.; Motyka, T.

1991-01-01

A plan has been established for disposal of tritium-exposed metal hydrides used in Savannah River Site (SRS) tritium production or Materials Test Facility (MTF) R ampersand D operations. The recommended plan assumes that the first tritium-exposed metal hydrides will be disposed of after startup of the Solid Waste Disposal Facility (SWDF) Expansion Project in 1992, and thus the plan is consistent with the new disposal requiremkents that will be in effect for the SWDF Expansion Project. Process beds containing tritium-exposed metal hydride powder will be disposed of without removal of the powder from the bed; however, disposal of tritium-exposed metal hydride powder that has been removed from its process vessel is also addressed

Accounting control of tritium at the tritium process laboratory (TPL) of JAERI. Results of 15-year operation and research activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishi, Masataka; Yamanishi, Toshihiko; Hayashi, Takumi; Yamada, Masayuki; Suzuki, Takumi

2003-01-01

Research and development work of fuel processing technology and tritium safe-handling technology necessary for fusion reactors has been performed at the Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) of JAERI. TPL is the first facility in Japan permitted to handle tritium of more than 1g (about 0.36PBq), and its operation itself is also important for the development of fusion reactor facility in the viewpoint of tritium control. Various experiments have been carried out at TPL safely since 1988 controlling 22PBq of tritium as the maximum observing regulations. In addition to the regulatory accounting and control, detailed independent control in TPL was planned and was established through its 15-year safe-operation. For future fusion fuel facility where kilo-grams of tritium will be handled, method of tritium accounting has been researched and some new technologies have been developed at TPL. Results of TPL operation and of the research activity in it contributed the completion of the engineering design of ITER. Further research activity on tritium accounting and control is in progress in TPL for the future fusion reactors. (author)

Real-time monitoring/emergency response modeling workstation for a tritium facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawver, B.S.; Sims, J.M.; Baskett, R.L.

1993-01-01

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) we have developed a real-time system to monitor two stacks on our tritium handling facility. The monitors transmit the stack data to a workstation, which computes a three-dimensional numerical model of atmospheric dispersion. The workstation also collects surface and upper air data from meteorological towers and a sodar. The complex meteorological and terrain setting in the Livermore Valley demands more sophisticated resolution of the three-dimensional structure of the atmosphere to reliably calculate plume dispersion than afforded by Gaussian models. We experience both mountain valley and sea breeze flows. To address these complexities, we have implemented the three-dimensional diagnostic MATHEW mass-adjusted wind field and ADPIC particle-in-cell dispersion models on the workstation for use in real-time emergency response modeling. Both MATHEW and ADPIC have shown their utility in a variety of complex settings over the last 15 yr within the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) project. Faster workstations and real-time instruments allow utilization of more complex three-dimensional models, which provides a foundation for building a real-time monitoring and emergency response workstation for a tritium facility. The stack monitors are two ion chambers per stack

Radiological Characterization and Final Facility Status Report Tritium Research Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, T.B.; Gorman, T.P.

1996-08-01

This document contains the specific radiological characterization information on Building 968, the Tritium Research Laboratory (TRL) Complex and Facility. We performed the characterization as outlined in its Radiological Characterization Plan. The Radiological Characterization and Final Facility Status Report (RC ampersand FFSR) provides historic background information on each laboratory within the TRL complex as related to its original and present radiological condition. Along with the work outlined in the Radiological Characterization Plan (RCP), we performed a Radiological Soils Characterization, Radiological and Chemical Characterization of the Waste Water Hold-up System including all drains, and a Radiological Characterization of the Building 968 roof ventilation system. These characterizations will provide the basis for the Sandia National Laboratory, California (SNL/CA) Site Termination Survey .Plan, when appropriate

Tritium Systems Test Facility. Volume II. Appendixes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, G.W.; Battleson, K.W.; Bauer, W.

1976-10-01

This document includes the following appendices: (1) vacuum pumping, (2) tritium migration into the power cycle, (3) separation of hydrogen isotopes, (4) tritium research laboratory, (5) TSTF containment and cleanup, (6) instrumentation and control, (7) gas heating in torus, and (8) TSTF fuel loop operating procedures

Five years of tritium handling experience at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, R.V.

1989-01-01

The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at Los Alamos National Laboratory is a facility designed to develop and demonstrate, in full scale, technologies necessary for safe and efficient operation of tritium systems required for tokamak fusion reactors. TSTA currently consists of systems for evacuating reactor exhaust gas with compound cryopumps; for removing impurities from plasma exhaust gas and recovering the chemically-combined tritium; for separating the isotopes of hydrogen; for transfer pumping; or storage of hydrogen isotopes; for gas analysis; and for assuring safety by the necessary control, monitoring, and tritium removal from effluent streams. TSTA also has several small scale experiments to develop and test new equipment and processes necessary for fusion reactors. In this paper, data on component reliability, failure types and rates, and waste quantities are presented. TSTA has developed a Quality Assurance program for preparing and controlling the documentation of the procedures required for the design, purchase, and operation of the tritium systems. Operational experience under normal, abnormal, and emergency conditions is presented. One unique aspect of operations at TSTA is that the design personnel for the TSTA systems are also part of the operating personnel. This has allowed for the relatively smooth transition from design to operations. TSTA has been operated initially as a research facility. As the system is better defined, operations are proceeding toward production modes. The DOE requirements for the operation of a tritium facility like TSTA include personnel training, emergency preparedness, radiation protection, safety analysis, and preoperational appraisals. The integration of these requirements into TSTA operations is discussed. 4 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

Accounting and Control of Tritium at the Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) of JAERI - Results of 15-year Operation and Research Activity -

Science.gov (United States)

Nishi, Masataka; Yamanishi, Toshihiko; Hayashi, Takumi; Yamada, Masayuki; Suzuki, Takumi

Research and development work of fuel processing technology and tritium safe-handling technology necessary for fusion reactors has been performed at the Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) of JAERI. TPL is the first facility in Japan permitted to handle tritium of more than 1g (about 0.36PBq), and its operation itself is also important for the development of fusion reactor facility in the viewpoint of tritium control. Various experiments have been carried out at TPL safely since 1988 controlling 22PBq of tritium as the maximum observing regulations. In addition to the regulatory accounting and control, detailed independent control in TPL was planned and was established throughits15-yearsafe-operation. For future fusion fuel facility where kilograms of tritium will be handled, method of tritium accounting has been researched and some new technologies have been developed at TPL. Results of TPL operation and of the research activity in it contributed the completion of the engineering design of ITER. Further research activity on tritium accounting and control is in progress in TPL for the future fusion reactors.

Mobility of Tritium in Engineered and Earth Materials at the NuMI Facility, Fermilab: Progress report for work performed between June 13 and September 30, 2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pruess, Karsten; Conrad, Mark; Finsterle, Stefan; Kennedy, Mack; Kneafsey, Timothy; Salve, Rohit; Su, Grace; Zhou, Quanlin

2006-01-01

This report details the work done between June 13 and September 30, 2006 by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) scientists to assist Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) staff in understanding tritium transport at the Neutrino at the Main Injector (NuMI) facility. As a byproduct of beamline operation, the facility produces (among other components) tritium in engineered materials and the surrounding rock formation. Once the tritium is generated, it may be contained at the source location, migrate to other regions within the facility, or be released to the environment

Experiences with decontaminating tritium-handling apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maienschein, J.L.; Garcia, F.; Garza, R.G.; Kanna, R.L.; Mayhugh, S.R.; Taylor, D.T.

1992-01-01

Tritium-handling apparatus has been decontaminated as part of the downsizing of the LLNL Tritium Facility. Two stainless-steel glove boxes that had been used to process lithium deuteride-tritide (LiDT) slat were decontaminated using the Portable Cleanup System so that they could be flushed with room air through the facility ventilation system. In this paper the details on the decontamination operation are provided. A series of metal (palladium and vanadium) hydride storage beds have been drained of tritium and flushed with deuterium, in order to remove as much tritium as possible. The bed draining and flushing procedure is described, and a calculational method is presented which allows estimation of the tritium remaining in a bed after it has been drained and flushed. Data on specific bed draining and flushing are given

Recent environmental tritium levels in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwakura, T.; Inoue, Y.; Tanaka, K.; Kasida, Y.

1982-01-01

Data of the tritium surveillance program are summarized for the period of 1967 through 1980. Samples of surface water, tap water, coastal sea water and ground water were collected from environs of commercial nuclear power plants and nuclear facilities, and were analyzed by liquid scintillation counting. Although the results show some differences in tritium concentrations in water samples from various part of the country, there is a general tendency of the concentration in surface waters to decline as a function of time. This implies that environmental waters in Japan generally have not been influenced by the discharged effluents of the facilities or the stations with regard to tritium contamination and that the tritium content of precipitation still plays the dominant role in reflecting annual variation of tritium concentration in surface waters. (J.P.N.)

Tritium in rad waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gandhi, P.M.; Ali, S.S.; Mathur, R.K.; Rastogi, R.C.

1990-01-01

Radioactive waste arising from PHWR's are invariably contaminated with tritium activity. Their disposal is crucial as it governs the manner and extent of radioactive contamination of human environment. The technique of tritium measurement and its application plays an important role in assessing the safety of the disposal system. Thus, typical applications involving tritium measurements include the evaluation of a site for solid waste burial facility and evaluation of a water body for liquid waste dispersal. Tritium measurement is also required in assessing safe air route dispersal of tritium. (author)

Comparison of Tritium Component Failure Rate Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee C. Cadwallader

2004-01-01

Published failure rate values from the US Tritium Systems Test Assembly, the Japanese Tritium Process Laboratory, the German Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe, and the Joint European Torus Active Gas Handling System have been compared. This comparison is on a limited set of components, but there is a good variety of data sets in the comparison. The data compared reasonably well. The most reasonable failure rate values are recommended for use on next generation tritium handling system components, such as those in the tritium plant systems for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and the tritium fuel systems of inertial fusion facilities, such as the US National Ignition Facility. These data and the comparison results are also shared with the International Energy Agency cooperative task on fusion component failure rate data

Seismic engineering for an expanded tritium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volkman, D.E.; Olive, W.B.; Endebrocid, E.E.; Khan, P.K.; Rebillet, W.R.

1997-10-01

An existing complex of three single story concrete and masonry shear wall buildings will be integrated into an expanded tritium facility for neutron tube target loading. Known as the NTTL Project, the expanded plant is a major element of the Department of Energy's tritium program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. This paper describes seismic evaluation and upgrade modifications for the 1950's concrete shear wall building; drift analyses of two 1980's CMU [concrete masonry unit] shear wall buildings; design of a new CMU shear wall building linking existing structures and providing personnel change room services; and design of a new steel frame building housing HVAC and electrical power and communication equipment for the complex. All buildings are closely adjacent and drift analysis to establish separation to prevent pounding is a major seismic engineering concern for the project

Role of soil-to-leaf tritium transfer in controlling leaf tritium dynamics: Comparison of experimental garden and tritium-transfer model results.

Science.gov (United States)

Ota, Masakazu; Kwamena, Nana-Owusua A; Mihok, Steve; Korolevych, Volodymyr

2017-11-01

Environmental transfer models assume that organically-bound tritium (OBT) is formed directly from tissue-free water tritium (TFWT) in environmental compartments. Nevertheless, studies in the literature have shown that measured OBT/HTO ratios in environmental samples are variable and generally higher than expected. The importance of soil-to-leaf HTO transfer pathway in controlling the leaf tritium dynamics is not well understood. A model inter-comparison of two tritium transfer models (CTEM-CLASS-TT and SOLVEG-II) was carried out with measured environmental samples from an experimental garden plot set up next to a tritium-processing facility. The garden plot received one of three different irrigation treatments - no external irrigation, irrigation with low tritium water and irrigation with high tritium water. The contrast between the results obtained with the different irrigation treatments provided insights into the impact of soil-to-leaf HTO transfer on the leaf tritium dynamics. Concentrations of TFWT and OBT in the garden plots that were not irrigated or irrigated with low tritium water were variable, responding to the arrival of the HTO-plume from the tritium-processing facility. In contrast, for the plants irrigated with high tritium water, the TFWT concentration remained elevated during the entire experimental period due to a continuous source of high HTO in the soil. Calculated concentrations of OBT in the leaves showed an initial increase followed by quasi-equilibration with the TFWT concentration. In this quasi-equilibrium state, concentrations of OBT remained elevated and unchanged despite the arrivals of the plume. These results from the model inter-comparison demonstrate that soil-to-leaf HTO transfer significantly affects tritium dynamics in leaves and thereby OBT/HTO ratio in the leaf regardless of the atmospheric HTO concentration, only if there is elevated HTO concentrations in the soil. The results of this work indicate that assessment models

A Next Generation Digital Counting System For Low-Level Tritium Studies (Project Report)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowman, P.

2016-01-01

Since the early seventies, SRNL has pioneered low-level tritium analysis using various nuclear counting technologies and techniques. Since 1999, SRNL has successfully performed routine low-level tritium analyses with counting systems based on digital signal processor (DSP) modules developed in the late 1990s. Each of these counting systems are complex, unique to SRNL, and fully dedicated to performing routine tritium analyses of low-level environmental samples. It is time to modernize these systems due to a variety of issues including (1) age, (2) lack of direct replacement electronics modules and (3) advances in digital signal processing and computer technology. There has been considerable development in many areas associated with the enterprise of performing low-level tritium analyses. The objective of this LDRD project was to design, build, and demonstrate a Next Generation Tritium Counting System (NGTCS), while not disrupting the routine low-level tritium analyses underway in the facility on the legacy counting systems. The work involved (1) developing a test bed for building and testing new counting system hardware that does not interfere with our routine analyses, (2) testing a new counting system based on a modern state of the art DSP module, and (3) evolving the low-level tritium counter design to reflect the state of the science.

Separation of tritium from other hydrogen isotopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roth, E.

1988-01-01

The paper describes a plant that has been operated at Marcoule for tritium production and used thermal diffusion enrichment, a facility that was built in Saclay to enrich hydrogen in tritium for low level measurements, and the Laue Langevin Institute tritium extraction plant. Details are given on the project under construction for the tritium separation facility at JET using Gas Chromatography, and on proposals for circuits for NET. Studies on catalysers for liquid phase catalytic exchange, on electrolysers, or different gas chromatography arrangements, are described. Systems designed for reprocessing plants, for detritiation of heavy water by distillation are briefly accounted for

Tritium activities in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gierszewski, P.

1995-01-01

Canadian tritium activites comprise three major interests: utilites, light manufacturers, and fusion. There are 21 operating CANDU reactors in Canada; 19 with Ontario Hydro and one each with Hydro Quebec and New Brunswick Power. There are two light manufacturers, two primary tritium research facilities (at AECL Chalk River and Ontario Hydro Technologies), and a number of industry and universities involved in design, construction, and general support of the other tritium activities. The largest tritum program is in support of the CANDU reactors, which generate tritium in the heavy water as a by-product of normal operation. Currently, there are about 12 kg of tritium locked up in the heavy water coolant and moderator of these reactors. The fusion work is complementary to the light manufacturing, and is concerned with tritium handling for the ITER program. This included design, development and application of technologies related to Isotope Separation, tritium handling, (tritiated) gas separation, tritium-materials interaction, and plasma fueling

Tritium conference days

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garnier-Laplace, J.; Lebaron-Jacobs, L.; Sene, M.; Devin, P.; Chretien, V.; Le Guen, B.; Guetat, Ph.; Baglan, N.; Ansoborlo, E.; Boyer, C.; Masson, M.; Bailly-Du-Bois, P.; Jenkinson, St.; Wakeford, R.; Saintigny, Y.; Romeo, P.H.; Thompson, P.; Leterq, D.; Chastagner, F.; Cortes, P.; Philippe, M.; Paquet, F.; Fournier, M.

2009-01-01

This document gathers the slides of the available presentations given during this conference day. Twenty presentations out of 21 are assembled in the document and deal with: 1 - tritium in the environment (J. Garnier-Laplace); 2 - status of knowledge about tritium impact on health (L. Lebaron-Jacobs); 3 - tritium, discrete but present everywhere (M. Sene); 4 - management of tritium effluents from Areva NC La Hague site - related impact and monitoring (P. Devin); 5 - tritium effluents and impact in the vicinity of EDF's power plants (V. Chretien and B. Le Guen); 6 - contribution of CEA-Valduc centre monitoring to the knowledge of atmospheric tritiated water transfers to the different compartments of the environment (P. Guetat); 7 - tritium analysis in environment samples: constraints and means (N. Baglan); 8 - organically-linked tritium: the analyst view (E. Ansoborlo); 9 - study of tritium transfers to plants via OBT/HTO air and OBT/HTO free (C. Boyer); 10 - tritium in the British Channel (M. Masson and P. Bailly-Du-Bois); 11 - tritium in British coastal waters (S. Jenkinson); 12 - recent results from epidemiology (R. Wakeford); 13 - effects of tritiated thymidine on hematopoietic stem cells (P.H. Romeo); 14 - tritium management issue in Canada: the point of view from authorities (P. Thompson); 15 - experience feedback of the detritiation process of Valduc centre (D. Leterq); 16 - difficulties linked with tritiated wastes confinement (F. Chastagner); 17 - optimisation of tritium management in the ITER project (P. Cortes); 18 - elements of thought about the management of tritium generated by nuclear facilities (M. Philippe); 19 - CIPR's position about the calculation of doses and risks linked with tritium exposure (F. Paquet); 20 - tritium think tanks (M. Fournier). (J.S.)

Development of a tritium monitor combined with an electrochemical tritium pump using a proton conducting oxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tanaka, M. [National Institute for Fusion Science, Toki, Gifu (Japan); Sugiyama, T. [Nagoya University, Fro-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya (Japan)

2015-03-15

The detection of low level tritium is one of the key issues for tritium management in tritium handling facilities. Such a detection can be performed by tritium monitors based on proton conducting oxide technique. We tested a tritium monitoring system composed of a commercial proportional counter combined with an electrochemical hydrogen pump equipped with CaZr{sub 0.9}In{sub 0.1}O{sub 3-α} as proton conducting oxide. The hydrogen pump operated at 973 K under electrolysis conditions using tritiated water vapor (HTO). The proton conducting oxide extracts tritium molecules (HT) from HTO and tritium concentration is measured by the proportional counter. The advantage of the proposed tritium monitoring system is that it is able to convert HTO into molecular hydrogen.

A low tritium hydride bed inventory estimation technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klein, J.E.; Shanahan, K.L.; Baker, R.A. [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States); Foster, P.J. [Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Aiken, SC (United States)

2015-03-15

Low tritium hydride beds were developed and deployed into tritium service in Savannah River Site. Process beds to be used for low concentration tritium gas were not fitted with instrumentation to perform the steady-state, flowing gas calorimetric inventory measurement method. Low tritium beds contain less than the detection limit of the IBA (In-Bed Accountability) technique used for tritium inventory. This paper describes two techniques for estimating tritium content and uncertainty for low tritium content beds to be used in the facility's physical inventory (PI). PI are performed periodically to assess the quantity of nuclear material used in a facility. The first approach (Mid-point approximation method - MPA) assumes the bed is half-full and uses a gas composition measurement to estimate the tritium inventory and uncertainty. The second approach utilizes the bed's hydride material pressure-composition-temperature (PCT) properties and a gas composition measurement to reduce the uncertainty in the calculated bed inventory.

Issues Associated with Tritium Legacy Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills, Michael

2008-01-01

This paper highlights some of the issues associated with the treatment of legacy materials linked to research into tritium over many years and also of materials used to contain or store tritium. The aim of the work is to recover tritium where practicable, and to leave the residual materials passively safe, either for disposal or for continued storage. A number of materials are currently stored at AWE which either contain tritium or have been used in tritium processing. It is essential that these materials are characterised such that a strategy may be developed for their safe stewardship, and ultimately for their treatment and disposal. Treatment processes for such materials are determined by the application of best practicable means (BPM) studies in accordance with the requirements of the Environment Agency of England and Wales. Clearly, it is necessary to understand the objectives of legacy material treatment / processing and the technical options available before a definitive BPM study is implemented. The majority of tritium legacy materials with which we are concerned originate from the decommissioning of a facility that was operational from the late 1950's through to the late 1990's when, on post-operative clear-out (POCO), the entire removable and transportable tritium inventory was moved to new, purpose built facilities. One of the principle tasks to be undertaken in the new facilities is the treatment of the legacy materials to recover tritium wherever practicable, and render the residual materials passively safe for disposal or continued storage. Where tritium recovery was not reasonably or technically feasible, then a means to assure continued safe storage was to be devised and implemented. The legacy materials are in the following forms: - Uranium beds which may or may not contain adsorbed tritium gas; - Tritium gas stored in containers; - Tritide targets for neutron generation; - Tritides of a broad spectrum of metals manufactured for research / long

An overview of research activities on materials for nuclear applications at the INL Safety, Tritium and Applied Research facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calderoni, P., E-mail: Pattrick.Calderoni@inl.gov [Fusion Safety Program, Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-7113 (United States); Sharpe, J.; Shimada, M.; Denny, B.; Pawelko, B.; Schuetz, S.; Longhurst, G. [Fusion Safety Program, Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-7113 (United States); Hatano, Y.; Hara, M. [Hydrogen Isotope Research Center, University of Toyama, Gofuku 3190, Toyama 930-8555 (Japan); Oya, Y. [Radioscience Research Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8529 (Japan); Otsuka, T.; Katayama, K. [Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581 (Japan); Konishi, S.; Noborio, K.; Yamamoto, Y. [Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011 (Japan)

2011-10-01

The Safety, Tritium and Applied Research facility at the Idaho National Laboratory is a US Department of Energy National User Facility engaged in various aspects of materials research for nuclear applications related to fusion and advanced fission systems. Research activities are mainly focused on the interaction of tritium with materials, in particular plasma facing components, liquid breeders, high temperature coolants, fuel cladding, cooling and blanket structures and heat exchangers. Other activities include validation and verification experiments in support of the Fusion Safety Program, such as beryllium dust reactivity and dust transport in vacuum vessels, and support of Advanced Test Reactor irradiation experiments. This paper presents an overview of the programs engaged in the activities, which include the US-Japan TITAN collaboration, the US ITER program, the Next Generation Power Plant program and the tritium production program, and a presentation of ongoing experiments as well as a summary of recent results with emphasis on fusion relevant materials.

An overview of research activities on materials for nuclear applications at the INL Safety, Tritium and Applied Research facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calderoni, P.; Sharpe, J.; Shimada, M.; Denny, B.; Pawelko, B.; Schuetz, S.; Longhurst, G.; Hatano, Y.; Hara, M.; Oya, Y.; Otsuka, T.; Katayama, K.; Konishi, S.; Noborio, K.; Yamamoto, Y.

2011-01-01

The Safety, Tritium and Applied Research facility at the Idaho National Laboratory is a US Department of Energy National User Facility engaged in various aspects of materials research for nuclear applications related to fusion and advanced fission systems. Research activities are mainly focused on the interaction of tritium with materials, in particular plasma facing components, liquid breeders, high temperature coolants, fuel cladding, cooling and blanket structures and heat exchangers. Other activities include validation and verification experiments in support of the Fusion Safety Program, such as beryllium dust reactivity and dust transport in vacuum vessels, and support of Advanced Test Reactor irradiation experiments. This paper presents an overview of the programs engaged in the activities, which include the US-Japan TITAN collaboration, the US ITER program, the Next Generation Power Plant program and the tritium production program, and a presentation of ongoing experiments as well as a summary of recent results with emphasis on fusion relevant materials.

Tritium-assisted fusion breeders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenspan, E.; Miley, G.H.

1983-08-01

This report undertakes a preliminary assessment of the prospects of tritium-assisted D-D fuel cycle fusion breeders. Two well documented fusion power reactor designs - the STARFIRE (D-T fuel cycle) and the WILDCAT (Cat-D fuel cycle) tokamaks - are converted into fusion breeders by replacing the fusion electric blankets with 233 U producing fission suppressed blankets; changing the Cat-D fuel cycle mode of operation by one of the several tritium-assisted D-D-based modes of operation considered; adjusting the reactor power level; and modifying the resulting plant cost to account for the design changes. Three sources of tritium are considered for assisting the D-D fuel cycle: tritium produced in the blankets from lithium or from 3 He and tritium produced in the client fission reactors. The D-D-based fusion breeders using tritium assistance are found to be the most promising economically, especially the Tritium Catalyzed Deuterium mode of operation in which the 3 He exhausted from the plasma is converted, by neutron capture in the blanket, into tritium which is in turn fed back to the plasma. The number of fission reactors of equal thermal power supported by Tritium Catalyzed Deuterium fusion breeders is about 50% higher than that of D-T fusion breeders, and the profitability is found to be slightly lower than that of the D-T fusion breeders

Review of general tritium accountancy techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vassallo, G.; Engelmann, U.

1995-01-01

The accountancy of material in any facility forms an integral part of good housekeeping practices. However, for materials such as tritium, a combination of safety, security and economic reasons often demands that a comprehensive material control program be implemented. Within a tritium facility, the isotope is usually stored at a central magazine from where it can be distributed to and collected from process plant and experiments and received from external suppliers. This paper outlines the routine magazine measurement techniques employed for quantitatively assaying tritium for such control purposes and reviews the advantages and drawbacks of various methods. 10 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Tips for the fabrication of temporary tritium experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binning, K.E.; Jenkins, E.M.

1988-01-01

The Tritium System Test Assembly (TSTA) is a facility built for the demonstration of tritium handling systems necessary for tritium-burning fusion reactors. The facility has been in operation handling tritium for four years. The current inventory of tritium is approximately one hundred grams, with DOE approval for a maximum inventory of two hundred grams. Not all experiments performed at TSTA require the operation of the main process loop. During the last four years, many small scale experiments have been performed to test the compatibility and operation of tritium processing components in small self-contained experimental packages. These packages are fabricated inside secondary containment gloveboxes and can be operated for hours or months with little monitoring. Construction of these packages need to be tritium compatible, inexpensive, easy to build, and versatile. This paper discusses some of the problems and remedies encountered during the building of temporary experiments

Tips for the fabrication of temporary tritium experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binning, K.E.; Jenkins, E.M.

1988-01-01

The Tritium System Test Assembly (TSTA) is a facility built for the demonstration of tritium handling systems necessary for tritium-burning fusion reactors. The facility has been in operation handling tritium for four years. The current inventory of tritium is approximately one hundred grams with DOE approval exists for a maximum inventory of two hundred grams. Not all experiments performed at TSTA require the operation of the main process loop. During the last four years, many small scale experiments have been performed to test the compatibility and operation of tritium processing components in small self-contained experimental packages. These packages are fabricated inside secondary containment gloveboxes and can be operated for hours or months with little monitoring. Construction of these packages need to be tritium compatible, inexpensive, easy to build, and versatile. This paper discusses some of the problems and remedies encountered during the building of temporary experiments

Current Sandia programs and laboratory facilities for tritium research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swansiger, W.A.; West, L.A.

1975-01-01

Currently envisioned fusion reactor systems will contain substantial quantities of tritium. Strict control of the overall tritium inventory and environmental safety considerations require an accurate knowledge of the behavior of this isotope in the presence of Controlled Thermonuclear Reactor (CTR) materials. A 14,000 ft 2 laboratory for tritium research is currently under construction at Sandia Laboratories in Livermore. Details about the laboratory in general are provided. Results from studies of hydrogen isotope diffusion in surface-characterized metals will be presented. Details of two permeation systems (one for hydrogen and deuterium, the other for tritium) will be discussed. Data will also be presented concerning the gettering of hydrogen isotopes and application to CTR collector designs. (auth)

Status of tritium technology development for magnetic-fusion energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J.L.

1983-01-01

The development of tritium technology for the magnetic fusion energy program has progressed at a rapid rate over the past two years. The focal points for this development in the United States have been the Tritium Systems Test Assembly at Los Alamos and the FED/INTOR studies supported by the Fusion Engineering Design Center at Oak Ridge. In Canada the Canadian Fusion Fuel Technology Project has been initiated and promises to make significant contributions to the tritium technology program in the next few years. The Japanese government has now approved funding for the Tritium Processing Laboratory at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute's Tokai Research Establishment. Construction on this new facility is scheduled to begin in April 1983. This facility will be the center for fusion tritium technology development in Japan. The European Community is currently working on the design of the tritium facility for the Joint European Torus. There is considerable interaction between all of these programs, thus accelerating the overall development of this crucial technology

Tritium sorption by cement and subsequent release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ono, F.; Tanaka, S.; Yamawaki, M.

1994-01-01

In a fusion reactor or tritium handling facilities, contamination of concrete by tritium and subsequent release from it to the reactor or experimental rooms is a matter of problem for safety control of tritium and management of operational environment. In order to evaluate these tritium behavior, interaction of tritiated water with concrete or cement should be clarified. In the present study, HTO sorption and subsequent release from cement were studied by combining various experimental methods. From the basic studies on tritium-cement interactions, it has become possible to evaluate tritium uptake by cement or concrete and subsequent tritium release behavior as well as tritium removing methods from them

Environmental tritium in trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, R.M.

1979-01-01

The distribution of environmental tritium in the free water and organically bound hydrogen of trees growing in the vicinity of the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories (CRNL) has been studied. The regional dispersal of HTO in the atmosphere has been observed by surveying the tritium content of leaf moisture. Measurement of the distribution of organically bound tritium in the wood of tree ring sequences has given information on past concentrations of HTO taken up by trees growing in the CRNL Liquid Waste Disposal Area. For samples at background environmental levels, cellulose separation and analysis was done. The pattern of bomb tritium in precipitation of 1955-68 was observed to be preserved in the organically bound tritium of a tree ring sequence. Reactor tritium was discernible in a tree growing at a distance of 10 km from CRNL. These techniques provide convenient means of monitoring dispersal of HTO from nuclear facilities. (author)

Environmental health-risk assessment for tritium releases at the National Tritium Labeling Facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McKone, T.E.; Brand, K.P. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States). Health and Ecological Assessment Div.; Shan, C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States). Earth Sciences Div.

1997-04-01

This risk assessment calculates the probability of experiencing health effects, including cancer incidence due to tritium exposure for three groups of people: (1) LBNL workers near the LBNL facility--Building 75--that uses tritium; (2) other workers at LBNL and nearby neighbors; and (3) people who use the UC Berkeley campus area, and some Berkeley residents. All of these groups share the same probability of health effects from the background radiation from natural sources in the Berkeley area environment, including an increased risk of developing a cancer of 11,000 chances per million. In calculating risk the authors assumed continuous operation in Building 75 for at least a human lifetime. Under this assumption, LBNL workers located near Building 75 have an additional risk of 60 chances out of one million to suffer a cancer; other workers at LBNL and people who live near LBNL have an additional risk of six chances out of one million over a lifetime of exposure; and users of the UC Berkeley campus area and other residents of Berkeley have an additional risk of less than once chance out of one million over a lifetime.

Environmental health-risk assessment for tritium releases at the National Tritium Labeling Facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKone, T.E.; Brand, K.P.; Shan, C.

1997-04-01

This risk assessment calculates the probability of experiencing health effects, including cancer incidence due to tritium exposure for three groups of people: (1) LBNL workers near the LBNL facility--Building 75--that uses tritium; (2) other workers at LBNL and nearby neighbors; and (3) people who use the UC Berkeley campus area, and some Berkeley residents. All of these groups share the same probability of health effects from the background radiation from natural sources in the Berkeley area environment, including an increased risk of developing a cancer of 11,000 chances per million. In calculating risk the authors assumed continuous operation in Building 75 for at least a human lifetime. Under this assumption, LBNL workers located near Building 75 have an additional risk of 60 chances out of one million to suffer a cancer; other workers at LBNL and people who live near LBNL have an additional risk of six chances out of one million over a lifetime of exposure; and users of the UC Berkeley campus area and other residents of Berkeley have an additional risk of less than once chance out of one million over a lifetime

Recovery of tritium from CANDU reactors, its storage and monitoring of its migration in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holtslander, W.J.; Osborne, R.V.

1979-07-01

Tritium is produced in CANDU heavy water reactors mainly by neutron activation of deuterium. The typical production rate is 2.4 kCi per megawatt-year (89 TBq. per megawatt-year. In Pickering Generating Station the average concentration of tritium in the moderators has reached 16 Ci.kg -1 (0.6 TBq.kg -1 ) and in coolants, 0.5 Ci.kg -1 (0.02 TBq.kg -1 ). Concentrations will continue to increase towards an equilibrium determined by the production rate, the tritium decay rate and heavy water replacement. Tritium removal methods that are being considered for a pilot plant design are catalytic exchange of DTO with D 2 and electrolysis of D 2 O/DTO to provide feed for cryogenic distillation of D 2 /DT/T 2 . Storage methods for the removed tritium - as elemental gas, as metal hydrides and in cements - are also being investigated. Transport of tritiated wastes should not be a particularly difficult problem in light of extensive experience in transporting tritiated heavy water. Methods for determining the presence of tritium in the environment of any tritium handling facility are well established and have the capability of measuring concentrations of tritium down to current ambient values. (author)

Tritium-management requirements for D-T fusion reactors (ETF, INTOR, FED)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finn, P.A.; Clemmer, R.G.; Misra, B.

1981-10-01

The successful operation of D-T fusion reactors will depend on the development of safe and reliable tritium-containment and fuel-recycle systems. The tritium handling requirements for D-T reactors were analyzed. The reactor facility was then designed from the viewpoint of tritium management. Recovery scenarios after a tritium release were generated to show the relative importance of various scenarios. A fusion-reactor tritium facility was designed which would be appropriate for all types of plants from the Engineering Test Facility (ETF), the International Tokamak Reactor (INTOR), and the Fusion Engineering Device (FED) to the full-scale power plant epitomized by the STARFIRE design

Conceptual design of an emergency tritium clean-up system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muller, M.E.

1978-01-01

The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) has been selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) to design, build, and operate a facility to demonstrate the operability of the tritium-related subsystems that would be required to successfully develop fusion reactor systems. An emergency tritium clean-up subsystem (ETC) for this facility will be designed to remove tritium from the cell atmosphere if an accident causes the primary and secondary tritium containment to be breached. Conceptually, the ETC will process cell air at the rate of 0.65 actual m 3 /s and will achieve an overall decontamination factor of 10 6 per tritium oxide (T 2 O). Following the maximum credible release of 100 g of tritium, the ETC will restore the cell to opertional status within 24 h without a significant release of tritium to the environment

Tritium concentration in fresh, brackish and sea-water samples in Rokkasho-Village, Japan, bordered by nuclear fuel cycle facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, S.; Kakiuchi, H.; Kondo, K.; Inaba, J.

2006-01-01

In order to identify the concentration of tritium ( 3 H) in areas of fresh, brackish and sea water, bordered by nuclear fuel facilities at Rokkasho-Village, Aomori, Japan, water samples were collected from 2001 to 2004 at six points in those areas. Concentration ranges of tritium in fresh river water, brackish lake and seawater samples were 0.60 to 1.1 Bq x l -1 (mean value 0.79 Bq x l -1 ), 0.20 to 0.87 Bq x l -1 (mean value 0.41 Bq x l -1 ), and 0.08 to 0.25 Bq x l -1 (mean value 0.15 Bq x l -1 ), respectively. Relationships between tritium concentrations and salinity in the samples showed a clear negative correlation. Moreover, the seasonal variation of tritium in water from Rokkasho-Village was high in spring and low in fall. (author)

Establishment of tritium dating facility for hydrological studies in PNRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendoza, Norman; Sucgang, Raymond; Castaneda, Soledad

2009-01-01

The release of excess tritium ( 3 H) into the atmosphere from nuclear weapons tests conducted between 1952 and 1963 'tagged' rain water, and thereby all surface waters with 3 HHO. Measurement of 3 H concentrations in rain, surface water and groundwater is useful index of vulnerability and sustainability of the aquifer to pollution and human exploitation. These determinations are currently being used in the characterization of different environments and in pollution studies, in the framework of research projects, international collaborations and services. Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) was the method of choice for the evaluation of the tritium concentrations in precipitation, groundwater and surface water samples. Prior to counting process, the samples are enriched in tritium by an electrolysis procedure to improve the overall detection limit. Low-level hydrological water samples go through an electrolytic enrichment step, in which tritium concentrations are increased to about seventy-fold through volume reduction. The amount of tritium in water is expressed in tritium units (TU). Water samples taken from selected areas of Bulacan province within the period of 2007 and 2008 were analyzed as part of the current hydrological studies being done by our group in PNRI. The typical tritium values for the rain water, surface water, and groundwater were found to be 1.20±0.11 TU, 1.12±0.11 TU, and 0.40±0.07, respectively. Procedures are now available in our laboratory for measurement of tritium in water samples of different water types. (author)

Recommended radiological controls for tritium operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansfield, G.

1992-01-01

This informal report presents recommendations for an adequate radiological protection program for tritium operations. Topics include hazards analysis, facility design, personnel protection equipment, training, operational procedures, radiation monitoring, to include surface and airborne tritium contamination, and program management

Thermal enhancement cartridge heater modified (TECH Mod) tritium hydride bed development, Part 1 - Design and fabrication

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klein, J.E.; Estochen, E.G. [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States)

2015-03-15

The Savannah River Site (SRS) tritium facilities have used first generation (Gen1) LaNi{sub 4.25}Al{sub 0.75} (LANA0.75) metal hydride storage beds for tritium absorption, storage, and desorption. The Gen1 design utilizes hot and cold nitrogen supplies to thermally cycle these beds. Second and third generation (Gen2 and Gen3) storage bed designs include heat conducting foam and divider plates to spatially fix the hydride within the bed. For thermal cycling, the Gen2 and Gen3 beds utilize internal electric heaters and glovebox atmosphere flow over the bed inside the bed external jacket for cooling. The currently installed Gen1 beds require replacement due to tritium aging effects on the LANA0.75 material, and cannot be replaced with Gen2 or Gen3 beds due to different designs of these beds. At the end of service life, Gen1 bed desorption efficiencies are limited by the upper temperature of hot nitrogen supply. To increase end-of-life desorption efficiency, the Gen1 bed design was modified, and a Thermal Enhancement Cartridge Heater Modified (TECH Mod) bed was developed. Internal electric cartridge heaters in the new design to improve end-of-life desorption, and also permit in-bed tritium accountability (IBA) calibration measurements to be made without the use of process tritium. Additional enhancements implemented into the TECH Mod design are also discussed. (authors)

TFTR tritium handling concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garber, H.J.

1976-01-01

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, to be located on the Princeton Forrestal Campus, is expected to operate with 1 to 2.5 MA tritium--deuterium plasmas, with the pulses involving injection of 50 to 150 Ci (5 to 16 mg) of tritium. Attainment of fusion conditions is based on generation of an approximately 1 keV tritium plasma by ohmic heating and conversion to a moderately hot tritium--deuterium ion plasma by injection of a ''preheating'' deuterium neutral beam (40 to 80 keV), followed by injection of a ''reacting'' beam of high energy neutral deuterium (120 to 150 keV). Additionally, compressions accompany the beam injections. Environmental, safety and cost considerations led to the decision to limit the amount of tritium gas on-site to that required for an experiment, maintaining all other tritium in ''solidified'' form. The form of the tritium supply is as uranium tritide, while the spent tritium and other hydrogen isotopes are getter-trapped by zirconium--aluminum alloy. The issues treated include: (1) design concepts for the tritium generator and its purification, dispensing, replenishment, containment, and containment--cleanup systems; (2) features of the spent plasma trapping system, particularly the regenerable absorption cartridges, their integration into the vacuum system, and the handling of non-getterables; (3) tritium permeation through the equipment and the anticipated releases to the environment; (4) overview of the tritium related ventilation systems; and (5) design bases for the facility's tritium clean-up systems

Accelerator Production of Tritium Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Input Submittal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, L.A.; Greene, G.A.; Boyack, B.E.

1996-02-01

The Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Tritium Supply and Recycling considers several methods for the production of tritium. One of these methods is the Accelerator Production of Tritium. This report summarizes the design characteristics of APT including the accelerator, target/blanket, tritium extraction facility, and the balance of plant. Two spallation targets are considered: (1) a tungsten neutron-source target and (2) a lead neutron-source target. In the tungsten target concept, the neutrons are captured by the circulating He-3, thus producing tritium; in the lead target concept, the tritium is produced by neutron capture by Li-6 in a surrounding lithium-aluminum blanket. This report also provides information to support the PEIS including construction and operational resource needs, waste generation, and potential routine and accidental releases of radioactive material. The focus of the report is on the impacts of a facility that will produce 3/8th of the baseline goal of tritium. However, some information is provided on the impacts of APT facilities that would produce smaller quantities

Irradiaiton facilities for testing solid and liquid blanket breeder materials with in-situ tritium release measurements in the HFR Petten

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conrad, R.; Debarberis, L.

1991-01-01

Lithium-based tritium breeder materials for solid and liquid fusion reactor blanket concepts are being tested in the High Flux Reactor (HFR) Petten with in-situ tritium release measurements since 1985, within the European Fusion Technology Programme and the BEATRIX-I programme. Ceramic breeder materials are being tested in the EXOTIC and COMPLIMENT experimental programmes and the liquid breeder material, Pb-17Li, is being tested in the LIBRETTO experimental programme. The in-pile experiments are performed with irradiation facilities developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) Petten. The irradiation vehicles are multi-channel rigs. The sample holders consist of independent, fully instrumented and triple contained capsules. The out-of-pile experimental equipment consist of twelve independent circuits for on-line tritium release and tritium permeation measurements and eight independent circuits for temperature control. The experimental achievements obtained so far contribute to the selection of candidate tritium breeder materials for blanket concepts of near future machines like NET, ITER and DEMO. (orig.)

Experiences with decontaminating tritium-handling apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maienschein, J.L.; Garcia, F.; Garza, R.G.; Kanna, R.L.; Mayhugh, S.R.; Taylor, D.T.

1991-07-01

Tritium-handling apparatus has been decontaminated as part of the shutdown of the LLNL Tritium Facility. Two stainless-steel gloveboxes that had been used to process lithium deuteride-tritide (LiDT) salt were decontaminated using the Portable Cleanup System so that they could be flushed with room air through the facility ventilation system. Further surface decontamination was performed by scrubbing the interior with paper towels and ethyl alcohol or Swish trademark. The surface contamination, as shown by swipe surveys, was reduced from 4x10 4 --10 6 disintegrations per minute (dpm)/cm 2 to 2x10 2 --4x10 4 dpm/cm 2 . Details on the decontamination operation are provided. A series of metal (palladium and vanadium) hydride storage beds have been drained of tritium and flushed with deuterium in order to remove as much tritium as possible. The bed draining and flushing procedure is described, and a calculational method is presented which allows estimation of the tritium remaining in a bed after it has been drained and flushed. Data on specific bed draining and flushing are given

Development of tritium technology for the United States magnetic fusion energy program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J.L.; Wilkes, W.R.

1980-01-01

Tritium technology development for the DOE fusion program is taking place principally at three laboratories, Mound Facility, Argonne National Laboratory and the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. This paper will review the major aspects of each of the three programs and look at aspects of the tritium technology being developed at other laboratories within the United States. Facilities and experiments to be discussed include the Tritium Effluent Control Laboratory and the Tritium Storage and Delivery System for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor at Mound Facility; the Lithium Processing Test Loop and the solid breeder blanket studies at Argonne; and the Tritium Systems Test Assembly at Los Alamos

Development of a compact tritium activity monitor and first tritium measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Röllig, M., E-mail: marco.roellig@kit.edu; Ebenhöch, S.; Niemes, S.; Priester, F.; Sturm, M.

2015-11-15

Highlights: • We report about experimental results of a new tritium activity monitoring system using the BIXS method. • The system is compact and easy to implement. It has a small dead volume of about 28 cm{sup 3} and can be used in a flow-through mode. • Gold coated surfaces are used to improve significantly count rate stability of the system and to reduce stored inventory. - Abstract: To develop a convenient tool for in-line tritium gas monitoring, the TRitium Activity Chamber Experiment (TRACE) was built and commissioned at the Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe (TLK). The detection system is based on beta-induced X-ray spectrometry (BIXS), which observes the bremsstrahlung X-rays generated by tritium decay electrons in a gold layer. The setup features a measuring chamber with a gold-coated beryllium window and a silicon drift detector. Such a detection system can be used for accountancy and process control in tritium processing facilities like the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment (KATRIN). First characterization measurements with tritium were performed. The system demonstrates a linear response between tritium partial pressure and the integral count rate in a pressure range of 1 Pa up to 60 Pa. Within 100 s measurement time the lower detection limit for tritium is (143.63 ± 5.06) · 10{sup 4} Bq. The system stability of TRACE is limited by a linear decrease of integral count rate of 0.041 %/h. This decrease is most probably due to exchange interactions between tritium and the stainless steel walls. By reducing the interaction surface with stainless steel, the decrease of the integral count rate was reduced to 0.008 %/h. Based on the first results shown in this paper it can be concluded that TRACE is a promising complement to existing tritium monitoring tools.

Current status of tritium calorimetry at TLK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buekki-Deme, A.; Alecu, C.G.; Kloppe, B.; Bornschein, B. [Institute of Technical Physics, Tritium Laboratory Karsruhe - TLK, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - KIT, Karlsruhe (Germany)

2015-03-15

Inside a tritium facility, calorimetry is an important analytical method as it is the only reference method for accountancy (it is based on the measurement of the heat generated by the radioactive decay). Presently, at Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe (TLK), 4 calorimeters are in operation, one of isothermal type and three of inertial guidance control type (IGC). The volume of the calorimeters varies between 0.5 and 20.6 liters. About two years ago we started an extensive work to improve our calorimeters with regard to reliability and precision. We were forced to upgrade 3 of our 4 calorimeters due to the outdated interfaces and software. This work involved creating new LabView programs driving the devices, re-tuning control loops and replacing obsolete hardware components. In this paper we give a review on the current performance of our calorimeters, comparing it to recently available devices from the market and in the literature. We also show some ideas for a next generation calorimeter based on experiences with our IGC calorimeters and other devices reported in the literature. (authors)

Current status of tritium calorimetry at TLK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buekki-Deme, A.; Alecu, C.G.; Kloppe, B.; Bornschein, B.

2015-01-01

Inside a tritium facility, calorimetry is an important analytical method as it is the only reference method for accountancy (it is based on the measurement of the heat generated by the radioactive decay). Presently, at Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe (TLK), 4 calorimeters are in operation, one of isothermal type and three of inertial guidance control type (IGC). The volume of the calorimeters varies between 0.5 and 20.6 liters. About two years ago we started an extensive work to improve our calorimeters with regard to reliability and precision. We were forced to upgrade 3 of our 4 calorimeters due to the outdated interfaces and software. This work involved creating new LabView programs driving the devices, re-tuning control loops and replacing obsolete hardware components. In this paper we give a review on the current performance of our calorimeters, comparing it to recently available devices from the market and in the literature. We also show some ideas for a next generation calorimeter based on experiences with our IGC calorimeters and other devices reported in the literature. (authors)

Use of tritium and sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noguchi, Hiroshi

1997-01-01

There are many kinds of tritium, sources in the environment. The maximum inventory of them is the nuclear tests, although the atmospheric nuclear test has not been carried out since 1981. So that the inventory originated from them will decrease. By the latest data in 1989, the total amount of released tritium was about 24 PBq/yr by the use of atomic energy in the world. The maximum source was the heavy water moderated reactors, for example, CANDU reactor. In the future, large amount of tritium inventory may be the fusion reactor. The test of JET (Joint European Torus) released about 600 GBq of tritium until March in 1992. 80-90% of them were tritium water (HTO). The amount of tritium released from industries and medicine are limited. Although ITER has a large amount of tritium inventory, the amount of release is seemed not to be larger than other nuclear power facility. (S.Y.)

An overview of tritium production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Kaihui; Huang Jinghua; Feng Kaiming

2002-01-01

The characteristics of three types of proposed tritium production facilities, fissile type, accelerator production tritium (APT), and fusion type, are presented. The fissile reactors, especially commercial light water reactor, use comparatively mature technology and are designed to meet current safety and environmental guidelines. Conversely, APT shows many advantages except its rather high cost, while fusion reactors appear to offer improved safety and environmental impact, in particular, tritium production based on the fusion-based neutron source. However, its cost keeps unknown

Mapping of tritium in drinking water from various Indian states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, Chirag A.; Baburajan, A.; Ravi, P.M.; Tripathi, R.M.

2015-01-01

The tritium in fresh water used for drinking purpose across five state of India was analyzed for tritium activity. The tritium data obtained were compared with the monitoring data of tritium in drinking water sources at Tarapur site, which houses a number of nuclear facilities. It is observed that the tritium activity in the water sample from various out station locations were in the range of < 0.48 to 1.33 Bq/l. The tritium value obtained in the drinking water sources at Tarapur was found to be in the range of 0.91 to 3.10 Bq/l. The monitoring of tritium in drinking water from Tarapur and from various out station location indicate that the level is negligible compared to the USEPA limit of 10000 Bq/l and the contribution of operation nuclear facilities to the tritium activity in drinking water source at Tarapur is insignificant. (author)

Effects of tritium in elastomers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zapp, P.E.

1982-01-01

Elastomers are used as flange gaskets in the piping system of the Savannah River Plant tritium facilities. A number of elastomers is being examined to identify those compounds more radiation-resistant than the currently specified Buna-N rubber and to study the mechanism of tritium radiation damage. Radiation resistance is evaluated by compression set tests on specimens exposed to about 1 atm tritium for several months. Initial results show that ethylene-propylene rubber and three fluoroelastomers are superior to Buna-N. Off-gassing measurements and autoradiography show that retained surface absorption of tritium varies by more than an order of magnitude among the different elastomer compounds. Therefore, tritium solubility and/or exchange may have a role in addition to that of chemical structure in the damage process. Ongoing studies of the mechanism of radiation damage include: (1) tritium absorption kinetics, (2) mass spectroscopy of radiolytic products, and (3) infrared spectroscopy

Tritium concentration reducing method in atmosphere in nuclear reactor containment facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirasawa, Yoshiya; Kigoshi, Yasutane; Yonenaga, Haruo.

1992-01-01

A portion of water content in an atmosphere is condensed by a condensation/evaporation device disposed in a nuclear reactor containment building and then a portion of the condensed water is evaporated in the atmosphere. A portion of hydrogen nuclides constituting the evaporated water content is subjected to isotopic exchange with tritium nuclides in the atmosphere. A portion of water content in the atmosphere applied with the isotopic exchange is condensed in the condensation/evaporation device. That is, the hydrogen nuclides in steams are applied with isotopic exchange with tritium nuclides, and steams incorporating tritium nuclides are condensed again in the condensation/evaporation device, to transfer the tritium nuclides in the atmosphere to condensed water. The condensed water is recovered without releasing the tritium nuclides to the outside of the reactor containment building, thereby enabling to reduce the tritium concentration in the atmosphere. (N.H.)

Tritium processing and management during D-T experiments on TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

La Marche, P.H.; Anderson, J.L.; Gentile, C.A.; Hawryluk, R.J.; Hosea, J.; Kalish, M.; Kozub, T.; Murray, H.; Nagy, A.; Raftopoulos, S.

1994-11-01

TFTR performance has surpassed many of the previous tokamak records. This has been made possible by the use of tritium as fuel for DT plasma discharges. Stable operations of tritium systems provide for safe, routine DT operation of TFTR. In the preparation for DT operation, in the commissioning of the tritium systems and in the operation of the Nuclear Facility several key lessons have been learned. They include: the facility must take the lead in interpreting the applicable regulations and orders and then seek regulator approval; the use of ultra high vacuum technology in tritium system design and construction simplifies and enhances operations and maintenance; and central facility control under a single supervisory position is crucial to safely orchestrate operational and maintenance activities

The tritium operations experience on TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halle, A. von; Anderson, J.L.; Gentile, C.; Grisham, L.; Hosea, J.; Kamperschroer, J.; LaMarche, P.; Oldaker, M.; Nagy, A.; Raftopoulos, S.; Stevenson, T.

1995-01-01

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) tritium gas system is administratively limited to 5 grams of tritium and provides the feedstock gas for the neutral beam and torus injection systems. Tritium operations on TFTR began with leak checking of gas handling systems, qualification of the gas injection systems, and high power plasma operations using trace amounts of tritium in deuterium feedstock gas. Full tritium operation commenced with four highly diagnosed neutral beam pulses into a beamline calorimeter to verify planned tritium beam operating routines and to demonstrate the deuterium to tritium beam isotope exchange. Since that time, TFTR has successfully operated each of the twelve neutral beam ion sources in tritium during hundreds of tritium beam pulses and torus gas injections. This paper describes the TFTR tritium gas handling systems and TFTR tritium operations of the gas injection systems and the neutral beam ion sources. Tritium accounting and accountability is discussed, including tritium retention issues of the torus limiters and beam impinged surfaces of the beamline components. Also included is tritium beam velocity analysis that compares the neutral beam extracted ion species composition for deuterium and tritium and that determines the extent of beam isotope exchange on subsequent deuterium and tritium beam pulses. The required modifications to TFTR operating routines to meet the U.S. Department of Energy regulations for a low hazard nuclear facility and the problems encountered during initial tritium operations are described. (orig.)

The tritium operations experience on TFTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

von Halle, A.; Gentile, C.

1994-01-01

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) tritium gas system is administratively limited to 5 grains of tritium and provides the feedstock gas for the neutral beam and torus injection systems. Tritium operations on TFTR began with leak checking of gas handling systems, qualification of the gas injection systems, and high power plasma operations using using trace amounts of tritium in deuterium feedstock gas. Full tritium operation commenced with four highly diagnosed neutral beam pulses into a beamline calorimeter to verify planned tritium beam operating routines and to demonstrate the deuterium to tritium beam isotope exchange. Since that time, TFTR has successfully operated each of the twelve neutral beam ion sources in tritium during hundreds of tritium beam pulses and torus gas injections. This paper describes- the TFTR tritium gas handling systems and TFTR tritium operations of the gas injection systems and the neutral beam ion sources. Tritium accounting and accountability is discussed, including tritium retention issues of the torus limiters and beam impinged surfaces of the beamline components. Also included is tritium beam velocity analysis that compares the neutral beam extracted ion species composition for deuterium and tritium and that determines the extent of beam isotope exchange on subsequent deuterium and tritium beam pulses. The required modifications to TFTR operating routines to meet the US Department of Energy regulations for a low hazard nuclear facility and the problems encountered during initial tritium operations are described

Defense In-Depth Accident Analysis Evaluation of Tritium Facility Bldgs. 232-H, 233-H, and 234-H

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, A.

1999-01-01

'The primary purpose of this report is to document a Defense-in-Depth (DID) accident analysis evaluation for Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) Tritium Facility Buildings 232-H, 233-H, and 234-H. The purpose of a DID evaluation is to provide a more realistic view of facility radiological risks to the offsite public than the bounding deterministic analysis documented in the Safety Analysis Report, which credits only Safety Class items in the offsite dose evaluation.'

Tritium concentrations in tree ring cellulose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaji, Toshio; Momoshima, Noriyuki; Takashima, Yoshimasa.

1989-01-01

Measurements of tritium (tissue bound tritium; TBT) concentration in tree rings are presented and discussed. Such measurement is expected to provide a useful means of estimating the tritium level in the environment in the past. The concentration of tritium bound in the tissue (TBT) in a tree ring considered to reflect the environmental tritium level in the area at the time of the formation of the ring, while the concentration of tritium in the free water in the tissue represents the current environmental tritium level. First, tritium concentration in tree ring cellulose sampled from a cedar tree grown in a typical environment in Fukuoka Prefecture is compared with the tritium concentration in precipitation in Tokyo. Results show that the year-to-year variations in the tritium concentration in the tree rings agree well with those in precipitation. The maximum concentration, which occurred in 1963, is attibuted to atmospheric nuclear testing which was performed frequently during the 1961 - 1963 period. Measurement is also made of the tritium concentration in tree ring cellulose sampled from a pine tree grown near the Isotope Center of Kyushu University (Fukuoka). Results indicate that the background level is higher probably due to the release of tritium from the facilities around the pine tree. Thus, measurement of tritium in tree ring cellulose clearly shows the year-to-year variation in the tritium concentration in the atmosphere. (N.K.)

Tritium supply assessment for ITER and DEMOnstration power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni, Muyi; Wang, Yongliang; Yuan, Baoxin; Jiang, Jieqiong; Wu, Yican

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The tritium production rate in CANDU reactor was simulated and estimated. • Possible routes, including APT, CLWR and tritium production schemes of ADS, were evaluated in feasibility and economy. • The possible tritium consumption of ITER and initial supply for DEMO was assessed. • Result of supply and demand showed that after ITER retired in 2038, the tritium production in CANDU reactor might not be enough for a FDS-II scale DEMO reactor startup if without additional tritium resource. -- Abstract: The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and next generation DEMOnstration fusion reactor need amounts of tritium for test/initial startup and will consume kilograms tritium for operation per year. The available supply of tritium for fusion reactor is man-made sources. Now most of commercial tritium resource is extracted from moderator and coolant of CANada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) type Heavy Water Reactor (HWR), in the Ontario Hydro Darlington facility of Canada and Wolsong facility of Korea. In this study, the tritium production rate in CANDU reactor was simulated and estimated. And other possible routes, including Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT), tritium production in Commercial Light Water Reactor (CLWR) and Accelerator Driven Subcritical system (ADS), were also evaluated in feasibility and economy. Based on the tritium requirement investigated according to ITER test schedule and startup inventory required for a FDS-II-scale DEMO calculated by TAS1.0, the assessment results showed that after ITER retired in 2038, the tritium inventory of CANDU reactor could not afford DEMO reactor startup without extra resource

Tritium supply assessment for ITER and DEMOnstration power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ni, Muyi, E-mail: muyi.ni@fds.org.cn; Wang, Yongliang; Yuan, Baoxin; Jiang, Jieqiong; Wu, Yican

2013-10-15

Highlights: • The tritium production rate in CANDU reactor was simulated and estimated. • Possible routes, including APT, CLWR and tritium production schemes of ADS, were evaluated in feasibility and economy. • The possible tritium consumption of ITER and initial supply for DEMO was assessed. • Result of supply and demand showed that after ITER retired in 2038, the tritium production in CANDU reactor might not be enough for a FDS-II scale DEMO reactor startup if without additional tritium resource. -- Abstract: The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and next generation DEMOnstration fusion reactor need amounts of tritium for test/initial startup and will consume kilograms tritium for operation per year. The available supply of tritium for fusion reactor is man-made sources. Now most of commercial tritium resource is extracted from moderator and coolant of CANada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) type Heavy Water Reactor (HWR), in the Ontario Hydro Darlington facility of Canada and Wolsong facility of Korea. In this study, the tritium production rate in CANDU reactor was simulated and estimated. And other possible routes, including Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT), tritium production in Commercial Light Water Reactor (CLWR) and Accelerator Driven Subcritical system (ADS), were also evaluated in feasibility and economy. Based on the tritium requirement investigated according to ITER test schedule and startup inventory required for a FDS-II-scale DEMO calculated by TAS1.0, the assessment results showed that after ITER retired in 2038, the tritium inventory of CANDU reactor could not afford DEMO reactor startup without extra resource.

Timing tests: automatic valve closure for tritium leaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanel, S.

1976-01-01

How fast can an automotive valve be closed after a tritium leak occurs in a system. Tests described found that a valve can be closed within fifteen seconds of leakage. In one practical example considered, this delay would limit loss of tritium from a plumbing leak in a tritium system to 1 1 / 4 g. The tests were made in a typical LLL air-flush hood in which a tritium handling system had been installed. Incidental observations suggest that further study be made of a possible leak-actuated recovery system for an entire tritium facility

Tritium monitor and collection system

Science.gov (United States)

Bourne, G.L.; Meikrantz, D.H.; Ely, W.E.; Tuggle, D.G.; Grafwallner, E.G.; Wickham, K.L.; Maltrud, H.R.; Baker, J.D.

1992-01-14

This system measures tritium on-line and collects tritium from a flowing inert gas stream. It separates the tritium from other non-hydrogen isotope contaminating gases, whether radioactive or not. The collecting portion of the system is constructed of various zirconium alloys called getters. These alloys adsorb tritium in any of its forms at one temperature and at a higher temperature release it as a gas. The system consists of four on-line getters and heaters, two ion chamber detectors, two collection getters, and two guard getters. When the incoming gas stream is valved through the on-line getters, 99.9% of it is adsorbed and the remainder continues to the guard getter where traces of tritium not collected earlier are adsorbed. The inert gas stream then exits the system to the decay chamber. Once the on-line getter has collected tritium for a predetermined time, it is valved off and the next on-line getter is valved on. Simultaneously, the first getter is heated and a pure helium purge is employed to carry the tritium from the getter. The tritium loaded gas stream is then routed through an ion chamber which measures the tritium activity. The ion chamber effluent passes through a collection getter that readsorbs the tritium and is removable from the system once it is loaded and is then replaced with a clean getter. Prior to removal of the collection getter, the system switches to a parallel collection getter. The effluent from the collection getter passes through a guard getter to remove traces of tritium prior to exiting the system. The tritium loaded collection getter, once removed, is analyzed by liquid scintillation techniques. The entire sequence is under computer control except for the removal and analysis of the collection getter. 7 figs.

Tritium in the aquatic environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blaylock, B.G.; Hoffman, F.O.; Frank, M.L.

1986-02-01

Tritium is of environmental importance because it is released from nuclear facilities in relatively large quantities and because it has a half life of 12.26 y. Most of the tritium released into the atmosphere eventually reaches the aqueous environment, where it is rapidly taken up by aquatic organisms. This paper reviews the current literature on tritium in the aquatic environment. Conclusions from the review, which covered studies of algae, aquatic macrophytes, invertebrates, fish, and the food chain, were that aquatic organisms incorporate tritium into their tissue-free water very rapidly and reach concentrations near those of the external medium. The rate at which tritium from tritiated water is incorporated into the organic matter of cells is slower than the rate of its incorporation into the tissue-free water. If organisms consume tritiated food, incorporation of tritium into the organic matter is faster, and a higher tritium concentration is reached than when the organisms are exposed to only tritiated water alone. Incorporation of tritium bound to molecules into the organic matter depends on the chemical form of the ''carrier'' molecule. No evidence was found that biomagnification of tritium occurs at higher trophic levels. Radiation doses from tritium releases to large populations of humans will most likely come from the consumption of contaminated water rather than contaminated aquatic food products

Final characterization report for the 104-B-1 Tritium Vault and 104-B-2 Tritium Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Encke, D.B.; Harris, R.A.

1996-11-01

This report is a compilation of the characterization data collected from the 104-B-1 Tritium Vault and the 104-B-2 Trillium Laboratory. The characterization activities were organized and implemented to evaluate the radiological status and identify any hazardous materials. The data contained in this report reflects the current conditions and status of the 104-B-1 Tritium Vault and 104-B-2 Tritium Laboratory. This information is intended to be utilized in support of future building decontamination and demolition, to allow for proper disposal of the demolition debris as required by the Washington Administrative Code, WAC 173-303, the Hanford Site Solid Waste Acceptance Criteria, WHC-EP-0063, and the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility Waste Acceptance Criteria, BHI-00139. Based on the historical information and facility inspections, the only hazardous materials sampling and analysis activities necessary were to identify lead paint and asbestos containing materials (ACM) in the 104-B-1 Tritium Vault and the 104-B-2 Tritium Laboratory. Asbestos samples were obtained from the outer boundary of the roof areas to confirm the presence and type of asbestos containing fibers. Lead paint samples were obtained to confirm the presence and quantity of lead paint on the roof trim, doors and vents

Groundwater Monitoring and Tritium-Tracking Plan for the 200 Area State-Approved Land Disposal Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnett, D. Brent

2000-08-31

The 200 Area State-Approved Land Disposal Site (SALDS) is a drainfield which receives treated wastewater, occasionally containing high levels of tritium from treatment of Hanford Site liquid wastes. Only the SALDS proximal wells (699-48-77A, 699-48-77C, and 699-48-77D) have been affected by tritium from the facility thus far; the highest activity observed (2.1E+6 pCi/L) occurred in well 699-48-77D in February 1998. Analytical results of groundwater geochemistry since groundwater monitoring began at the SALDS indicate that all constituents with permit enforcement limits have been below those limits with the exception of one measurement of total dissolved solids (TDS) in 1996. The revised groundwater monitoring sampling and analysis plan eliminates chloroform, acetone, tetrahydrofuran, benzene, and ammonia as constituents. Replicate field measurements will replace laboratory measurements of pH for compliance purposes. A deep companion well to well 699-51-75 will be monitored for tritium deeper in the uppermost aquifer.

A small and compact AMS facility for tritium depth profiling

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

employing diamond-like carbon (DLC) stripper foils at this accelerator, another ... the switching magnet the tritium ions are counted with a surface barrier detector. .... AMS has been successfully applied to depth profiling of tritium in graphite ...

TFTR tritium inventory accountability system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saville, C.; Ascione, G.; Elwood, S.; Nagy, A.; Raftopoulos, S.; Rossmassler, R.; Stencel, J.; Voorhees, D.; Tilson, C.

1995-01-01

This paper discusses the program, PPPL (Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory) Material Control and Accountability Plan, that has been implemented to track US Department of Energy's tritium and all other accountable source material. Specifically, this paper details the methods used to measure tritium in various systems at the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor; resolve inventory differences; perform inventory by difference inside the Tokamak; process and measure plasma exhaust and other effluent gas streams; process, measure and ship scrap or waste tritium on molecular sieve beds; and detail organizational structure of the Material Control and Accountability group. In addition, this paper describes a Unix-based computerized software system developed at PPPL to account for all tritium movements throughout the facility. 5 refs., 2 figs

Defense In-Depth Accident Analysis Evaluation of Tritium Facility Bldgs. 232-H, 233-H, and 234-H

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blanchard, A.

1999-05-10

'The primary purpose of this report is to document a Defense-in-Depth (DID) accident analysis evaluation for Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) Tritium Facility Buildings 232-H, 233-H, and 234-H. The purpose of a DID evaluation is to provide a more realistic view of facility radiological risks to the offsite public than the bounding deterministic analysis documented in the Safety Analysis Report, which credits only Safety Class items in the offsite dose evaluation.'

Radiological training for tritium facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-12-01

This program management guide describes a recommended implementation standard for core training as outlined in the DOE Radiological Control Manual (RCM). The standard is to assist those individuals, both within DOE and Managing and Operating contractors, identified as having responsibility for implementing the core training recommended by the RCM. This training may also be given to radiological workers using tritium to assist in meeting their job specific training requirements of 10 CFR 835

Radiological training for tritium facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-01

This program management guide describes a recommended implementation standard for core training as outlined in the DOE Radiological Control Manual (RCM). The standard is to assist those individuals, both within DOE and Managing and Operating contractors, identified as having responsibility for implementing the core training recommended by the RCM. This training may also be given to radiological workers using tritium to assist in meeting their job specific training requirements of 10 CFR 835.

Tritium supply and recycling PEIS: Public hearing information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to build a facility to produce tritium for the next 40 years and is requesting the public to give input on which technology to employ and where to locate such a facility. This information is discussed in the February 1995 Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) for Tritium Supply and Recycling (DOE/EIS-0160). This document presents information on the public hearings

Tritium. Today's and tomorrow's developments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gazal, S.; Amiard, J.C.; Caussade, Bernard; Chenal, Christian; Hubert, Francoise; Sene, Monique

2010-01-01

Radioactive hydrogen isotope, tritium is one of the radionuclides which is the most released in the environment during the normal operation of nuclear facilities. The increase of nuclear activities and the development of future generations of reactors, like the EPR and ITER, would lead to a significant increase of tritium effluents in the atmosphere and in the natural waters, thus raising many worries and questions. Aware about the importance of this question, the national association of local information commissions (ANCLI) wished to make a status of the existing knowledge concerning tritium and organized in 2008 a colloquium at Orsay (France) with an inquiring approach. The scientific committee of the ANCLI, renowned for its expertise skills, mobilized several nuclear specialists to carry out this thought. This book represents a comprehensive synthesis of today's knowledge about tritium, about its management and about its impact on the environment and on human health. Based on recent scientific data and on precise examples, it treats of the overall questions raised by this radionuclide: 1 - tritium properties and different sources (natural and anthropic), 2 - the problem of tritiated wastes management; 3 - the bio-availability and bio-kinetics of the different tritium species; 4 - the tritium labelling of environments; 5 - tritium measurement and modeling of its environmental circulation; 6 - tritium radio-toxicity and its biological and health impacts; 7 - the different French and/or international regulations concerning tritium. (J.S.)

Effects of interfering constituents on tritium smears

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levi, G.D. Jr.; Cheeks, K.E.

1993-01-01

Tritium smears are performed by Health Protection Operations (HPO) to assess transferable contamination on work place surfaces, materials for movement outside Radiologically Controlled Areas (RCA), and product containers being shipped between facilities. Historically, gas proportional counters were used to detect transferable tritium contamination collected by smearing. Because tritium is a low-energy beta emitter, gas proportional counters do not provide the sensitivity or the counting efficiency to accurately measure the tritium activity on the smear. Liquid Scintillation Counters (LSC) provide greater counting efficiency for the low-energy beta particles along with greater reliability and reproducibility compared to gas flow proportional counters. The purpose of this technical evaluation was to determine the effects of interfering constituents such as filters, dirt and oil on the counting efficiency and tritium recoveries of tritium smears by LSC

RAMI modeling of plant systems for proposed tritium production and extraction facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, A.

2000-01-01

The control of life-cycle cost is a primary concern during the development, construction, operation, and decommissioning of DOE systems and facilities. An effective tool that can be used to control these costs, beginning with the design stage, is called a reliability, availability, maintainability, and inspectability analysis or, simply, RAMI for short. In 1997, RAMI technology was introduced to the Savannah River Site with applications at the conceptual design stage beginning with the Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) Project and later extended to the Commercial Light Water Reactor (CLWR) Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) Project. More recently it has been applied to the as-build Water Treatment Facilities designed for ground water environmental restoration. This new technology and database was applied to the assessment of balance-of-plant systems for the APT Conceptual Design Report. Initial results from the Heat Removal System Assessment revealed that the system conceptual design would cause the APT to fall short of its annual production goal. Using RAM technology to immediately assess this situation, it was demonstrated that the product loss could be gained back by upgrading the system's chiller unit capacity at a cost of less than $1.3 million. The reclaimed production is worth approximately $100 million. The RAM technology has now been extended to assess the conceptual design for the CLWR-TEF Project. More specifically, this technology and database is being used to translate high level availability goals into lower level system design requirements that will ensure the TEF meets its production goal. Results, from the limited number of system assessments performed to date, have already been used to modify the conceptual design for a remote handling system, improving its availability to the point that a redundant system, with its associated costs of installation and operation may no longer be required. RAMI results were also used to justify the elimination

Design approach for safe tritium handling in ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohira, Shigeru

2002-01-01

Outlines for tritium handling and a fundamental approach for ensuring safety are presented. The amount of tritium stored and processed in the ITER facility will be much larger than that in the existing facilities for fusion research, though the processing methods and the conditions of processing (e.g., concentration, pressure, etc.) will be similar for those used in those facilities. Therefore, considerations to be taken for tritium handling, such as limitations of tritium permeation and leaks, provision of an appropriate ventilation/detritiation system for maintenance, measures to ensure mechanical integrity, etc., can be provided based on the knowledge obtained in the facilities. The Technical Advisory Committee of the Science and Technology Agency established a fundamental approach in 2000, and set out the basic safety principles and approaches as technical requirements of safety design and assessment, which were derived from the safety characteristics of the ITER plant. Sufficient prevention of accidents can be achieved by ensuring and maintaining the structural integrity of the enclosures containing radioactive materials against the loads anticipated during operation, and a low hazard potential of radioactive materials, sufficiently within prescribed limits, can be maintained by the vitiation and clean-up system even if large release is postulated. (author)

Handling of tritium-bearing wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

The generation of nuclear power and reprocessing of nuclear fuel results in the production of tritium and the possible need to control the release of tritium-contaminated effluents. In assessing the need for controls, it is necessary to know the production rates of tritium at different nuclear facilities, the technologies available for separating tritium from different gaseous and liquid streams, and the methods that are satisfactory for storage and disposal of tritiated wastes. The intention in applying such control technologies and methods is to avoid undesirable effects on the environment, and to reduce the radiation burden on operational personnel and the general population. This technical report is a result of the IAEA Technical Committee Meeting on Handling of Tritium-bearing Effluents and Wastes, which was held in Vienna, 4 - 8 December 1978. It summarizes the main topics discussed at the meeting and appends the more detailed reports on particular aspects that were prepared for the meeting by individual participants

Survey of pumps for tritium gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dowell, T.M.

1983-05-01

This report considers many different types of pumps for their possible use in pumping tritium gas in the low, intermediate and high vacuum ranges. No one type of pump is suitable for use over the wide range of pumping pressure required in a typical pumping system. The favoured components for such a system are: bellows pump (low vacuum); orbiting scroll pump (intermediate vacuum); magnetically suspended turbomolecular pump (high vacuum); cryopump (high vacuum). Other pumps which should be considered for possible future development are: mound modified vane pump; SRTI wobble pump; roots pump with canned motor. It is proposed that a study be made of a future tritium pumping system in a Canadian tritium facility, e.g. a tritium laboratory

Tritium accounting for PHWR plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nair, P.S.; Duraisamy, S.

2012-01-01

Tritium, the radioactive isotope of hydrogen, is produced as a byproduct of the nuclear reactions in the nuclear power plants. In a Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) tritium activity is produced in the Heat Transport and Moderator systems due to neutron activation of deuterium in heavy water used in these systems. Tritium activity build up occurs in some of the water systems in the PHWR plants through pick up from the plant atmosphere, inadvertent D 2 O ingress from other systems or transfer during processes. The tritium, produced by the neutron induced reactions in different systems in the reactor undergoes multiple processes such as escape through leaks, storage, transfer to external locations, decay, evaporation and diffusion and discharge though waste streams. Change of location of tritium inventory takes place during intentional transfer of heavy water, both reactor grade and downgraded, from one system to another. Tritium accounting is the application of accounting techniques to maintain knowledge of the tritium inventory present in different systems of a facility and to construct activity balances to detect any discrepancy in the physical inventories. It involves identification of all the tritium hold ups, transfers and storages as well as measurement of tritium inventories in various compartments, decay corrections, environmental release estimations and evaluation of activity generation during the accounting period. This paper describes a methodology for creating tritium inventory balance based on periodic physical inventory taking, tritium build up, decay and release estimations. Tritium accounting in the PHWR plants can prove to be an effective regulatory tool to monitor its loss as well as unaccounted release to the environment. (author)

Replacement Power Facility site selection report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wike, L.D.; Toole, G.L.; Specht, W.L.

1992-06-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed the construction and operation of a Replacement Power Facility (RPF) for supplementing and replacing existing sources of steam and possibly electricity at the Savannah River Site (SRS). DOE is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this project As part of the impact analysis of the proposed action, the EIS will include a detailed description of the environment where the RPF will be constructed. This description must be specific to the recommended site at SRS, which contains more than 300 square miles of land including streams, lakes, impoundments, wetlands, and upland areas. A formal site-selection process was designed and implemented to identify the preferred RPF site.

Tritium monitoring in the environment of the French territory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leprieur, F.; Roussel-Debet, S.; Pierrard, O.; Tournieux, D.; Boissieux, T.; Caldera-Ideias, P. [Institut de radioprotection et de surete nucleaire (France)

2014-07-01

Introduction: Radioactive releases in the environment from civilian and military nuclear facilities have significantly decreased over the last few decades, except for discharges of tritium which are forecast to increase due to changes in the fuel management in power plants and in the longer term by new tritium-emitting units (fusion reactors). In the aim to perform its radiological monitoring mission throughout the French territory, IRSN uses and develops advanced technology equipment to sample and to analyze tritium in the different environmental compartments. Methodology: IRSN uses bubblers to collect both tritium vapour (HTO) and gaseous tritium (mainly HT) in the air. Another method, developed by IRSN, consists in directly sampling the water vapour in the air by condensing in a cold trap and more recently with passive sampler. In continental and marine surface water, samples are usually collected by automatic water samplers. Instantaneous surface water samples are also collected by grab sample devices. In addition, IRSN conducts animal and plant samples near French nuclear facilities. Natural origin and tritium remaining from testing of nuclear weapons In the atmosphere, the background levels of tritium of 1 to 2 Bq/L measured in water vapour, equivalent to an activity of 0.01 to 0.02 Bq/m{sup 3} of air. In fresh waters, the tritium activity currently ranges between 1 and 3 Bq/L of water. In the marine environment, tritium emitted during nuclear weapon tests has been totally 'diluted' in cosmogenic tritium and concentration levels at the surface have remained around 0.1 to 0.2 Bq/L. In biological matrices, total tritium concentration range from 1 to 3 Bq/kg f.w. with a variable proportion of free and organically bounded forms. Tritium around nuclear facilities: Close to facilities releasing more than 2x10{sup 13} Bq/year of gaseous tritium, higher activity levels, ranging from a few tens to a few hundred Bq/L, are observed in the atmospheric and

Tritium handling experience at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suppiah, S.; McCrimmon, K.; Lalonde, S.; Ryland, D.; Boniface, H.; Muirhead, C.; Castillo, I. [Atomic Energy of Canad Limited - AECL, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, ON (Canada)

2015-03-15

Canada has been a leader in tritium handling technologies as a result of the successful CANDU reactor technology used for power production. Over the last 50 to 60 years, capabilities have been established in tritium handling and tritium management in CANDU stations, tritium removal processes for heavy and light water, tritium measurement and monitoring, and understanding the effects of tritium on the environment. This paper outlines details of tritium-related work currently being carried out at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). It concerns the CECE (Combined Electrolysis and Catalytic Exchange) process for detritiation, tritium-compatible electrolysers, tritium permeation studies, and tritium powered batteries. It is worth noting that AECL offers a Tritium Safe-Handling Course to national and international participants, the course is a mixture of classroom sessions and hands-on practical exercises. The expertise and facilities available at AECL is ready to address technological needs of nuclear fusion and next-generation nuclear fission reactors related to tritium handling and related issues.

34 CFR 395.10 - The maintenance and replacement of vending facility equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... and replacement of vending facility equipment. The State licensing agency shall maintain (or cause to... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false The maintenance and replacement of vending facility equipment. 395.10 Section 395.10 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education...

Levels of tritium concentration in the environmental samples around JAERI TOKAI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuura, K.; Sasa, Y.; Nakamura, C.; Katagiri, H.

1995-01-01

By the operation of research reactors, tritium-handling facilities, nuclear power plants, and a reprocessing facility around JAERI TOKAI, tritium is released into the environment in compliance with the regulatory standards. To investigate the levels of tritium concentration in environmental samples around JAERI, rain, air (vapor and hydrogen gas), and tissue-free water of pine needles were measured and analyzed from 1984 to 1993. Sampling locations were determined by taking into consideration wind direction, distance from nuclear facilities, and population distribution. The NAKA site (about 6 km west-northwest from the Tokai site) was also selected as a reference point. Rain and tissue-free water of pine needles were sampled monthly. For air samples, sampling was carried out for two weeks by using the continuous tritium sampler. After the pretreatment of samples, tritium concentrations were measured by a low background liquid scintillation counter (detection limit 0.8 Bq/l). Annual mean tritium concentrations in rain observed at six points for 10 years was 0.8 to 8.9 Bq/l, which decreased with distance from the nuclear facilities. Tritium concentrations in rain obtained at Chiba City were around 0.8 Bq/l (1987-1988) and those at the NAKA site were 0.8 to 3.8 Bq/l. Annual mean HTO concentrations in air at three points for 10 years were 9.2 x 10 -2 to 1.1 Bq/m 3 , although HT concentrations in air, ranging from 1.7 x 10 -2 to 5.8 x 10 -2 Bq/m 3 , were not influenced by the operation of the nuclear facilities. Annual mean tritium concentrations in tissue-free water of pine needles at four points for 10 years were 1.4 to 31 Bq/l. Those at the NAKA site ranging from 1.4 to 6.2 Bq/l were in good agreement with the reported value by Takashima of 0.78 to 3.0 Bq/l at twenty-one locations in Japan. Monthly mean HTO concentrations in air for 10 years showed a good correlation with absolute humidity, while other samples showed no seasonal variation. Higher level tritium

Commercial Light Water Reactor Tritium Extraction Facility Geotechnical Summary Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, M.R.

2000-01-01

A geotechnical investigation program has been completed for the Circulating Light Water Reactor - Tritium Extraction Facility (CLWR-TEF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The program consisted of reviewing previous geotechnical and geologic data and reports, performing subsurface field exploration, field and laboratory testing and geologic and engineering analyses. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the subsurface conditions for the CLWR-TEF in terms of subsurface stratigraphy and engineering properties for design and to perform selected engineering analyses. The objectives of the evaluation were to establish site-specific geologic conditions, obtain representative engineering properties of the subsurface and potential fill materials, evaluate the lateral and vertical extent of any soft zones encountered, and perform engineering analyses for slope stability, bearing capacity and settlement, and liquefaction potential. In addition, provide general recommendations for construction and earthwork

Fast Flux Test Facility replacement of a primary sodium pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krieg, S.A.; Thomson, J.D.

1985-01-01

The Fast Flux Test Facility is a 400 MW Thermal Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor operated by Westinghouse Hanford Company for the US Department of Energy. During startup testing in 1979, the sodium level in one of the primary sodium pumps was inadvertently raised above the normal height. This resulted in distortion of the pump shaft. Pump replacement was carried out using special maintenance equipment. Nuclear radiation and contamination were not significant problems since replacement operations were carried out shortly after startup of the Fast Flux Test Facility

Problems and concerns in radiation safety management related with decommissioning of tritium facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawano, Takao

2005-01-01

The tritium facility at the National Institute for Fusion Science has been closed in 2002 after decommissioning procedure. A number of works have been completed including technical measures and administrative documentations to be reported to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology. All the operations were carried out in three successive terms; 1) survey and preparations, 2) actual decommissioning works, and 3) report of all procedures to the Minister. A valuable experience we had during this project has been summarized, and some problems have also been pointed out from a viewpoint of radiation safety management. (author)

Preliminary scoping safety analyses of the limiting design basis protected accidents for the Fast Flux Test Facility tritium production core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heard, F.J.

1997-01-01

The SAS4A/SASSYS-l computer code is used to perform a series of analyses for the limiting protected design basis transient events given a representative tritium and medical isotope production core design proposed for the Fast Flux Test Facility. The FFTF tritium and isotope production mission will require a different core loading which features higher enrichment fuel, tritium targets, and medical isotope production assemblies. Changes in several key core parameters, such as the Doppler coefficient and delayed neutron fraction will affect the transient response of the reactor. Both reactivity insertion and reduction of heat removal events were analyzed. The analysis methods and modeling assumptions are described. Results of the analyses and comparison against fuel pin performance criteria are presented to provide quantification that the plant protection system is adequate to maintain the necessary safety margins and assure cladding integrity

Tritium inventory prediction in a CANDU plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, M.J.; Son, S.H.; Jang, C.H.

1995-01-01

The flow of tritium in a CANDU nuclear power plant was modeled to predict tritium activity build-up. Predictions were generally in good agreement with field measurements for the period 1983--1994. Fractional contributions of coolant and moderator systems to the environmental tritium release were calculated by least square analysis using field data from the Wolsong plant. From the analysis, it was found that: (1) about 94% of tritiated heavy water loss came from the coolant system; (2) however, about 64% of environmental tritium release came from the moderator system. Predictions of environmental tritium release were also in good agreement with field data from a few other CANDU plants. The model was used to calculate future tritium build-up and environmental tritium release at Wolsong site, Korea, where one unit is operating and three more units are under construction. The model predicts the tritium inventory at Wolsong site to increase steadily until it reaches the maximum of 66.3 MCi in the year 2026. The model also predicts the tritium release rate to reach a maximum of 79 KCi/yr in the year 2012. To reduce the tritium inventory at Wolsong site, construction of a tritium removal facility (TRF) is under consideration. The maximum needed TRF capacity of 8.7 MCi/yr was calculated to maintain tritium concentration effectively in CANDU reactors

Tritium breeding materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollenberg, G.W.; Johnson, C.E.; Abdou, M.

1984-03-01

Tritium breeding materials are essential to the operation of D-T fusion facilities. Both of the present options - solid ceramic breeding materials and liquid metal materials are reviewed with emphasis not only on their attractive features but also on critical materials issues which must be resolved

Tritium breeding materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollenberg, G.W.; Johnson, C.E.; Abdou, M.A.

1984-01-01

Tritium breeding materials are essential to the operation of D-T fusion facilities. Both of the present options - solid ceramic breeding materials and liquid metal materials are reviewed with emphasis not only on their attractive features but also on critical materials issues which must be resolved

Efficient rehabilitation care for joint replacement patients: skilled nursing facility or inpatient rehabilitation facility?

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Wenqiang; DeJong, Gerben; Horn, Susan D; Putman, Koen; Hsieh, Ching-Hui; DaVanzo, Joan E

2012-01-01

There has been lengthy debate as to which setting, skilled nursing facility (SNF) or inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF), is more efficient in treating joint replacement patients. This study aims to determine the efficiency of rehabilitation care provided by SNF and IRF to joint replacement patients with respect to both payment and length of stay (LOS). This study used a prospective multisite observational cohort design. Tobit models were used to examine the association between setting of care and efficiency. The study enrolled 948 knee replacement patients and 618 hip replacement patients from 11 IRFs and 7 SNFs between February 2006 and February 2007. Output was measured by motor functional independence measure (FIM) score at discharge. Efficiency was measured in 3 ways: payment efficiency, LOS efficiency, and stochastic frontier analysis efficiency. IRF patients incurred higher expenditures per case but also achieved larger motor FIM gains in shorter LOS than did SNF patients. Setting of care was not a strong predictor of overall efficiency of rehabilitation care. Great variation in characteristics existed within IRFs or SNFs and severity groups. Medium-volume facilities among both SNFs and IRFs were most efficient. Early rehabilitation was consistently predictive of efficient treatment. The advantage of either setting is not clear-cut. Definition of efficiency depends in part on preference between cost and time. SNFs are more payment efficient; IRFs are more LOS efficient. Variation within SNFs and IRFs blurred setting differences; a simple comparison between SNF and IRF may not be appropriate.

Refurbishing tritium contaminated ion sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, K.E.; Carnevale, R.H.; McCormack, B.E.; Stevenson, T.; Halle, A. von

1995-01-01

Extended tritium experimentation on TFTR has necessitated refurbishing Neutral Beam Long Pulse Ion Sources (LPIS) which developed operational difficulties, both in the TFTR Test Cell and later, in the NB Source Refurbishment Shop. Shipping contaminated sources off-site for repair was not permissible from a transport and safety perspective. Therefore, the NB source repair facility was upgraded by relocating fixtures, tooling, test apparatus, and three-axis coordinate measuring equipment; purchasing and fabricating fume hoods; installing exhaust vents; and providing a controlled negative pressure environment in the source degreaser/decon area. Appropriate air flow monitors, pressure indicators, tritium detectors and safety alarms were also included. The effectiveness of various decontamination methods was explored while the activation was monitored. Procedures and methods were developed to permit complete disassembly and rebuild of an ion source while continuously exhausting the internal volume to the TFTR Stack to avoid concentrations of tritium from outgassing and minimize personnel exposure. This paper presents upgrades made to the LPIS repair facility, various repair tasks performed, and discusses the effectiveness of the decontamination processes utilized

Simplified Estimation of Tritium Inventory in Stainless Steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willms, R. Scott

2005-01-01

An important part of tritium facility waste management is estimating the residual tritium inventory in stainless steel. This was needed as part of the decontamination and decommissioning associated with the Tritium Systems Test Assembly at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In particular, the disposal path for three, large tanks would vary substantially depending on the tritium inventory in the stainless steel walls. For this purpose the time-dependant diffusion equation was solved using previously measured parameters. These results were compared to previous work that measured the tritium inventory in the stainless steel wall of a 50-L tritium container. Good agreement was observed. These results are reduced to a simple algebraic equation that can readily be used to estimate tritium inventories in room temperature stainless steel based on tritium partial pressure and exposure time. Results are available for both constant partial pressure exposures and for varying partial pressures. Movies of the time dependant results were prepared which are particularly helpful for interpreting results and drawing conclusions

Photoproduction of tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, J.A.; Anderson, J.D.; Weiss, M.S.

1995-01-01

3 H (Tritium) is required for maintenance of nuclear weapons in the stockpile. The National Defense need for 3 H was historically met by the Savannah River Facility. This facility is no longer safe for operation. 3 H decays with a mean lifetime τ = 17.8 y, and therefore new methods of 3 H production are required to meet US military requirements. Irradiation of 7 Li by low-energy photons produces tritium ( 3 H) via the photodisintegration process. Waste heat from the 7 Li target can be extracted and used for the direct generation of electricity. Other advantages include: negligible residual radioactivity, simple target technology, small low-energy electron accelerators for bremsstrahlung production (the photon source), developed liquid metal technology, modularity, simple extraction of 3 H from a recirculating 7 Li target, abundant supply of 7 Li, and straightforward target-accelerator-bremsstrahlung converter interface. A schematic plant characterized by very low risk is described, and a figure-of-merit is obtained

Tritium sorption by cement and subsequent release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ono, F.; Yamawaki, M.

1995-01-01

In a fusion reactor or tritium-handling facilities, contamination of concrete by tritium and subsequent release from it to the reator or experimental room is a matter of problem for safe control of tritium and management of operational environment. In order to evaluate this tritium behavior, interaction of tritiated water with concrete or cement should be clarified. In the present study, HTO sorption and subsequent release from cement were experimentally studied.(1)Sorption experiments were conducted using columns packed with cement particles of different sizes. From the analysis of the breakthrough curve, tritium diffusivity in macropores and microparticles were evaluated.(2)From the short-term tritium release experiments, effective desorption rate constants were evaluated and the effects of temperature and moisture were studied.(3)In the long-term tritium release experiments to 6000h, the tritium release mechanism was found to be composed of three kinds of water: initially from capillary water, and in the second stage from gel water and from the water in the cement crystal.(4)Tritium release behavior by heat treatment to 800 C was studied. A high temperature above 600 C was required for the tritium trapped in the crystal water to be released. (orig.)

1997 evaluation of tritium removal and mitigation technologies for Hanford Site wastewaters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeppson, D.W.; Biyani, R.K.; Duncan, J.B.; Flyckt, D.L.; Mohondro, P.C.; Sinton, G.L.

1997-01-01

This report contains results of a biennial assessment of tritium separation technology and tritium nitration techniques for control of tritium bearing wastewaters at the Hanford Site. Tritium in wastewaters at Hanford have resulted from plutonium production, fuel reprocessing, and waste handling operations since 1944. this assessment was conducted in response to the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order

Lessons learned - development of the tritium facilities 5480.23 safety analysis report and technical safety requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cappucci, A.J. Jr.; Bowman, M.E.; Goff, L.

1997-01-01

A review was performed which identified open-quotes Lessons Learnedclose quotes from the development of the 5480.23 Tritium Safety Analysis Report (SAR) and the Technical Safety Requirements (TSR) for the Tritium Facilities (TF). The open-quotes Lessons Learnedclose quotes were based on an evaluation of the use of the SRS procedures, processes, and work practices which contributed to the success or lack thereof. This review also identified recommendations and suggestions for improving the development of SARs and TSRs at SRS. The 5480.23 SAR describes the site for the TF, the various process systems in the process buildings, a complete hazards and accident analysis of the most significant hazards affecting the nearby offsite population, and the selection of safety systems, structures, and components to protect both the public and site workers. It also provides descriptions of important programs and processes which add defense in depth to public and worker protection

Study and application of hydrophobic catalyst in treating tritium waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dan, Gui-ping; Zhang, Dong; Qiu, Yong-mei; Yuan, Guo-Qi

2008-01-01

Tritium decontamination from tritium waste is important for the management of tritium waste. Tritium removal from waste tritium oxide can not only get tritium, but also reduce the amount of waste tritium. At the meantime, by cleaning the tritium pollution gas can also reduce the tritium exhausting from tritium facility. At present, the process of hydrogen isotopic exchange in tritium removal from waste tritium oxide and coordination oxidisation-adsorption in tritium cleaning from waste tritium gas are the mainly methods. In these methods, hydrophobic catalysts which can be used in these process are the key technology. There are many references about their preparing and applying, but few on the estimation about their performance changing during their applying. However, their performance stability on isotopic catalytic exchange and catalytic oxidisation will affect their using in reaction. Hydrophobic catalyst Pt-SDB which can be used in tritium isotopic exchange between tritium oxide and hydrogen and the cleaning of tritium pollution gas have been prepared in our laboratory in early days. In order to estimating their performance stability during their using, this work will investigate their stability on their catalytic activity and their radiation-resistance tritium. (author)

Management of Tritium in European Spallation Source

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ene, Daniela; Andersson, Kasper Grann; Jensen, Mikael

2015-01-01

with the country regulation criteria. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the different aspects of the tritium management in ESS facility. Besides the design parameter study of the helium coolant purification system of the target the consequences of the tritium releasing into the environment were also...... of the results on soil examinations. With the assumption of 100% release of tritium to the atmosphere during the occurring of the extreme accidents, it was found as well that the total dose complies with the constraint....

Vacuum pumping of tritium in fusion power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coffin, D.O.; Walthers, C.R.

1979-01-01

Compound cryopumps of three different designs will be tested with deuterium-tritium (DT) mixtures under simulated fusion reactor conditions at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) now being constructed at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL). The first of these pumps is already in operation, and its preliminary performance is presented. The supporting vacuum facility necessary to regenerate these fusion facility cryopumps is also described. The next generation of fusion system vacuum pumps may include non-cryogenic or conventional-cryogenic hybrid systems, several of which are discussed

Tritium resources available for fusion reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Kovari, M.; Coleman, M.; Cristescu, I.; Smith, R.

2018-02-01

The tritium required for ITER will be supplied from the CANDU production in Ontario, but while Ontario may be able to supply 8 kg for a DEMO fusion reactor in the mid-2050s, it will not be able to provide 10 kg at any realistic starting time. The tritium required to start DEMO will depend on advances in plasma fuelling efficiency, burnup fraction, and tritium processing technology. It is in theory possible to start up a fusion reactor with little or no tritium, but at an estimated cost of 2 billion per kilogram of tritium saved, it is not economically sensible. Some heavy water reactor tritium production scenarios with varying degrees of optimism are presented, with the assumption that only Canada, the Republic of Korea, and Romania make tritium available to the fusion community. Results for the tritium available for DEMO in 2055 range from zero to 30 kg. CANDU and similar heavy water reactors could in theory generate additional tritium in a number of ways: (a) adjuster rods containing lithium could be used, giving 0.13 kg per year per reactor; (b) a fuel bundle with a burnable absorber has been designed for CANDU reactors, which might be adapted for tritium production; (c) tritium production could be increased by 0.05 kg per year per reactor by doping the moderator with lithium-6. If a fusion reactor is started up around 2055, governments in Canada, Argentina, China, India, South Korea and Romania will have the opportunity in the years leading up to that to take appropriate steps: (a) build, refurbish or upgrade tritium extraction facilities; (b) extend the lives of heavy water reactors, or build new ones; (c) reduce tritium sales; (d) boost tritium production in the remaining heavy water reactors. All of the alternative production methods considered have serious economic and regulatory drawbacks, and the risk of diversion of tritium or lithium-6 would also be a major concern. There are likely to be serious problems with supplying tritium for future

Investigation of the tritium release from Building 324 in which the stack tritium sampler was off, April 14 through 17, 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, D.H.

1998-01-01

On April 14, 1998, a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researcher performing work in the Building 324 facility approached facility management and asked if facility management could turn off the tritium sampler in the main exhaust stack. The researcher was demonstrating the feasibility of treating components from dismantled nuclear weapons in a device called a plasma arc furnace and was concerned that the sampler would compromise classified information. B and W Hanford Company (BWHC) operated the facility, and PNNL conducted research as a tenant in the facility. The treatment of 200 components in the furnace would result in the release of up to about 20 curies of tritium through the facility stack. The exact quantity of tritium was calculated from the manufacturing data for the weapons components and was known to be less than 20 curies. The Notice of Construction (NOC) approved by the Washington State Department of Health (WDOH) had been modified to allow releasing 20 curies of tritium through the stack in support of this research. However, there were irregularities in the way the NOC modification was processed. The researcher was concerned that data performed on the sampler could be used to back-calculate the tritium content of the components, revealing classified information about the design of nuclear weapons. He had discussed this with the PNNZ security organization, and they had told him that data from the sampler would be classified. He was also concerned that if he could not proceed with operation of the plasma arc furnace, the furnace would be damaged. The researcher told BWHC management that the last time the furnace was shut down and restarted it had cost $0.5 million and caused a six month delay in the project's schedule. He had already begun heating up the furnace before recognizing the security problem and was concerned that stopping the heatup could damage the furnace. The NOC that allowed the research did not have an explicit requirement to

Research of CITP-II tritium production irradiation device design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhihua; Deng Yongjun; Mi Xiangmiao; Li Rundong; Liu Zhiyong

2012-01-01

As the core component of CITP-II, the online tritium production irradiation device is the pivotal equipment in the research on tritium production and release of tritium breeders. The design of CITP-II online tritium production irradiation device creatively makes replacing the breeders online come true; as tritium production capacity, the self-shielding factor of device, and neutron flux were studied. The influence of different load models and load thicknesses of breeders to tritium production capacity was calculated. The hydrodynamics parameters of device in solid-gas phase were computed. Thermal parameters, such as the heat power of breeders, hotspot, temperature grads distributions, utmost temperature, uneven factors, were analyzed. Creatively designed nonlinear electric heater equalized breeders' even heat power. The influence laws of the components, pressure of gap gas and carrier gas to the balance temperature were got. And the key thermal parameters were ascertained. The key thermal parameters and the changing laws were got and provide the basis for structural optimization and safety analysis. They can also be referenced for the study of breeders' tritium production and release. (authors)

Tritium transport around nuclear faciliteis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Sweet, C.W.

1982-01-01

The transport and cycling of tritium around nuclear facilities is reviewed with special emphasis on studies at the Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina. These studies have shown that the rate of deposition from the atmosphere, the site of deposition, and the subsequent cycling are strongly influenced by the compound with which the tritium is associated. Tritiated hydrogen is largely deposited in the soil, while tritiated water is deposited in the greatest quantity in the vegetation. Tritiated hydrogen is converted in the soil to tritiated water that leaves the soil slowly, through drainage and transpiration. Tritiated water deposited directly to the vegetation leaves the vegetation more rapidly after exposure. Only a small part of the tritium entering the vegetation becomes bound in organic molecules. However, it appears that the existence of soil organic compounds with tritium concentrations greater than the equilibrium concentration in the associated water can be explained by direct metabolism of tritiated hydrogen in vegetation. (J.P.N.)

Universal tritium transmitter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordaro, J. V.; Wood, M.

2008-01-01

At the Savannah River Site and throughout the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) tritium is measured using Ion or Kanne Chambers. Tritium flowing through an Ion Chamber emits beta particles generating current flow proportional to tritium radioactivity. Currents in the 1 x 10 -15 A to 1 x 10 -6 A are measured. The distance between the Ion Chamber and the electrometer in NNSA facilities can be over 100 feet. Currents greater than a few micro-amperes can be measured with a simple modification. Typical operating voltages of 500 to 1000 Volts and piping designs require that the Ion Chamber be connected to earth ground. This grounding combined with long cable lengths and low currents requires a very specialized preamplifier circuit. In addition, the electrometer must be able to supply 'fail safe' alarm signals which are used to alert personnel of a tritium leak, trigger divert systems preventing tritium releases to the environment and monitor stack emissions as required by the United States federal Government and state governments. Ideally the electrometer would be 'self monitoring'. Self monitoring would reduce the need for constant checks by maintenance personnel. For example at some DOE facilities monthly calibration and alarm checks must be performed to ensure operation. NNSA presently uses commercially available electrometers designed specifically for this critical application. The problems with these commercial units include: ground loops, high background currents, inflexibility and susceptibility to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) which includes RF and Magnetic fields. Existing commercial electrometers lack the flexibility to accommodate different Ion Chamber designs required by the gas pressure, type of gas and range. Ideally the electrometer could be programmed for any expected gas, range and high voltage output. Commercially available units do not have 'fail safe' self monitoring capability. Electronics used to measure extremely low current must have

Pebble fabrication and tritium release properties of an advanced tritium breeder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoshino, Tsuyoshi, E-mail: hoshino.tsuyoshi@jaea.go.jp [Breeding Functional Materials Development Group, Department of Blanket Systems Research, Rokkasho Fusion Institute, Sector of Fusion Research and Development, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-166 Obuch, Omotedate, Rokkasho-mura, Kamikita-gun, Aomori 039-3212 (Japan); Edao, Yuki [Tritium Technology Group, Department of Blanket Systems Research, Rokkasho Fusion Institute, Sector of Fusion Research and Development, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata, Shirane, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-1195 (Japan); Kawamura, Yoshinori [Blanket Technology Group, Department of Blanket Systems Research, Rokkasho Fusion Institute, Sector of Fusion Research and Development, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 801-1 Mukoyama, Naka, Ibaraki 311-0193 (Japan); Ochiai, Kentaro [BA Project Coordination Group, Department of Fusion Power Systems Research, Rokkasho Fusion Institute, Sector of Fusion Research and Development, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-166 Obuch, Omotedate, Rokkasho-mura, Kamikita-gun, Aomori 039-3212 (Japan)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} with excess Li (Li{sub 2+x}TiO{sub 3+y}) pebble as an advanced tritium breeders was fabricated using emulsion method. • Grain size of Li{sub 2+x}TiO{sub 3+y} pebbles was controlled to be less than 5 μm. • Li{sub 2+x}TiO{sub 3+y} pebbles exhibited good tritium release properties similar to that of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebbles. - Abstract: Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} with excess Li (Li{sub 2+x}TiO{sub 3+y}) has been developed as an advanced tritium breeder. With respect to the tritium release characteristics of the blanket, the optimum grain size after sintering was less than 5 μm. Therefore, an emulsion method was developed to fabricate pebbles with this target grain size. The predominant factor affecting grain growth was assumed to be the presence of binder in the gel particles; this remaining binder was hypothesized to react with the excess Li, thereby generating Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3}, which promotes grain growth. To inhibit the generation of Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3}, calcined Li{sub 2+x}TiO{sub 3+y} pebbles were sintered under vacuum and subsequently under a 1% H{sub 2}–He atmosphere. The average grain size of the sintered Li{sub 2+x}TiO{sub 3+y} pebbles was less than 5 μm. Furthermore, the tritium release properties of Li{sub 2+x}TiO{sub 3+y} pebbles were evaluated, and deuterium–tritium (DT) neutron irradiation experiments were performed at the Fusion Neutronics Source facility in the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. To remove the tritium produced by neutron irradiation, 1% H{sub 2}–He purge gas was passed through the Li{sub 2+x}TiO{sub 3+y} pebbles. The Li{sub 2+x}TiO{sub 3+y} pebbles exhibited good tritium release properties, similar to those of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebbles. In particular, the released amount of tritiated hydrogen gas for easier tritium handling was greater than the released amount of tritiated water.

Evaluation of medical isotope production with the accelerator production of tritium (APT) facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benjamin, R.W.; Frey, G.D.; McLean, D.C., Jr; Spicer, K.M.; Davis, S.E.; Baron, S.; Frysinger, J.R.; Blanpied, G.; Adcock, D.

1997-01-01

The accelerator production of tritium (APT) facility, with its high beam current and high beam energy, would be an ideal supplier of radioisotopes for medical research, imaging, and therapy. By-product radioisotopes will be produced in the APT window and target cooling systems and in the tungsten target through spallation, neutron, and proton interactions. High intensity proton fluxes are potentially available at three different energies for the production of proton- rich radioisotopes. Isotope production targets can be inserted into the blanket for production of neutron-rich isotopes. Currently, the major production sources of radioisotopes are either aging or abroad, or both. The use of radionuclides in nuclear medicine is growing and changing, both in terms of the number of nuclear medicine procedures being performed and in the rapidly expanding range of procedures and radioisotopes used. A large and varied demand is forecast, and the APT would be an ideal facility to satisfy that demand

Key processes and input parameters for environmental tritium models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bunnenberg, C.; Taschner, M.; Ogram, G.L.

1994-01-01

The primary objective of the work reported here is to define key processes and input parameters for mathematical models of environmental tritium behaviour adequate for use in safety analysis and licensing of fusion devices like NET and associated tritium handling facilities. (author). 45 refs., 3 figs

Key processes and input parameters for environmental tritium models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bunnenberg, C; Taschner, M [Niedersaechsisches Inst. fuer Radiooekologie, Hannover (Germany); Ogram, G L [Ontario Hydro, Toronto, ON (Canada)

1994-12-31

The primary objective of the work reported here is to define key processes and input parameters for mathematical models of environmental tritium behaviour adequate for use in safety analysis and licensing of fusion devices like NET and associated tritium handling facilities. (author). 45 refs., 3 figs.

DECOMMISSIONING THE HIGH PRESSURE TRITIUM LABORATORY AT LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peifer, M.J.; Rendell, K.; Hearnsberger, D.W.

2003-01-01

In May 0f 2000, the Cerro Grande wild land fire burned approximately 48,000 acres in and around Los Alamos. In addition to the many buildings that were destroyed in the town site, many structures were also damaged and destroyed within the 43 square miles that comprise the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). A special Act of Congress provided funding to remove Laboratory structures that were damaged by the fire, or that could be threatened by subsequent catastrophic wild land fires. The High Pressure Tritium Laboratory (HPTL) is located at Technical Area (TA) 33, building 86 in the far southeast corner of the Laboratory property. It is immediately adjacent to Bandelier National Park. Because it was threatened by both the Cerro Grande fire in 2000, and the 16,000- acre Dome fire in 1996, the former tritium processing facility was placed on the list of facilities scheduled for Decontamination and Decommissioning under the Cerro Grande Rehabilitation Project. The work was performed through the Facilities and Waste Operations (FWO) Division and is integrated with other Laboratory D and D efforts. The primary demolition contractor was Clauss Construction of San Diego, California. Earth Tech Global Environmental Services of San Antonio, Texas was sub-contracted to Clauss Construction, and provided radiological decontamination support to the project. Although the forty-seven year old facility had been in a state of safe-shutdown since operations ceased in 1990, a significant amount of tritium remained in the rooms where process systems were located. Tritium was the only radiological contaminant associated with this facility. Since no specific regulatory standards have been set for the release of volumetrically contaminated materials, concentration guidelines were derived in order to meet other established regulatory criteria. A tritium removal system was developed for this project with the goal of reducing the volume of tritium concentrated in the concrete of the

Distribution of tritium in a chronically contaminated lake

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blaylock, B.G.; Frank, M.L.

1978-01-01

White Oak Lake located on the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Reservation receives a continuous input of tritium from operating facilities and waste disposal operations at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The purpose of this paper was (1) to determine the distribution and concentration of tritium in an aquatic environment which has received releases of tritium significantly greater than expected releases from nuclear power plants, and (2) to determine the effect of fluctuating tritium concentrations in ambient water on the concentration of tritium in fish. Aquatic biota from White Oak Lake were analyzed for tissue water tritium and tissue bound tritium. Except for one plant species, the ratio of tissue water tritium to lake water tritium ranged from 0.80 to 1.02. The tissue water tritium in Gambusia affinis, the mosquito fish, followed closely the significant changes in tritium concentration in lake water. The turnover of tissue water tritium was very rapid; Gambusia from White Oak Lake eliminated 50% of their tissue water tritium in 14 min. The ratio of the specific activity of the tissue bound tritium to the specific activity of the lake water was greatest for the larger species of fish but never exceeded unity. The radiation dose to man from tritium which could be acquired through the aquatic food chain was relatively small when compared to other pathways. The whole body dose to a hypothetical individual taking in concentrations of tritium measured in White Oak Lake was 1.8 mrem/yr from eating fish and 10.0 mrem/yr from drinking water

Transfer of tritium released by nuclear facilities to the food supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bovard, P.; Delmas, J.; Belot, Y.; Camus, H.; Grauby, A.; Hoek, J. van den

1979-01-01

The use for agricultural purposes of river waters receiving releases or discharges of tritium results in contamination of irrigated crops and of animals given such water to drink or consuming the contaminated crops. It therefore seemed of importance to assess the part played by tritium in the contamination of the food chain, together with its possible effects on organisms. With this in mind, French, Belgian and Netherlands laboratories have joined forces to study, more especially, the relationship between environmental contamination rates and those of produce harvested in the Mediterranean region and in a humid temperate climate, the transfer process in the chain: water - fodder - bovines - dairy produce, and the role of technology in the contamination of the food chain. The present status of research undertaken jointly by organizations in the three countries is reviewed. In the Atlantic environment the experiments involved four annual crops consumed on a large scale: potatoes, sugar beet, carrots and peas, and in the Mediterranean environment several perennial species such as vine, olive, orange and apple were studied. The results obtained relate to the residence time for tritium in the various organs of each species, the part played by evapotranspiration and the physiological functions of the different parts of the plants, the uptake of tritium by tissue water and organic matter, and the distribution of tritium in the soil profile. (author)

Tritium depth profiling in carbon samples from fusion experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedrich, M.; Pilz, W.; Sun, G.; Behrisch, R.; Garcia-Rosales, C.; Bekris, N.; Penzhorn, R.-D.

2000-01-01

Tritium depth profiling by accelerator mass spectrometry has been performed at the Rossendorf 3 MV Tandetron. Tritium particles are counted after the accelerator using a semiconductor detector, while deuterium and other light elements are simultaneously measured with the Faraday cup between the injection magnet and the accelerator. Depth profiles have been measured in carbon samples cut from the first wall tiles of the Garching fusion experiment ASDEX-Upgrade and of the European fusion experiment JET, Culham/UK. Tritium contents in the JET samples were up to six orders higher than in samples from ASDEX-Upgrade. Tritium beam currents from samples with high tritium content were measured partly in the Faraday cup before the accelerator. A dedicated tritium AMS facility with an air-insulated 100 kV tandem accelerator is under construction

Safety analysis of tritium processing system based on PHA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Wanfa; Luo Deli; Tang Tao

2012-01-01

Safety analysis on primary confinement of tritium processing system for TBM was carried out with Preliminary Hazard Analysis. Firstly, the basic PHA process was given. Then the function and safe measures with multiple confinements about tritium system were described and analyzed briefly, dividing the two kinds of boundaries of tritium transferring through, that are multiple confinement systems division and fluid loops division. Analysis on tritium releasing is the key of PHA. Besides, PHA table about tritium releasing was put forward, the causes and harmful results being analyzed, and the safety measures were put forward also. On the basis of PHA, several kinds of typical accidents were supposed to be further analyzed. And 8 factors influencing the tritium safety were analyzed, laying the foundation of evaluating quantitatively the safety grade of various nuclear facilities. (authors)

Commercial Light Water Reactor Tritium Extraction Facility. Geotechnical Summary report (U)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McHood, M.D.

2000-09-01

A geotechnical investigation program has been completed for the Commercial Light Water Reactor - Tritium Extraction Facility (CLWR-TEF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The program consisted of reviewing previous geotechnical and geologic data and reports, performing subsurface field exploration, field and laboratory testing, and geologic and engineering analyses. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the subsurface conditions for the CLWR-TEF in terms of subsurface stratigraphy and engineering properties for design and to perform selected engineering analyses. The objectives of the evaluation were to establish site-specific geologic conditions, obtain representative engineering properties of the subsurface and potential fill materials, evaluate the lateral and vertical extent of any soft zones encountered, and perform engineering analyses for slope stability, bearing capacity and settlement, and liquefaction potential. In addition, provide general recommendations for construction and earthwork

Extracellular KCl effect on organic bound tritium in human cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonen, Rafi; Uzi, German; Priel, Esther; Alfassi, Zeev B.

2008-01-01

Tritium atoms can replace hydrogen atoms in organic compounds, forming Organic Bound Tritium. Therefore, exposure of the body to tritium may lead to binding of tritium in tissue molecules, retaining it in the body longer than HTO, and causing higher doses. Ignoring this effect when evaluating inner exposures, may lead to under-estimation of tritium exposures. It was published, that tritium bound to some organic molecules has the potential to accumulate in organisms at higher levels as in the surrounding media. In order to investigate this effect and to identify physiological factors, OBT production in human malignant MG-63 osteoblast cells was studied. The purpose of the present work was to investigate the influence of the ionic extracellular potassium concentration on the amount of tritium in cells. Potassium is known as an ionic compound present in the body, which has the potential to cause cells swelling. Therefore, cells were exposed to isotonic and hypotonic media, supplemented with different concentrations of KCl, and the tritium accumulations were determined after incubation with HTO. An increase in the total Organic Bound Tritium production was observed, as well as an increase of the intracellular HTO content when increasing the KCl concentration. (author)

Tritium Systems Test Assembly operator training program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kerstiens, F.L.

1985-01-01

Proper operator training is needed to help ensure the safe operation of fusion facilities by personnel who are qualified to carry out their assigned responsibilities. Operators control and monitor the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) during normal, emergency, and maintenance phases. Their performance is critical both to operational safety, assuring no release of tritium to the atmosphere, and to the successful simulation of the fusion reaction progress. Through proper training we are helping assure that TSTA facility operators perform their assignments in a safe and efficient manner and that the operators maintain high levels of operational proficiency through continuing training, retraining, requalification, and recertification

Development of organic tritium light technology at Ontario Hydro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mullins, D.F.; Krasznai, J.P.; Mueller, D.A.

1992-01-01

Tritium is a by-product of CANDU heavy water reactor operations and is the major contributor to internal dose for plant workers. The Darlington Tritium Removal Facility (DTRF) is decontaminating heavy water by removing tritium and storing it as a metal hydride. In view of the large tritium separation capacity, (24 MCi/a, 888 PBq/a). This paper reports that Ontario Hydro is interested in pursuing markets for the peaceful uses of tritium. One of these peaceful uses is in self-luminous lighting. The state of the art at present is a phosphor coated tube filled with tritium gas. However, safety considerations have restricted the use of these lights to outdoor or essential safety applications. Binding the tritium to a solid non-volatile matrix would increase the safety of tritium lights and allow the use of other phosphors, matrices and construction geometries. Solid, organic based tritium lights were produced using two different polymer matrices. While both these materials produced visible light, the intensity was low and radiolytic damage to the polymers was evident

Tritium application: self-luminous glass tube(SLGT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K.; Lee, S.K.; Chung, E.S.; Kim, K.S.; Kim, W.S.; Nam, G.J.

2005-01-01

To manufacture SLGTs (self-luminous glass tubes), 4 core technologies are needed: coating technology, tritium injection technology, laser sealing/cutting technology and tritium handling technology. The inside of the glass tubes is coated with greenish ZnS phosphor particles with sizes varying from 4∝5 [μm], and Cu, and Al as an activator and a co-dopant, respectively. We also found that it would be possible to produce a phosphor coated glass tube for the SLGT using the well established cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) bulb manufacturing technology. The conceptual design of the main process loop (PL) is almost done. A delicate technique will be needed for the sealing/cutting of the glass tubes. Instead of the existing torch technology, a new technology using a pulse-type laser is under investigation. The design basis of the tritium handling facilities is to minimize the operator's exposure to tritium uptake and the emission of tritium to the environment. To fulfill the requirements, major tritium handling components are located in the secondary containment such as the glove boxes (GBs) and/or the fume hoods. The tritium recovery system (TRS) is connected to a GB and PL to minimize the release of tritium as well as to remove the moisture and oxygen in the GB. (orig.)

Tritium waste disposal technology in the US

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albenesius, E.L.; Towler, O.A.

1983-01-01

Tritium waste disposal methods in the US range from disposal of low specific activity waste along with other low-level waste in shallow land burial facilities, to disposal of kilocurie amounts in specially designed triple containers in 65' deep augered holes located in an aird region of the US. Total estimated curies disposed of are 500,000 in commercial burial sites and 10 million curies in defense related sites. At three disposal sites in humid areas, tritium has migrated into the ground water, and at one arid site tritium vapor has been detected emerging from the soil above the disposal area. Leaching tests on tritium containing waste show that tritium in the form of HTO leaches readily from most waste forms, but that leaching rates of tritiated water into polymer impregnated concrete are reduced by as much as a factor of ten. Tests on improved tritium containment are ongoing. Disposal costs for tritium waste are 7 to 10 dollars per cubic foot for shallow land burial of low specific activity tritium waste, and 10 to 20 dollars per cubic foot for disposal of high specific activity waste. The cost of packaging the high specific activity waste is 150 to 300 dollars per cubic foot. 18 references

Tritium Room Air Monitor Operating Experience Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

L. C. Cadwallader; B. J. Denny

2008-09-01

Monitoring the breathing air in tritium facility rooms for airborne tritium is a radiological safety requirement and a best practice for personnel safety. Besides audible alarms for room evacuation, these monitors often send signals for process shutdown, ventilation isolation, and cleanup system actuation to mitigate releases and prevent tritium spread to the environment. Therefore, these monitors are important not only to personnel safety but also to public safety and environmental protection. This paper presents an operating experience review of tritium monitor performance on demand during small (1 mCi to 1 Ci) operational releases, and intentional airborne inroom tritium release tests. The tritium tests provide monitor operation data to allow calculation of a statistical estimate for the reliability of monitors annunciating in actual tritium gas airborne release situations. The data show a failure to operate rate of 3.5E-06/monitor-hr with an upper bound of 4.7E-06, a failure to alarm on demand rate of 1.4E-02/demand with an upper bound of 4.4E-02, and a spurious alarm rate of 0.1 to 0.2/monitor-yr.

Normalized Tritium Quantification Approach (NoTQA) a Method for Quantifying Tritium Contaminated Trash and Debris at LLNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dominick, J.L.; Rasmussen, C.L.

2008-01-01

Several facilities and many projects at LLNL work exclusively with tritium. These operations have the potential to generate large quantities of Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLW) with the same or similar radiological characteristics. A standardized documented approach to characterizing these waste materials for disposal as radioactive waste will enhance the ability of the Laboratory to manage them in an efficient and timely manner while ensuring compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements. This standardized characterization approach couples documented process knowledge with analytical verification and is very conservative, overestimating the radioactivity concentration of the waste. The characterization approach documented here is the Normalized Tritium Quantification Approach (NoTQA). This document will serve as a Technical Basis Document which can be referenced in radioactive waste characterization documentation packages such as the Information Gathering Document. In general, radiological characterization of waste consists of both developing an isotopic breakdown (distribution) of radionuclides contaminating the waste and using an appropriate method to quantify the radionuclides in the waste. Characterization approaches require varying degrees of rigor depending upon the radionuclides contaminating the waste and the concentration of the radionuclide contaminants as related to regulatory thresholds. Generally, as activity levels in the waste approach a regulatory or disposal facility threshold the degree of required precision and accuracy, and therefore the level of rigor, increases. In the case of tritium, thresholds of concern for control, contamination, transportation, and waste acceptance are relatively high. Due to the benign nature of tritium and the resulting higher regulatory thresholds, this less rigorous yet conservative characterization approach is appropriate. The scope of this document is to define an appropriate and acceptable

Tritium processing using metal hydrides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mallett, M.W.

1986-01-01

E.I. duPont de Nemours and Company is commissioned by the US Department of Energy to operate the Savannah River Plant and Laboratory. The primary purpose of the plant is to produce radioactive materials for national defense. In keeping with current technology, new processes for the production of tritium are being developed. Three main objectives of this new technology are to ease the processing of, ease the storage of, and to reduce the operating costs of the tritium production facility. Research has indicated that the use of metal hydrides offers a viable solution towards satisfying these objectives. The Hydrogen and Fuels Technology Division has the responsibility to conduct research in support of the tritium production process. Metal hydride technology and its use in the storage and transportation of hydrogen will be reviewed

Neutron beam facilities at the Replacement Research Reactor, ANSTO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, S.

2003-01-01

The exciting development for Australia is the construction of a modern state-of-the-art 20-MW Replacement Research Reactor which is currently under construction to replace the aging reactor (HIFAR) at ANSTO in 2006. To cater for advanced scientific applications, the replacement reactor will provide not only thermal neutron beams but also a modern cold-neutron source moderated by liquid deuterium at approximately -250 deg C, complete with provision for installation of a hot-neutron source at a later stage. The latest 'supermirror' guides will be used to transport the neutrons to the Reactor Hall and its adjoining Neutron Guide Hall where a suite of neutron beam instruments will be installed. These new facilities will expand and enhance ANSTO's capabilities and performance in neutron beam science compared with what is possible with the existing HIFAR facilities, and will make ANSTO/Australia competitive with the best neutron facilities in the world. Eight 'leading-edge' neutron beam instruments are planned for the Replacement Research Reactor when it goes critical in 2006, followed by more instruments by 2010 and beyond. Up to 18 neutron beam instruments can be accommodated at the Replacement Research Reactor, however, it has the capacity for further expansion, including potential for a second Neutron Guide Hall. The first batch of eight instruments has been carefully selected in conjunction with a user group representing various scientific interests in Australia. A team of scientists, engineers, drafting officers and technicians has been assembled to carry out the Neutron Beam Instrument Project to successful completion. Today, most of the planned instruments have conceptual designs and are now being engineered in detail prior to construction and procurement. A suite of ancillary equipment will also be provided to enable scientific experiments at different temperatures, pressures and magnetic fields. This paper describes the Neutron Beam Instrument Project and gives

Development status of the cryogenic distillation system in Cernavoda Tritium Removal Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Draghia, Mirela; Ana, George; Pasca, Gheorghe; Porcariu, Florina

2009-01-01

Full text: The reference design technology for the heavy water detritiation plant of Cernavoda CANDU station is based on combination of Liquid Phase Catalytic Exchange (LPCE) and Cryogenic Distillation (CD) processes. Based on this technology, tritium is transferred from the heavy water to a deuterium stream in the catalyzed isotopic exchange process, LPCE, followed by a final enrichment within the cryogenic distillation cascade. The final step is the tritium storage on metallic hydride. The basic function of the Cryogenic Distillation System (CDS) is the separation of tritium from the tritiated deuterium coming from the LPCE column in the following conditions: - the final product has to be tritium with a concentration of at least 99%; - it must be provided a detritiation factor of at least 100 (the ration between the tritium concentration in the deuterium stream fed to the CD system and the tritium concentration in the returned stream to the LPCE); - the deuterium must be enriched up to 99.995%, by removing the protium; - provisions for safe discharge of the entire inventory of the CD cascade into buffer vessels shall be implemented. To summarize, the present status of the project consists of technical documentation for all the components of CDS, including the P and ID (Pipping and Instrumentation Diagram), preliminary data sheets, technical specifications, drawings for the major components as the buffer vessels, coldbox, etc, and 3D models as well for almost all the components. (authors)

Results of tritium tests performed on Sandia Laboratories decontamination system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gildea, P.D.; Wall, W.R.; Gede, V.P.

1978-05-01

The Tritium Research Laboratory (TRL), a facility for performing experiments using gram amounts of tritium, became operational on October 1, 1977. As secondary containment, the TRL employs sealed glove boxes connected on demand to two central decontamination systems, the Gas Purification System and the Vacuum Effluent Recovery System. Performance tests on these systems show the tritium removal systems can achieve concentration reduction factors (ratio of inlet to exhaust concentrations) much in excess of 1000 per pass at inlet concentrations of 1 part per million or less for both tritium and tritiated methane

First results of radiation-driven, layered deuterium-tritium implosions with a 3-shock adiabat-shaped drive at the National Ignition Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smalyuk, V. A.; Robey, H. F.; Döppner, T.; Jones, O. S.; Milovich, J. L.; Bachmann, B.; Baker, K. L.; Berzak Hopkins, L. F.; Bond, E.; Callahan, D. A.; Casey, D. T.; Celliers, P. M.; Cerjan, C.; Clark, D. S.; Dixit, S. N.; Edwards, M. J.; Haan, S. W.; Hamza, A. V.; Hurricane, O. A.; Jancaitis, K. S. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); and others

2015-08-15

Radiation-driven, layered deuterium-tritium plastic capsule implosions were carried out using a new, 3-shock “adiabat-shaped” drive on the National Ignition Facility. The purpose of adiabat shaping is to use a stronger first shock, reducing hydrodynamic instability growth in the ablator. The shock can decay before reaching the deuterium-tritium fuel leaving it on a low adiabat and allowing higher fuel compression. The fuel areal density was improved by ∼25% with this new drive compared to similar “high-foot” implosions, while neutron yield was improved by more than 4 times, compared to “low-foot” implosions driven at the same compression and implosion velocity.

2009 EVALUATION OF TRITIUM REMOVAL AND MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

LUECK KJ; GENESSE DJ; STEGEN GE

2009-02-26

Since 1995, a state-approved land disposal site (SALDS) has received tritium contaminated effluents from the Hanford Site Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF). Tritium in this effluent is mitigated by storage in slow moving groundwater to allow extended time for decay before the water reaches the site boundary. By this method, tritium in the SALDS is isolated from the general environment and human contact until it has decayed to acceptable levels. This report contains the 2009 update evaluation of alternative tritium mitigation techniques to control tritium in liquid effluents and groundwater at the Hanford site. A thorough literature review was completed and updated information is provided on state-of-the-art technologies for control of tritium in wastewaters. This report was prepared to satisfy the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement) Milestone M-026-07B (Ecology, EPA, and DOE 2007). Tritium separation and isolation technologies are evaluated periodically to determine their feasibility for implementation to control Hanford site liquid effluents and groundwaters to meet the Us. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 40 CFR 141.16, drinking water maximum contaminant level (MCL) for tritium of 20,000 pOll and/or DOE Order 5400.5 as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) policy. Since the 2004 evaluation, there have been a number of developments related to tritium separation and control with potential application in mitigating tritium contaminated wastewater. These are primarily focused in the areas of: (1) tritium recycling at a commercial facility in Cardiff, UK using integrated tritium separation technologies (water distillation, palladium membrane reactor, liquid phase catalytic exchange, thermal diffusion), (2) development and demonstration of Combined Electrolysis Catalytic Exchange (CECE) using hydrogen/water exchange to separate tritium from water, (3) evaporation of tritium contaminated water for dispersion in the

Conceptual design of an emergency tritium clean-up system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muller, M.E.

1978-01-01

The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) has been selected to design, build, and operate a facility to demonstrate the operability of the tritium-related subsystems that would be required to successfully develop fusion reactor systems. Basically, these subsystems would consist of the deuterium-tritium fuel cycle and associated environmental control systems. An emergency tritium clean-up subsystem (ETC) for this facility will be designed to remove tritium from the cell atmosphere if an accident causes the primary and secondary tritium containment to be breached. Conceptually, the ETC will process cell air at the rate of 0.65 actual m 3 /s (1385 ACFM) and will achieve an overall decontamination factor of 10 6 for tritium oxide (T 2 O). Following the maximum credible release of 100 g of tritium, the ETC will restore the cell to operational status within 24 h without a significant release of tritium to the environment. The basic process will include compression of the air to 0.35 MPa (3.5 atm) in a reciprocating compressor followed by oxidation of the tritium to T 2 O in a catalytic reactor. The air will be cooled to 275 K (350 0 F) to remove most of the moisture, including T 2 O, as a condensate. The remaining moisture will be removed by molecular sieve dryer beds that incorporate a water-swamping step between beds, allowing greater T 2 O removal. A portion of the detritiated air will be recirculated to the cell; the remainder will be exhausted to the building ventilation stack to maintain a slight negative pressure in the cell. The ETC will be designed for maximum flexibility so that studies can be performed that involve various aspects of room air detritiation

Concept of a tritium extraction facility for a reprocessing plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tunaboylu, K.; Paulovic, M.; Ulrich, D.

1991-01-01

There are several alternatives for reducing the release of tritium to the environment originating from the wastewater of a reprocessing plant. Such alternatives, which are applicable for sites not located by the sea or by large rivers, are limited to either injection of tritiated wastewater into suitable deep geological formations, or final disposal into a deep underground repository after adequate treatment similar to other low and intermediate active waste. Removal of tritium from the wastewater by enrichment represents a further feasible option of the second alternative, which allows reduction of the huge volume of tritiated water to be treated before disposal. A significant volume reduction increases the safety of the subsequent steps such as transport, interim storage and final disposal of tritiated waste, furthermore, decreases the corresponding overall waste management cost. The projected Wackersdorf reprocessing plant has been considered as a reference for assessing the permitted tritium releases and other site characteristics. (orig.)

Tritium production potential of beam research and magnetic fusion program technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.D.

1989-03-01

Regular replenishment of tritium in the nuclear weapons stockpile is essential to maintain our nuclear deterrent. Nuclear reactor facilities presently used for the production of tritium are aging, and their operation is being curtailed awaiting the repairs and upgrades needed to meet modern standards of safety and environment. To provide improved capability in the future, DOE plans to construct a new production reactor. Alternatives to nuclear reactor methods for the production of tritium, mainly electrically-driven accelerator or fusion systems, have been proposed many times in the past. Given the critical national security implications of maintaining adequate tritium production facilities, it is clearly worthwhile for political decision-makers to have a clear and accurate picture of the technical options that could be made available at various points in the future. The goal of this white paper is to summarize available technical information on a set of non-nuclear-reactor options for tritium production with a minimum of advocacy for any one system of implicit assumptions about politically desirable attributes. Indeed, these various options differ considerably in aspects such as the maturity of the technology, the development cost and timescales required, and the capital and operating costs of a typical ''optimized'' facility

Initial testing of the tritium systems at the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J.L.; Sissingh, R.A.P.; Gentile, C.A.; Rossmassler, R.L.; Walters, R.T.; Voorhees, D.R.

1993-01-01

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) at Princeton will start its D-T experiments in late 1993, introducing and operating the tokamak with tritium in order to begin the study of burning plasma physics in D-T. Trace tritium injection experiments, using small amounts of tritium will begin in the fall of 1993. In preparation for these experiments, a series of tests with low concentrations of tritium inn deuterium have been performed as an initial qualification of the tritium systems. These tests began in April 1993. This paper describes the initial testing of the equipment in the TFTR tritium facility

Tritium persistence pattern in some terrestrial plants-field investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soman, S.D.; Iyengar, T.S.; Krishnamoorthy, T.M.; Sadarangani, S.H.; Vaze, P.K.; Gogate, S.S.; Deo, J.V.

1977-01-01

The uptake and release pattern of tritium in certain trees in their natural conditions of growth were investigated by artificial simulation of active conditions by incorporating tritium in the system through stem or roots. These trees are grown in some of the nuclear sites wherein a number of nuclear facilities are located. The species studied include palms, casuarinas and banana trees. In most of the cases a single component corresponding to the tree compartment tritium was obtained. The second component of the tissue free water tritium and the tissue bound compartment of tritium were not easily resolvable due to tremendous variation caused by the environmental conditions such as rain, humidity etc. Repeated humps were observed in certain cases of root uptake studies due to the variation in the meteorological factors. In most of the cases the half residence times for tritium (Tsub(1/2)) (tissue free water tritium) were found to be below two days. (author)

Cost of generating tritium internal and external to a tokamak hybrid reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crotzer, M.E.; Heck, F.M.; Steinke, K.C.

1981-01-01

The costs associated with producing tritium internal and external to a thorium-based tokamak hybrid are estimated for a number of scenarios and the resulting impact on the symbiotic system cost of electricity calculated. For tritium generation within the hybrid, both continuous and batch production is analyzed. For external production, the lithium-bearing blanket is replaced with thorium and the tritium is generated in the client fission reactors. Continuous tritium production within the hybrid is found to increase the cost of electricity from 1.4 to 4.0 mills/kW-h. Batch tritium production can increase the cost of electricity by 10 mills/kW-h. Producing tritium outside the hybrid, and thereby enhancing client support, increases the cost of electricity from 1.8 to 4.1 mills/kW-h

Description of NORMTRI: a computer program for assessing the off-site consequences from air-borne releases of tritium during normal operation of nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raskob, W.

1994-10-01

The computer program NORMTRI has been developed to calculate the behaviour of tritium in the environment released into the atmosphere under normal operation of nuclear facilities. It is possible to investigate the two chemical forms tritium gas and tritiated water vapour. The conversion of tritium gas into tritiated water followed by its reemission back to the atmosphere as well as the conversion into organically bound tritium is considered. NORMTRI is based on the statistical Gaussian dispersion model ISOLA, which calculates the activity concentration in air near the ground contamination due to dry and wet deposition at specified locations in a polar grid system. ISOLA requires a four-parametric meteorological statistics derived from one or more years synoptic recordings of 1-hour-averages of wind speed, wind direction, stability class and precipitation intensity. Additional features of NORMTRI are the possibility to choose several dose calculation procedures, ranging from the equations of the German regulatory guidelines to a pure specific equilibrium approach. (orig.)

Natural phenomena risk analysis - an approach for the tritium facilities 5480.23 SAR natural phenomena hazards accident analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cappucci, A.J. Jr.; Joshi, J.R.; Long, T.A.; Taylor, R.P.

1997-01-01

A Tritium Facilities (TF) Safety Analysis Report (SAR) has been developed which is compliant with DOE Order 5480.23. The 5480.23 SAR upgrades and integrates the safety documentation for the TF into a single SAR for all of the tritium processing buildings. As part of the TF SAR effort, natural phenomena hazards (NPH) were analyzed. A cost effective strategy was developed using a team approach to take advantage of limited resources and budgets. During development of the Hazard and Accident Analysis for the 5480.23 SAR, a strategy was required to allow maximum use of existing analysis and to develop a cost effective graded approach for any new analysis in identifying and analyzing the bounding accidents for the TF. This approach was used to effectively identify and analyze NPH for the TF. The first part of the strategy consisted of evaluating the current SAR for the RTF to determine what NPH analysis could be used in the new combined 5480.23 SAR. The second part was to develop a method for identifying and analyzing NPH events for the older facilities which took advantage of engineering judgment, was cost effective, and followed a graded approach. The second part was especially challenging because of the lack of documented existing analysis considered adequate for the 5480.23 SAR and a limited budget for SAR development and preparation. This paper addresses the strategy for the older facilities

Tritium application: self-luminous glass tube(SLGT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, K.; Lee, S.K.; Chung, E.S.; Kim, K.S.; Kim, W.S. [Nuclear Power Lab., Korea Electric Power Research Inst. (KEPRI), Daejeon (Korea); Nam, G.J. [Engineering Information Technology Center, Inst. for Advanced Engineering (IAE), Kyonggi-do (Korea)

2005-07-01

To manufacture SLGTs (self-luminous glass tubes), 4 core technologies are needed: coating technology, tritium injection technology, laser sealing/cutting technology and tritium handling technology. The inside of the glass tubes is coated with greenish ZnS phosphor particles with sizes varying from 4{proportional_to}5 [{mu}m], and Cu, and Al as an activator and a co-dopant, respectively. We also found that it would be possible to produce a phosphor coated glass tube for the SLGT using the well established cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) bulb manufacturing technology. The conceptual design of the main process loop (PL) is almost done. A delicate technique will be needed for the sealing/cutting of the glass tubes. Instead of the existing torch technology, a new technology using a pulse-type laser is under investigation. The design basis of the tritium handling facilities is to minimize the operator's exposure to tritium uptake and the emission of tritium to the environment. To fulfill the requirements, major tritium handling components are located in the secondary containment such as the glove boxes (GBs) and/or the fume hoods. The tritium recovery system (TRS) is connected to a GB and PL to minimize the release of tritium as well as to remove the moisture and oxygen in the GB. (orig.)

Tritium in the environment and around the institution for the usage of radio-isotopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsunami, Tadao; Ishiyama, Toshio; Kobashigawa, Akira; Yamada, Osamu.

1986-01-01

The behavior of tritium in the environment and the tritium content of the liquid wastes were investigated at a facility for the usage of radio-isotopes from 1982 ∼ 1985. Rain water, tap water, well water and waste water samples were collected at the facility. River samples were collected three times from the four main rivers in the Southern Osaka. The results of monthly concentration of tritium were found to fall in the ranges, 0 ∼ 219 pCi/l, since January 1982. The increases in the concentration of tritium in July and August, 1982 are possibly ascribed to the 26-th Chinese nuclear explosion. The order of the concentration of tritium was as follows : waste water (an outlet of drainage) < tap water < rain water < river water < well water. (author)

Tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1975-01-01

The role played the large amount supply of tritium and its effects are broadly reviewed. This report is divided into four parts. The introductory part includes the history of tritium research. The second part deals with the physicochemical properties of tritium and the compounds containing tritium such as tritium water and labeled compounds, and with the isotope effects and self radiation effects of tritium. The third part deals with the tritium production by artificial reaction. Attention is directed to the future productivity of tritium from B, Be, N, C, O, etc. by using the beams of high energy protons or neutrons. The problems of the accepting market and the accuracy of estimating manufacturing cost are discussed. The expansion of production may bring upon the reduction of cost but also a large possibility of social impact. The irradiation problem and handling problem in view of environmental preservation are discussed. The fourth part deals with the use of tritium as a target, as a source of radiation or light, and its utilization for geochemistry. The future development of the solid tritium target capable of elongating the life of neutron sources is expected. The rust thickness of the surface of iron can be measured with the X-ray of Ti-T or Zr-T. The tritium can substitute self-light emission paint or lamp. The tritium is suitable for tracing the movement of sea water and land surface water because of its long half life. (Iwakiri, K.)

Tritium effluent removal system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamberger, P.H.; Gibbs, G.E.

1978-01-01

An air detritiation system has been developed and is in routine use for removing tritium and tritiated compounds from glovebox effluent streams before they are released to the atmosphere. The system is also used, in combination with temporary enclosures, to contain and decontaminate airborne releases resulting from the opening of tritium containment systems during maintenance and repair operations. This detritiation system, which services all the tritium handling areas at Mound Facility, has played an important role in reducing effluents and maintaining them at 2 percent of the level of 8 y ago. The system has a capacity of 1.7 m 3 /min and has operated around the clock for several years. A refrigerated in-line filtration system removes water, mercury, or pump oil and other organics from gaseous waste streams. The filtered waste stream is then heated and passed through two different types of oxidizing beds; the resulting tritiated water is collected on molecular sieve dryer beds. Liquids obtained from regenerating the dryers and from the refrigerated filtration system are collected and transferred to a waste solidification and packaging station. Component redundancy and by-pass capabilities ensure uninterrupted system operation during maintenance. When processing capacity is exceeded, an evacuated storage tank of 45 m 3 is automatically opened to the inlet side of the system. The gaseous effluent from the system is monitored for tritium content and recycled or released directly to the stack. The average release is less than 1 Ci/day. The tritium effluent can be reduced by isotopically swamping the tritium; this is accomplished by adding hydrogen prior to the oxidizer beds, or by adding water to the stream between the two final dryer beds

Development of a low tritium partial pressure permeation system for mass transport measurement in lead lithium eutectic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pawelko, R.; Shimada, M.; Katayama, K.; Fukada, S.; Terai, T.

2014-01-01

A new experimental system designed to investigate tritium mass transfer properties in materials important to fusion technology is operational at the Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) facility located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The tritium permeation measurement system was developed as part of the Japan/US TITAN collaboration to investigate tritium mass transfer properties in liquid lead lithium eutectic (LLE) alloy. The system is similar to a hydrogen/deuterium permeation measurement system developed at Kyushu University and also incorporates lessons learned from previous tritium permeation experiments conducted at the STAR facility. This paper describes the experimental system that is configured specifically to measure tritium mass transfer properties at low tritium partial pressures. We present preliminary tritium permeation results for α-Fe and α-Fe/LLE samples at 600degC and at tritium partial pressures between 1.0E-3 and 2.4 Pain helium. The preliminary results are compared with literature data. (author)

The neutron beam facility at the Australian replacement research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunter, B.; Kennedy, S.

1999-01-01

Full text: The Australian federal government gave ANSTO final approval to build a research reactor to replace HIFAR on August 25th 1999. The replacement reactor is to be a multipurpose reactor with a thermal neutron flux of 3 x 10 14 n.cm -2 .s -1 and having improved capabilities for neutron beam research and for the production of radioisotopes for pharmaceutical, scientific and industrial use. The replacement reactor will commence operation in 2005 and will cater for Australian scientific, industrial and medical needs well into the 21st century. The scientific capabilities of the neutron beams at the replacement reactor are being developed in consultation with representatives from academia, industry and government research laboratories to provide a facility for condensed matter research in physics, chemistry, materials science, life sciences, engineering and earth sciences. Cold, thermal and hot neutron sources are to be installed, and neutron guides will be used to position most of the neutron beam instruments in a neutron guide hall outside the reactor confinement building. Eight instruments are planned for 2005, with a further three to be developed by 2010. A conceptual layout for the neutron beam facility is presented including the location of the planned suite of neutron beam instruments. The reactor and all the associated infrastructure, with the exception of the neutron beam instruments, is to be built by an accredited reactor builder in a turnkey contract. Tenders have been called for December 1999, with selection of contractor planned by June 2000. The neutron beam instruments will be developed by ANSTO and other contracted organisations in consultation with the user community and interested overseas scientists. The facility will be based, as far as possible, around a neutron guide hall that is be served by three thermal and three cold neutron guides. Efficient transportation of thermal and cold neutrons to the guide hall requires the use of modern super

Status of the Los Alamos tritium beta decay experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robertson, R.G.H.; Bowles, T.J.; Wark, D.L.; Wilkerson, J.F.; Knapp, D.A.

1989-01-01

The Los Alamos tritium experiment employs a gaseous tritium source and a magnetic spectrometer to determine the mass of the electron antineutrino from the shape of the tritium beta spectrum. Since publication of the first result from this apparatus (m/sub nu/ < 27 eV at 95% confidence), work has concentrated on improving the data rates. A 96-element Si microstrip array detector has been installed to replace the single proportional counter at the spectrometer focus, resulting in greatly increased efficiency. Measurements of the 1s photoionization spectrum of Kr now obviate the need for reliance on the theoretical shakeup and shakeoff spectrum of Kr in determining the spectrometer resolution. 19 refs., 3 figs

Design and operational experience with a portable tritium cleanup system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maienschein, J.L.; Wilson, S.W.; Garcia, F.

1991-06-01

We built a portable tritium cleanup system to scavenge tritium from contaminated gases in any tritium-containing system in the LLNL Tritium Facility. The cleanup system uses standard catalytic oxidation of tritium to water followed by water removal with a molecular sieve dryer. The cleanup unit, complete with instrumentation, is contained in a portable cart that is rolled into place and connected to the apparatus to be cleaned. The cleanup systems is effective, low-tech, simple, and reliable. The nominal flow rate of the system is 30 liters/minute, and the decontamination factor is > 1000. In this paper we will show design information on our portable cleanup system, and will discuss our operational experience with it over the past several years

Tritium in the Savannah River Site environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Bauer, L.R.; Hayes, D.W.; Marter, W.L.; Zeigler, C.C.; Stephenson, D.E.; Hoel, D.D.; Hamby, D.M.

1991-05-01

Tritium is released to the environment from many of the operations at the Savannah River Site. The releases from each facility to the atmosphere and to the soil and streams, both from normal operations and inadvertent releases, over the period of operation from the early 1950s through 1988 are presented. The fate of the tritium released is evaluated through environmental monitoring, special studies, and modeling. It is concluded that approximately 91% of the tritium remaining after decay is now in the oceans. A dose and risk assessment to the population around the site is presented. It is concluded that about 0.6 fatal cancers may be associated with the tritium released during all the years of operation to the population of about 625,000. This same population (based on the overall US cancer statistics) is expected to experience about 105,000 cancer fatalities from all types of cancer. Therefore, it is considered unlikely that a relationship between any of the cancer deaths occurring in this population and releases of tritium from the SRS will be found.

Tritium in the Savannah River Site environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Bauer, L.R.; Hayes, D.W.; Marter, W.L.; Zeigler, C.C.; Stephenson, D.E.; Hoel, D.D.; Hamby, D.M.

1991-05-01

Tritium is released to the environment from many of the operations at the Savannah River Site. The releases from each facility to the atmosphere and to the soil and streams, both from normal operations and inadvertent releases, over the period of operation from the early 1950s through 1988 are presented. The fate of the tritium released is evaluated through environmental monitoring, special studies, and modeling. It is concluded that approximately 91% of the tritium remaining after decay is now in the oceans. A dose and risk assessment to the population around the site is presented. It is concluded that about 0.6 fatal cancers may be associated with the tritium released during all the years of operation to the population of about 625,000. This same population (based on the overall US cancer statistics) is expected to experience about 105,000 cancer fatalities from all types of cancer. Therefore, it is considered unlikely that a relationship between any of the cancer deaths occurring in this population and releases of tritium from the SRS will be found

Using the Tritium Plasma Experiment to evaluate ITER PFC safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhurst, G.R.; Anderl, R.A.; Bartlit, J.R.; Causey, R.A.; Haines, J.R.

1993-01-01

The Tritium Plasma Experiment was assembled at Sandia National Labs., Livermore and is being moved to the Tritium Systems Test Assembly facility at Los Alamos National Lab. to investigate interactions between dense plasmas at low energies and plasma-facing component materials. This apparatus has the unique capability of replicating plasma conditions in a tokamak divertor with particle flux densities of 2 x 10 23 ions/m 2 .s and a plasma temperature of about 15 eV using a plasma that includes tritium. An experimental program has been initiated using the Tritium Plasma Experiment to examine safety issues related to tritium in plasma-facing components, particularly the ITER divertor. Those issues include tritium retention and release characteristics, tritium permeation rates and transient times to coolant streams, surface modification and erosion by the plasma, the effects of thermal loads and cycling, and particulate production. An industrial consortium led by McDonnell Douglas will design and fabricate the test fixtures

Tritium in the burial ground of the Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hyder, M.L.

1993-06-01

This memorandum reviews the available information on tritium-contaminated material discarded to burial grounds. Tritium was the first isotope studied because it represents the most immediate concern with regard to release to the environment. Substantial amounts of tritium are known to be present in the ground water underneath the area, and outcropping of this ground water in springs and seeps has been observed. The response to this release of tritium from the burial ground is a current concern. The amount of tritium emplaced in the burial ground facilities is very uncertain, however, some general conclusions can be made. In particular, most of the tritium buried is associated with spent equipment and other waste, rather than spent melts. Correspondingly, most of the tritium in the ground water seems to be associated with burials of this type, rather than the spent melts. Maps are presented showing the location of burials of tritiated waste by type, and the location of the largest individual burials according to COBRA records

Robotics development for the accelerator production of tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, C.R.

2000-01-01

The Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) has been proposed as the source of tritium for the United States in the next century. The APT will accelerate protons that will strike replaceable tungsten target modules. The tungsten target modules generate neutrons that interact with blanket modules and other modules where 3 He gas is turned into tritium. The target and blanket modules are predicted to require replacement every one to ten years, depending on their location. The target modules may weigh as much as 85 tons (77 metric tons) each. All of the modules will be contained in a target/blanket vessel, which is in a shielded facility. The spent modules will be radioactive, so that remote replacement of the modules will be required. The modules will be 27 feet (8.23 m) high and the top of the modules, where most of the remote operations will occur, will be approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) down into the target/blanket vessel. The immense weights of the modules, the long reaches required and the requirement for completely remote operation of at least part of the operation, make this a unique and challenging task. Initially, manual fastening and unfastening of the jumper flanges on the modules as well as manual valve operation was proposed followed by remote replacement of the modules. This manual/remote operation was demonstrated with a computer-generated, dynamic, 3-D simulation. After review of the simulation, this operation was changed to be a complete remote operation. Complete remote operation brought about the concept of a remotely operated bridge crane and a remotely operated, bridge-mounted, manipulator to perform the entire replacement operation. A second simulation showed the intended operation of the remote concept and was instrumental in developing the requirements for the equipment and end effectors for this concept. The concept included development of end effectors for the following tasks: flange nut fastening and unfastening, flange lifting and latch

Quick management of accidental tritium exposure cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, V. P.; Badiger, N. M.; Managanvi, S. S.; Bhat, H. R.

2008-01-01

Removal half-life (RHL) of tritium is one of the best means for optimising medical treatment, reduction of committed effective dose (CED) and quick/easy handling of a large group of workers for medical treatment reference. The removal of tritium from the body depends on age, temperature, relative humidity and daily rainfall; so tritium removal rate, its follow-up and proper data analysis and recording are the best techniques for management of accidental acute tritium exposed cases. The decision of referring for medical treatment or medical intervention (MI) would be based on workers' tritium RHL history taken from their bodies at the facilities. The workers with tritium intake up to 1 ALI shall not be considered for medical treatment as it is a derived limit of annual total effective dose. The short-term MI may be considered for tritium intake of 1-10 ALI; however, if the results show intake ≥100 ALI, extended strong medical/therapeutic intervention may be recommended based on the severity of exposure for maximum CED reduction requirements and annual total effective dose limit. The methodology is very useful for pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) which are mainly operated by Canada and India and future fusion reactor technologies. Proper management will optimise the cases for medical treatment and enhance public acceptance of nuclear fission and fusion reactor technologies. (authors)

Quick management of accidental tritium exposure cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Vishwanath P; Badiger, N M; Managanvi, S S; Bhat, H R

2012-07-01

Removal half-life (RHL) of tritium is one of the best means for optimising medical treatment, reduction of committed effective dose (CED) and quick/easy handling of a large group of workers for medical treatment reference. The removal of tritium from the body depends on age, temperature, relative humidity and daily rainfall; so tritium removal rate, its follow-up and proper data analysis and recording are the best techniques for management of accidental acute tritium exposed cases. The decision of referring for medical treatment or medical intervention (MI) would be based on workers' tritium RHL history taken from their bodies at the facilities. The workers with tritium intake up to 1 ALI shall not be considered for medical treatment as it is a derived limit of annual total effective dose. The short-term MI may be considered for tritium intake of 1-10 ALI; however, if the results show intake ≥100 ALI, extended strong medical/therapeutic intervention may be recommended based on the severity of exposure for maximum CED reduction requirements and annual total effective dose limit. The methodology is very useful for pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) which are mainly operated by Canada and India and future fusion reactor technologies. Proper management will optimise the cases for medical treatment and enhance public acceptance of nuclear fission and fusion reactor technologies.

Accounting strategy of tritium inventory in the heavy water detritiation pilot plant from ICIT Rm. Valcea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bidica, N.; Stefanescu, I.; Cristescu, I.; Bornea, A.; Zamfirache, M.; Lazar, A.; Vasut, F.; Pearsica, C.; Stefan, I.; Prisecaru, I.; Sindilar, G.

2008-01-01

In this paper we present a methodology for determination of tritium inventory in a tritium removal facility. The method proposed is based on the developing of computing models for accountancy of the mobile tritium inventory in the separation processes, of the stored tritium and of the trapped tritium inventory in the structure of the process system components. The configuration of the detritiation process is a combination of isotope catalytic exchange between water and hydrogen (LPCE) and the cryogenic distillation of hydrogen isotopes (CD). The computing model for tritium inventory in the LPCE process and the CD process will be developed basing on mass transfer coefficients in catalytic isotope exchange reactions and in dual-phase system (liquid-vapour) of hydrogen isotopes distillation process. Accounting of tritium inventory stored in metallic hydride will be based on in-bed calorimetry. Estimation of the trapped tritium inventory can be made by subtraction of the mobile and stored tritium inventories from the global tritium inventory of the plant area. Determinations of the global tritium inventory of the plant area will be made on a regular basis by measuring any tritium quantity entering or leaving the plant area. This methodology is intended to be applied to the Heavy Water Detritiation Pilot Plant from ICIT Rm. Valcea (Romania) and to the Cernavoda Tritium Removal Facility (which will be built in the next 5-7 years). (authors)

Production of highly tritiated water for tritium exposure studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muirhead, C.; Pilatzke, K.; Tripple, A.; Philippi, N.; McCrimmon, K.; Castillo, I.; Boniface, H.; Suppiah, S.

2015-01-01

Tritium Facility staff at Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) have successfully prepared highly tritiated water for use in radiation resistance of PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane-based)electrolyser membrane. The goal of System A was to convert a known amount of elemental tritium (HT) into tritiated water vapour using a copper(II) oxide bed, and to condense the tritiated water vapour into a known amount of chilled heavy water (D 2 O). The conversion and capture of tritium using this system is close to 100%. The goal of System B was to transfer tritiated water from the containment vessel to an exposure vessel (experiment) in a controlled and safe manner. System B is based on the pushing of D 2 0 with low-pressure argon carrier gas to a calibrated volume and then to the exposure vessel. A method for delivering a known and controlled amount of tritiated water has been successfully demonstrated at CRL. Using both systems Tritium Facility staff have made and distributed highly tritiated water in a safe and controlled manner. This paper focuses on how the tritiated water was produced and dispensed to the experiment

A Survey of Tritium in Irish Seawater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Currivan, L.; Kelleher, K.; McGinnity, P.; Wong, J.; McMahon, C.

2013-07-01

This report provides a comprehensive record of the study and measurements of tritium in Irish seawater undertaken by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland RPII. The majority of the samples analysed were found to have tritium concentrations below the limit of detection and a conservative assessment of radiation dose arising showed a negligible impact to the public. Tritium is discharged in large quantities from various nuclear facilities, and mostly in liquid form. For this reason it is included in the list of radioactive substances of interest to the OSPAR (Oslo-Paris) Convention to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. To fulfil its role within OSPAR, to provide technical support to the Irish Government, RPII carried out a project to determine the levels of tritium in seawater from around the Irish coast to supplement its routine marine monitoring programme. A total of 85 seawater samples were collected over a three year period and analysed at the RPII's laboratory. Given that the operational discharges for tritium from the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield, UK, are expected to increase due to current and planned decommissioning activities RPII will continue to monitor tritium levels in seawater around the Irish coast, including the Irish Sea, as part of its routine marine monitoring programme

Japanese university program on tritium radiobiology and environmental tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okada, Shigefumi

1989-01-01

The university program of the tritium study in the Special Research Project of Nuclear Fusion (1980-1989) is now on its 9th year. The study's aim is to assess tritium risk on man and environment for development of Japanese Nuclear Fusion Program. The tritium study begun by establishing various tritium safe-handling devices and methods to protect scientists from tritium contamination. Then, the tritium studies were initiated in three areas: The first was the studies on biological effects of tritiated water, where their RBE values, their modifying factors and mechanisms were investigated. Also, several human monitoring systems for detection of tritium-induced damage were developed. The second was the metabolic studies of tritium, including a daily tritium monitoring system, methods to enhance excretion of tritiated water from body and means to prevent oxidation of tritium gas in the body. The third was the study of environmental tritium. Tritium levels in environmental waters of various types were estimated all-over in Japan and their seasonal or regional variation were analyzed. Last two years, the studies were extended to estimate tritium activities of plants, foods and man in Japan. (author)

Determination of low-level tritium concentrations in surface water and precipitation in the Czech Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maresova, Diana; Hanslik, Eduard; Sedlarova, Barbora; Juranova, Eva; Charles University, Prague

2017-01-01

Past tests of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, nuclear energy facilities and tritium of natural origin are main sources of tritium in the environment. Thanks to its presence in environment and its favourable properties, tritium is used as a radiotracer. Since stopping of atmospheric nuclear tests, tritium in precipitation has been decreasing towards natural levels below 1 Bq l -1 and precise analyses of low level tritium activities are necessary. This paper focuses on tritium development at sites not influenced by any technogenic release of tritium in Elbe River basin (Bohemia) in the Czech Republic using liquid scintillation measurement with electrolytic enrichment. (author)

Decommissioning of a tritium-contaminated laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harper, J.R.; Garde, R.

1982-01-01

A tritium laboratory facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, was decommissioned in 1979. The project involved dismantling the laboratory equipment and disposing of the equipment and debris at an on-site waste disposal/storage area. The laboratory, constructed in 1953, was in service for tritium research and fabrication of lithium tritide components until 1974. The major features of the laboratory included 25 meters of gloveboxes and hoods, associated vacuum lines, utility lines, exhaust ducts, electrodryers, blowers, and laboratory benches. This report presents details on the decommissioning, health physics, waste management, environmental surveillance, and costs for the operation

Distribution and behavior of tritium in the environment near its sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukui, Masami

1994-01-01

Of the long-lived radionuclides migrating globally through the environment, tritium was investigated because it is a latent source of detectable pollution in the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI). Moreover, mass transport in an in situ situation could be studied as well. Discharge rates of tritium from the operation of reactors and reprocessing plants throughout the world are given together with data on the background level of tritium in the environment and the resulting collective effective dose equivalent commitment. The behavior of tritium that has leaked from a heavy water facility in the Kyoto University Research Reactor (KURR) is dealt with by modeling its transport between air, water, and building materials. The spatial distributions of tritium in the air within the facilities of the KURR and KUCA (Kyoto University Critical Assembly), as measured by a convenient monitoring method that uses small water basins as passive samplers also are shown. Tritium discharged as liquid effluents in a reservoir for monitoring and in a retention pond at the KURRI site was monitored, and its behavior clarified by use of a box model and/or a classical dispersion equation. The purpose of this research is to keep radiation exposure to workers and the public as low as reasonably achievable, taking into account economic and social considerations (the ALARA concept). (author)

Tritium fuel cycle modeling and tritium breeding analysis for CFETR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Hongli; Pan, Lei; Lv, Zhongliang; Li, Wei; Zeng, Qin, E-mail: zengqin@ustc.edu.cn

2016-05-15

Highlights: • A modified tritium fuel cycle model with more detailed subsystems was developed. • The mean residence time method applied to tritium fuel cycle calculation was updated. • Tritium fuel cycle analysis for CFETR was carried out. - Abstract: Attaining tritium self-sufficiency is a critical goal for fusion reactor operated on the D–T fuel cycle. The tritium fuel cycle models were developed to describe the characteristic parameters of the various elements of the tritium cycle as a tool for evaluating the tritium breeding requirements. In this paper, a modified tritium fuel cycle model with more detailed subsystems and an updated mean residence time calculation method was developed based on ITER tritium model. The tritium inventory in fueling system and in plasma, supposed to be important for part of the initial startup tritium inventory, was considered in the updated mean residence time method. Based on the model, the tritium fuel cycle analysis of CFETR (Chinese Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor) was carried out. The most important two parameters, the minimum initial startup tritium inventory (I{sub m}) and the minimum tritium breeding ratio (TBR{sub req}) were calculated. The tritium inventories in steady state and tritium release of subsystems were obtained.

Isotopic scaling of transport in deuterium-tritium plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, S.D.; Adler, H.; Bell, M.G.; Bell, R.; Budny, R.V.; Bush, C.E.; Chang, Z.; Duong, H.

1995-01-01

Both global and thermal energy confinement improve in high-temperature supershot plasmas in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) when deuterium beam heating is partially or wholly replaced by tritium beam heating. For the same heating power, the tritium-rich plasmas obtain up to 22% higher total energy, 30% higher thermal ion energy, and 20-25% higher central ion temperature. Kinetic analysis of the temperature and density profiles indicates a favorable isotopic scaling of ion heat transport and electron particle transport, with τ Ei (a/2) ∝ (A) 0.7-0.8 and τ pe (a) ∝ (A) 0.8

Tritium systems concepts for the next European torus (NET)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sood, S.K.; Bagli, K.S.; Busigin, A.; Kveton, O.K.; Dombra, A.H.; Miller, A.I.

1986-09-01

The study deals with the design of the various tritium processing facilities that will be required for the Next European Torus (NET) design. The reference data for the design of the NET Tritium Systems was provided by the NET team. Significant achievements of this study were: (a) Identification of new ways of handling some problems for example: 1) Recovery of tritium from the helium purge of the lithium-ceramic blanket using a novel Adsoprtion and Catalytic Exchange Process, 2) A new way of combining fuel component separation and coolant water detritiation using cryogenic distillation, 3) The use of parasitic refrigeration for the cryogenic isotope separation, 4) Tritium extraction from effluent gas streams at their respective sources, 5) Attempt to eliminate the need for Air Cleanup Systems. (b) Identification of uncertainties, for example: composition of plasma exhaust, required helium purge rate of Li-Pb for tritium recovery, uncertainty in requirements for decontaminating blanket sectors, etc. (c) Review of ways to limit tritium permeation into steam by swamping with hydrogen and to provide quantitative estimates for this permeation

Neutron beam facilities at the replacement research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennedy, S.

1999-01-01

Full text: On September 3rd 1997 the Australian Federal Government announced their decision to replace the HIFAR research reactor by 2005. The proposed reactor will be a multipurpose reactor with improved capabilities for neutron beam research and for the production of radioisotopes for pharmaceutical, scientific and industrial use. The neutron beam facilities are intended to cater for Australian scientific needs well into the 21st century. In the first stage of planning the neutron Beam Facilities at the replacement reactor, a Consultative Group was formed (BFCG) to determine the scientific capabilities of the new facility. Members of the group were drawn from academia, industry and government research laboratories. The BFCG submitted their report in April 1998, outlining the scientific priorities to be addressed. Cold and hot neutron sources are to be included, and cold and thermal neutron guides will be used to position most of the instruments in a neutron guide hall outside the reactor confinement building. In 2005 it is planned to have eight instruments installed with a further three to be developed by 2010, and seven spare instrument positions for development of new instruments over the life of the reactor. A beam facilities technical group (BFTG) was then formed to prepare the engineering specifications for the tendering process. The group consisted of some members of the BFCG, several scientists and engineers from ANSTO, and scientists from leading neutron scattering centres in Europe, USA and Japan. The BFTG looked in detail at the key components of the facility such as the thermal, cold and hot neutron sources, neutron collimators, neutron beam guides and overall requirements for the neutron guide hall. The report of the BFTG, completed in August 1998, was incorporated into the draft specifications for the reactor project, which were distributed to potential reactor vendors. An assessment of the first stage of reactor vendor submissions was completed in

An open-walled ionization chamber appropriate to tritium monitoring for glovebox

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Zhilin; Chang Ruiming; Mu Long; Song Guoyang; Wang Heyi; Wu Guanyin; Wei Xiye

2010-01-01

An open-walled ionization chamber is developed to monitor the tritium concentration in gloveboxes in tritium processing systems. Two open walls are used to replace the sealed wall in common ionization chambers, through which the tritium gas can diffuse into the chamber without the aid of pumps and pipelines. Some basic properties of the chamber are examined to evaluate its performance. Results turn out that an open-walled chamber of 1 l in volume shows a considerably flat plateau over 700 V for a range of tritium concentration. The chamber also gives a good linear response to gamma fields over 4 decades under a pressure condition of 1 atm. The pressure dependence characteristics show that the ionization current is only sensitive at low pressures. The pressure influence becomes weaker as the pressure increases mainly due to the decrease in the mean free path of β particles produced by tritium decay. The minimum detection limit of the chamber is 3.7x10 5 Bq/m 3 .

Results of tritium measurement in environmental samples and drainage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koike, Ryoji; Hirai, Yasuo

1983-01-01

In Ibaraki prefecture, the tritium concentration in the drainage from the nuclear facilities has been measured since 1974. Then, with the start of operation of the fuel reprocessing plant in 1977, the tritium concentration in environmental samples was to be measured also in order to examine the effect of the drainage on the environment. The results of the tritium measurement in Ibaraki prefecture up to about 1980 are described: sampling points, sampling and measuring methods, the tritium concentration in the drainage, air, inland water and seawater, respectively. The drainages have been taken from Japan Atomic Power Company, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, and Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (with the fuel reprocessing plant). The samples of air, inland water and seawater have been taken in the areas concerned. The tritium concentration was measured by a low-background liquid scintillation counter. The measured values in the environment have been generally at low level, not different from other areas. (Mori, K.)

Transfer of tritium released into the marine environment by French nuclear facilities bordering the English Channel.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiévet, Bruno; Pommier, Julien; Voiseux, Claire; Bailly du Bois, Pascal; Laguionie, Philippe; Cossonnet, Catherine; Solier, Luc

2013-06-18

Controlled amounts of liquid tritium are discharged as tritiated water (HTO) by the nuclear industry into the English Channel. Because the isotopic discrimination between 3H and H is small, organically bound tritium (OBT) and HTO should show the same T/H ratio under steady-state conditions. We report data collected from the environment in the English Channel. Tritium concentrations measured in seawater HTO, as well as in biota HTO and OBT, confirm that tritium transfers from HTO to OBT result in conservation of the T/H ratio (ca. 1 × 10(-16)). The kinetics of the turnover of tritium between seawater HTO, biota HTO, and OBT was investigated. HTO in two algae and a mollusk is shown to exchange rapidly with seawater HTO. However, the overall tritium turnover between HTO and the whole-organism OBT is a slow process with a tritium biological half-life on the order of months. Nonsteady-state conditions exist where there are sharp changes in seawater HTO. As a consequence, for kinetic reasons, the T/H ratio in OBT may deviate transiently from that observed in HTO of samples from the marine ecosystem. Dynamic modeling is thus more realistic for predicting tritium transfers to biota OBT under nonsteady-state conditions.

Pre-Conceptual Design for Northstar ⁹⁹Mo Process Tritium Removal System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nobile, Arthur [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Reichert, Heidi [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Hollis, William Kirk [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Taylor, Craig Michael [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Gordon, John Cameron [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Dale, Gregory E. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-01-12

In this report we describe a preliminary concept for a Tritium Removal System (TRS) to remove tritium that is generated in the ⁹⁹Mo production process. Preliminary calculations have been performed to evaluate an approximate size for the system. The concept described utilizes well-established detritiation technology based on catalytic oxidation of tritium and tritiated hydrocarbons to water in a high temperature (400 °C) reactor and capture of water in a molecular sieve bed. The TRS concept involves use of a single system that would cycle through each of the seven online target systems and remove tritium that has been accumulated after one week’s run time. The TRS would perform cleanup operations on each target system for a period of approximately 24 hours. This would occur while the system is still online and just prior to target replacement, so tritium levels would at their minimum values for target replacement. In the concept, during normal operation a small fraction (1%) of the helium recirculating in the system would be diverted through the TRS and returned to the flow loop. With this approach sufficient levels of detritiation can be accomplished in a 24 hour period. In the study it was found that because of the need to maintain low oxygen levels in the system (<100 ppm) this increases the size of the catalytic reactor. As a result of this finding, consideration should be given to other methods for removing tritium from the system. Other methods such as catalytic exchange of tritium with an unsaturated organic compound and subsequent trapping on activated carbon or molecular sieve could offer advantages of reducing reactor size and operation at lower reactor temperature. However the most significant advantage of such an approach would be the ability to operate in very low oxygen environments, which would eliminate any concerns for oxidation of the target.

A real-time monitoring/emergency response modeling workstation for a tritium facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawver, B.S.; Sims, J.M.; Baskett, R.L.

1993-07-01

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) we developed a real-time system to monitor two stacks on our tritium handling facility. The monitors transmit the stack data to a workstation which computes a 3D numerical model of atmospheric dispersion. The workstation also collects surface and upper air data from meteorological towers and a sodar. The complex meteorological and terrain setting in the Livermore Valley demands more sophisticated resolution of the three-dimensional structure of the atmosphere to reliably calculate plume dispersion than afforded by Gaussian models. We experience both mountain valley and sea breeze flows. To address these complexities, we have implemented the three-dimensional diagnostic MATHEW mass-adjusted wind field and ADPIC particle-in-cell dispersion models on the workstation for use in real-time emergency response modeling. Both MATHEW and ADPIC have shown their utility in a variety of complex settings over the last 15 years within the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC[1,2]) project

A methodology for determination of tritium inventory to the heavy water detritiation pilot plant from ICIT Rm. Valcea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bidica, N.; Stefanescu, I.; Bornea, A.; Zamfirache, M.; Lazar, A.; Vasut, F.; Pearsica, C.; Stefan, I.; Cristescu, I.; Prisecaru, I.; Sindilar, G.

2007-01-01

Full text: In this paper we present a methodology for determination of tritium inventory in a tritium removal facility. The method proposed is based on the developing of computing models for accountancy of the mobile tritium inventory in the separation processes of the stored tritium and of the trapped tritium inventory in the structure of the process system components. The configuration of the detritiation process is a combination of isotope catalytic exchange between water and hydrogen (LPCE) and the cryogenic distillation of hydrogen isotopes (CD). The computing model for tritium inventory in the LPCE process and the CD process will be developed based on mass transfer coefficients in catalytic isotope exchange reactions and in dual-phase system (liquid-vapour) of hydrogen isotopes distillation process. Accounting of tritium inventory stored in metallic hydride will be based on in-bed calorimetry. Estimation of the trapped tritium inventory can be made by subtraction of the mobile and stored tritium inventories from the global tritium inventory of the plant area. Determinations of the global tritium inventory of the plant area will be made on a regular basis by measuring any tritium amount entering or leaving the plant area. This methodology is intended to be applied to the Heavy Water Detritiation Pilot Plant from ICIT Rm. Valcea (Romania) and at the Cernavoda Tritium Removal Facility (which will be built in the next 5-7 years). (authors)

Radiological safety system based on real-time tritium-in-air monitoring indoors and in effluents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bidica, N.; Sofalca, N; Balteanu, O.; Srefan, I.

2006-01-01

Exposure to tritium is an important health hazard in any tritium processing facility so that implementing a real-time tritium monitoring system is necessary for its operation in safety conditions. The tritium processing facility operators need to be informed at any time about the in-air tritium concentration indoors or in the stack effluents, in order to detect immediately any leaks in tritium containments, or any releases inside the buildings or to the environment. This information is very important for adopting if necessary protection measures and correcting actions as quickly as possible. In this paper we describe an improved real-time tritium monitoring system designed for the Heavy Water Detritiation Pilot Plant of National Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopes Separation, Rm. Valcea, Romania. The design of the Radiological Safety System implemented for the ICIT Water Detritiation Pilot Plant is intended to provide the maximum safety level based on the ALARA concept. The main functions of tritium monitoring system are: - monitoring the working areas and gaseous effluents by determination of the tritium-in-air activity concentration; - local and remote data display; - assessing of environment dose equivalent rates and dose equivalents in the working environment (for personnel exposure control and work planning); - assessing the total tritium activity released to the environment through ventilation exhaust stack; - safety functions, i.e., local and remote, locking/unlocking personnel access, process shut-down in emergency conditions and start of the air cleaning systems. With all these features our tritium monitoring system is really a safety system adequate for personnel and environmental protection. (authors)

Preliminary analysis of the safety and environmental impact of the Tritium Systems Test Assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, R.V.; Jalbert, R.A.

1980-01-01

The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) is a facility dedicated to the development of technologies associated with the D-T fuel cycle of future fusion reactors while demonstrating that TSTA can be operated safely with no significant losses to the environment. During the initial design stage of TSTA, a safety analysis was performed which investigated the effects of major subsystem component failure, the meteorology and seismicity of the site and their possible effect on the facility, and accident scenarios which result in tritium releases. Major releases of tritium to the environment are considered highly improbable since they require a compound failure of primary and secondary containment, along with either a breach of the building or a failure of the Emergency Tritium Cleanup system. Accidental releases caused by natural phenomena (earthquake, tornado, etc.) are considered highly improbable

Internal dose from tritium at Wolsung nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hee Geun Kim; Jeong Yull Dho; Myung Jae Song

1995-01-01

Tritium is produced in large quantities at heavy water nuclear power reactors via the neutron activation reaction 2 H(n,γ) 3 H. At Wolsung nuclear power plant which has a CANDU reactor, the tritium concentrations in coolant and in moderator systems are 1.5 Ci/Kg-D 2 O and 35 Ci/kg-D 2 O, respectively, after 12 years of operation. The airborne tritium concentration in main access area is normally less than 5 MPCa except short-term peaks. The average tritium concentrations in main access controlled areas are normally less than 100 MPCa. Tritium is mainly present in the air of workplace of CANDU reactors as a tritiated water vapour. Airborne tritiated water vapour enters the workers body via inhalation and absorption through skin and can result in a significant dose. The occupational doses from tritium at Wolsung NPP have been maintained below 1 man-Sv per year so far. The tritium contribution to the total plant man-Sv changes between 30 percent and 50 percent. For the mitigation of tritium inhalation, various protective equipment are being used at Wolsung NPP. The respirator system was devised at Wolsung NPP in order to remove tritiated water vapours from the inhaled air. A respirator is connected to a small plastic bottle filled with ice cubes. The system devised shows a good tritium removal efficiency. The air pressure drop through the ice cubes is minimal. The operation cost of the system is also very cheap. Further mitigation of tritium inhalation is heavily dependant on the source term reduction. One of the ultimate solutions is to introduce a tritium removal facility. (author). 7 figs., 3 tabs

Baseline radionuclide concentrations in soils and vegetation around the proposed Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility and the Weapons Subsystems Laboratory at TA-16

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fresquez, P.R.; Ennis, M.

1995-09-01

A preoperational environmental survey is required by the Department of Energy (DOE) for all federally funded research facilities that have the potential to cause adverse impacts on the environment. Therefore, in accordance with DOE Order 5400.1, an environmental survey was conducted over the proposed sites of the Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility (WETF) and the Weapons Subsystems Laboratory (WSL) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) at TA-16. Baseline concentrations of tritium ( 3 H), plutonium ( 238 Pu and 239 Pu) and total uranium were measured in soils, vegetation (pine needles and oak leaves) and ground litter. Tritium was also measured from air samples, while cesium ( 137 Cs) was measured in soils. The mean concentration of airborne tritiated water during 1987 was 3.9 pCi/m 3 . Although the mean annual concentration of 3 H in soil moisture at the 0--5 cm (2 in) soil depth was measured at 0.6 pCi/mL, a better background level, based on long-term regional data, was considered to be 2.6 pCi/mL. Mean values for 137 Cs, 218 Pu, 239 Pu, and total uranium in soils collected from the 0--5 cm depth were 1.08 pCi/g, 0.0014 pCi/g, 0.0325 pCi/g, and 4.01 microg/g, respectively. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) needles contained higher values of 238 Pu, 239 Pu, and total uranium than did leaves collected from gambel's oak (Quercus gambelii). In contrast, leaves collected from gambel's oak contained higher levels of 137 Cs than what pine needles did

Preliminary Tritium Management Design Activities at ORNL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrison, Thomas J.; Felde, David K.; Logsdon, Randall J.; McFarlane, Joanna; Qualls, A. L.

2016-01-01

Interest in salt-cooled and salt-fueled reactors has increased over the last decade (Forsberg et al. 2016). Several private companies and universities in the United States, as well as governments in other countries, are developing salt reactor designs and/or technology. Two primary issues for the development and deployment of many salt reactor concepts are (1) the prevention of tritium generation and (2) the management of tritium to prevent release to the environment. In 2016, the US Department of Energy (DOE) initiated a research project under the Advanced Reactor Technology Program to (1) experimentally assess the feasibility of proposed methods for tritium mitigation and (2) to perform an engineering demonstration of the most promising methods. This document describes results from the first year's efforts to define, design, and build an experimental apparatus to test potential methods for tritium management. These efforts are focused on producing a final design document as the basis for the apparatus and its scheduled completion consistent with available budget and approvals for facility use.

Preliminary Tritium Management Design Activities at ORNL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harrison, Thomas J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Felde, David K. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Logsdon, Randall J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); McFarlane, Joanna [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Qualls, A. L. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-09-01

Interest in salt-cooled and salt-fueled reactors has increased over the last decade (Forsberg et al. 2016). Several private companies and universities in the United States, as well as governments in other countries, are developing salt reactor designs and/or technology. Two primary issues for the development and deployment of many salt reactor concepts are (1) the prevention of tritium generation and (2) the management of tritium to prevent release to the environment. In 2016, the US Department of Energy (DOE) initiated a research project under the Advanced Reactor Technology Program to (1) experimentally assess the feasibility of proposed methods for tritium mitigation and (2) to perform an engineering demonstration of the most promising methods. This document describes results from the first year’s efforts to define, design, and build an experimental apparatus to test potential methods for tritium management. These efforts are focused on producing a final design document as the basis for the apparatus and its scheduled completion consistent with available budget and approvals for facility use.

Isotopic scaling of transport in deuterium-tritium plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, S.D.; Murakami, M.; Adler, H.; Chang, Z.; Duong, H.; Grisham, L.R.; Fredrickson, E.D.; Grek, B.; Hawryluk, R.J.; Hill, K.W.; Hosea, J.; Jassby, D.L.; Johnson, D.W.; Johnson, L.C.; Loughlin, M.J.; Mansfield, D.K.; McGuire, K.M.; Meade, D.M.; Mikkelsen, D.M.; Murphy, J.; Park, H.K.; Ramsey, A.T.; Schivell, J.; Skinner, C.H.; Strachan, J.D.; Synakowski, E.J.; Taylor, G.; Thompson, M.E.; Wieland, R.; Zarnstorff, M.C.

1995-01-01

Both global and thermal energy confinement improve in high-temperature supershot plasmas in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) when deuterium beam heating is partially or wholly replaced by tritium beam heating. For the same heating power, the tritium-rich plasmas obtain up to 22% higher total energy, 30% higher thermal ion energy, and 20-25% higher central ion temperature. Kinetic analysis of the temperature and density profiles indicates a favorable isotopic scaling of ion heat transport and electron particle transport, with τ Ei (a/2) ∝ left angle A right angle 0.7-0.8 and τ pe (a) ∝ left angle A right angle 0.8 . (orig.)

Tritium transport calculations for the IFMIF Tritium Release Test Module

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freund, Jana, E-mail: jana.freund@kit.edu; Arbeiter, Frederik; Abou-Sena, Ali; Franza, Fabrizio; Kondo, Keitaro

2014-10-15

Highlights: • Delivery of material data for the tritium balance in the IFMIF Tritium Release Test Module. • Description of the topological models in TMAP and the adapted fusion-devoted Tritium Permeation Code (FUS-TPC). • Computation of release of tritium from the breeder solid material into the purge gas. • Computation of the loss of tritium over the capsule wall, rig hull, container wall and purge gas return line. - Abstract: The IFMIF Tritium Release Test Module (TRTM) is projected to measure online the tritium release from breeder ceramics and beryllium pebble beds under high energy neutron irradiation. Tritium produced in the pebble bed of TRTM is swept out continuously by a purge gas flow, but can also permeate into the module's metal structures, and can be lost by permeation to the environment. According analyses on the tritium inventory are performed to support IFMIF plant safety studies, and to support the experiment planning. This paper describes the necessary elements for calculation of the tritium transport in the Tritium Release Test Module as follows: (i) applied equations for the tritium balance, (ii) material data from literature and (iii) the topological models and the computation of the five different cases; namely release of tritium from the breeder solid material into the purge gas, loss of tritium over the capsule wall, rig hull, container wall and purge gas return line in detail. The problem of tritium transport in the TRTM has been studied and analyzed by the Tritium Migration Analysis Program (TMAP) and the adapted fusion-devoted Tritium Permeation Code (FUS-TPC). TMAP has been developed at INEEL and now exists in Version 7. FUS-TPC Code was written in MATLAB with the original purpose to study the tritium transport in Helium Cooled Lead Lithium (HCLL) blanket and in a later version the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) blanket by [6] (Franza, 2012). This code has been further modified to be applicable to the TRTM. Results from the

Tritium transport calculations for the IFMIF Tritium Release Test Module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freund, Jana; Arbeiter, Frederik; Abou-Sena, Ali; Franza, Fabrizio; Kondo, Keitaro

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Delivery of material data for the tritium balance in the IFMIF Tritium Release Test Module. • Description of the topological models in TMAP and the adapted fusion-devoted Tritium Permeation Code (FUS-TPC). • Computation of release of tritium from the breeder solid material into the purge gas. • Computation of the loss of tritium over the capsule wall, rig hull, container wall and purge gas return line. - Abstract: The IFMIF Tritium Release Test Module (TRTM) is projected to measure online the tritium release from breeder ceramics and beryllium pebble beds under high energy neutron irradiation. Tritium produced in the pebble bed of TRTM is swept out continuously by a purge gas flow, but can also permeate into the module's metal structures, and can be lost by permeation to the environment. According analyses on the tritium inventory are performed to support IFMIF plant safety studies, and to support the experiment planning. This paper describes the necessary elements for calculation of the tritium transport in the Tritium Release Test Module as follows: (i) applied equations for the tritium balance, (ii) material data from literature and (iii) the topological models and the computation of the five different cases; namely release of tritium from the breeder solid material into the purge gas, loss of tritium over the capsule wall, rig hull, container wall and purge gas return line in detail. The problem of tritium transport in the TRTM has been studied and analyzed by the Tritium Migration Analysis Program (TMAP) and the adapted fusion-devoted Tritium Permeation Code (FUS-TPC). TMAP has been developed at INEEL and now exists in Version 7. FUS-TPC Code was written in MATLAB with the original purpose to study the tritium transport in Helium Cooled Lead Lithium (HCLL) blanket and in a later version the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) blanket by [6] (Franza, 2012). This code has been further modified to be applicable to the TRTM. Results from the

Groundwater Monitoring and Tritium-Tracking Plan for the 200 Area State-Approved Land Disposal Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DB Barnett

2000-08-31

The 200 Area State-Approved Land Disposal Site (SALDS) is a drainfield which receives treated wastewater, occasionally containing tritium from treatment of Hanford Site liquid wastes at the 200 Area Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF). Since operation of the SALDS began in December 1995, discharges of tritium have totaled {approx}304 Ci, only half of what was originally predicted for tritium quantity through 1999. Total discharge volumes ({approx}2.7E+8 L) have been commensurate with predicted volumes to date. This document reports the results of all tritium analyses in groundwater as determined from the SALDS tritium-tracking network since the first SALDS wells were installed in 1992 through July 1999, and provides interpretation of these results as they relate to SALDS operation and its effect on groundwater. Hydrologic and geochemical information are synthesized to derive a conceptual model, which is in turn used to arrive at an appropriate approach to continued groundwater monitoring at the facility.

Wind tunnel investigations on tritium reemission from soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taeschner, M.; Bunnenberg, C.

1993-01-01

Future fusion plants and tritium handling facilities will contain large amounts of tritium. Following chronical or accidental releases to the atmosphere a secondary HTO source is established in the downwind sector of the tritium release point as a result of deposition processes. To investigate HTO reemission rates, experiments were performed with a special wind tunnel, in which the air flows across the surface of soil columns under controlled conditions. In order to measure the HTO content of an air sample that was experimentally contaminated by reemission of HTO from a labeled soil column, a fast method is used. The air sample is bubbled through a flask filled with a definite volume of low-tritium water. At the end of the sampling period, the volume and the specific activity of the flask water are measured. With the help of a simple mathematical formula, that is presented in this report, the HTO activity of the air sample can be calculated. (orig.) [de

Remote replacement of TF [toroidal field] and PF [poloidal field] coils for the compact ignition tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macdonald, D.; Watkin, D.C.; Hollis, M.J.; DePew, R.E.; Kuban, D.P.

1990-01-01

The use of deuterium-tritium fuel in the Compact Ignition Tokamak will require applying remote handling technology for ex-vessel maintenance and replacement of machine components. Highly activated and contaminated components of the fusion devices auxiliary systems, such as diagnostics and RF heating, must be replaced using remotely operated maintenance equipment in the test cell. In-vessel remote maintenance included replacement of divertor and first wall hardware, faraday shields, and for an in-vessel inspection system. Provision for remote replacement of a vacuum vessel sector, toroidal field coil or poloidal field ring coil was not included in the project baseline. As a result of recent coil failures experienced at a number of facilities, the CIT project decided to reconsider the question of remote recovery from a coil failure and, in January of 1990, initiated a coil replacement study. This study focused on the technical requirements and impact on fusion machine design associated with remote recovery from any coil failure

Using the Tritium Plasma Experiment to evaluate ITER PFC safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhurst, G.R.; Anderl, R.A.; Bartlit, J.R.; Causey, R.A.; Haines, J.R.

1993-01-01

The Tritium Plasma Experiment was assembled at Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore to investigate interactions between dense plasmas at low energies and plasma-facing component materials. This apparatus has the unique capability of replicating plasma conditions in a tokamak divertor with particle flux densities of 2 x 10 19 ions/cm 2 · s and a plasma temperature of about 15 eV using a plasma that includes tritium. With the closure of the Tritium Research Laboratory at Livermore, the experiment was moved to the Tritium Systems Test Assembly facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. An experimental program has been initiated there using the Tritium Plasma Experiment to examine safety issues related to tritium in plasma-facing components, particularly the ITER divertor. Those issues include tritium retention and release characteristics, tritium permeation rates and transient times to coolant streams, surface modification and erosion by the plasma, the effects of thermal loads and cycling, and particulate production. A considerable lack of data exists in these areas for many of the materials, especially beryllium, being considered for use in ITER. Not only will basic material behavior with respect to safety issues in the divertor environment be examined, but innovative techniques for optimizing performance with respect to tritium safety by material modification and process control will be investigated. Supplementary experiments will be carried out at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory to expand and clarify results obtained on the Tritium Plasma Experiment

Recent progress of China HCCB TBM tritium system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Deli, E-mail: luodeli2005@hotmail.com; Huang, Guoqiang; Huang, Zhiyong; Qin, Cheng; Song, Jiangfeng; He, Kanghao; Chen, Chang’an; Zhang, Guikai; Fu, Jun; Yao, Yong; An, Yongtao

2016-11-01

Highlights: • Comparing with our previous design, improvements have been made according to the up-to-date experiments and simulations: (1) The palladium alloy tube in the previous design is now removed in the upgraded one and the cryogenic molecular sieve bed is replaced by the getter bed to reduce tritium inventory; (2) Hot metal reduction bed is relocated from T-Plant to Port Cell; (3) TAS is now integrated into TES. • The proposed coolant purification is based on catalytic oxidation and molecular sieve bed adsorption for tritium removal, as well as hot metal adsorption for the elimination of non-tritium gaseous impurities. Some operation parameters and functional components are improved. The interface with the high pressure HCS and other plant systems was incorporated taking into account of the requirement from the ITER port management group meetings. - Abstract: China tritium system including Tritium Extraction System (TES) with Tritium Accountancy System (TAS) integrated in and Coolant Purification System (CPS), which is subordinate to Helium Coolant System (HCS), is of great importance for China Helium Cooled Ceramic Breeder Test Blanket Module (CN HCCB TBM). The purge gas (99.9% He + 0.1% H{sub 2}) carrying Q{sub 2}O (Q = H, D, T) and Q{sub 2} from Li{sub 4}SiO{sub 4} ceramic breeder flows through the reduction bed where Q{sub 2}O is reduced into Q{sub 2} and then absorbed by the getter bed. The HT/HTO ratio and the total tritium are determined by TAS. Catalytic oxidation combines with molecular sieve absorption and hot metal purification are applied to remove tritium and other impurities in helium coolant. A loop including depressurization, helium-sweeping assisted thermal desorption, and cold trapping for the regeneration of saturated molecular sieve bed until the concentration of the desorbed Q{sub 2}O is reduced to an acceptable level. This paper introduces the recent progress of China tritium system including updated conceptual designs of TES and

Tritium in the Savannah River Site environment. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Bauer, L.R.; Hayes, D.W.; Marter, W.L.; Zeigler, C.C.; Stephenson, D.E.; Hoel, D.D.; Hamby, D.M.

1991-05-01

Tritium is released to the environment from many of the operations at the Savannah River Site. The releases from each facility to the atmosphere and to the soil and streams, both from normal operations and inadvertent releases, over the period of operation from the early 1950s through 1988 are presented. The fate of the tritium released is evaluated through environmental monitoring, special studies, and modeling. It is concluded that approximately 91% of the tritium remaining after decay is now in the oceans. A dose and risk assessment to the population around the site is presented. It is concluded that about 0.6 fatal cancers may be associated with the tritium released during all the years of operation to the population of about 625,000. This same population (based on the overall US cancer statistics) is expected to experience about 105,000 cancer fatalities from all types of cancer. Therefore, it is considered unlikely that a relationship between any of the cancer deaths occurring in this population and releases of tritium from the SRS will be found.

Tritium storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hircq, B.

1990-01-01

This document represents a synthesis relative to tritium storage. After indicating the main storage particularities as regards tritium, storages under gaseous and solid form are after examined before establishing choices as a function of the main criteria. Finally, tritium storage is discussed regarding tritium devices associated to Fusion Reactors and regarding smaller devices [fr

Safety management of a high energy accelerator used in the production of tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stark, R.M.; Brown, N.W.; Allen C.L.

1997-01-01

Interest in a high energy accelerator for producing tritium raises considerations regarding facility Safety Management. Accelerator facility hazards require safety analysis to consider factors such as: safe management of a large flux of very high energy neutrons, sustained operation in a very high energy proton and neutron field, neutron irradiation of a variety of materials, and handling and processing of significant quantities of tritium. Safety considerations of support systems and potential effects of magnetic fields must also be included. Existing Safety Management techniques, safety standards, and criteria for operation of high energy accelerators provide considerable guidance. These must, however, be reviewed to determine their appropriate use for safe operation of a very large, tritium-producing accelerator. New or revised safety standards may be required to establish and maintain the safe operating-envelope. The goal will be to develop a set of tailored standards and criteria that provide a reasonable operational envelope and assure adequate public, worker, and environmental safety. The generation of an appropriate set of safety standards and criteria will include several activities. One activity will involve evaluation of proposed facility designs to determine possible hazards. Another activity will involve a detailed review of existing accelerator safety management systems. A third activity will involve the review of operating histories of existing facilities. Facilities approximating the characteristics of the anticipated tritium production facility will be considered. Following completion of these activities a proposed Safety Management System and criteria for application to these facilities will be drafted. The need for new analytical methods and for additional safety standards will be identified. The draft document will then be reviewed and revised to establish the standards and criteria within the appropriate Department of Energy framework

Environmental survey near a decommissioning nuclear facility: example of tritium monitoring in the terrestrial environment of Creys-Malville - Environmental survey near a nuclear facility undergoing decommissioning: example of tritium monitoring in the terrestrial environment of Creys-Malville

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boyer, C.; Gontier, G.; Chauveau, J.L. [EDF CIDEN, Division Environnement, 154 Avenue Thiers, 69458 Lyon (France); Pourcelot, L.; Roussel-Debet, S.; Cossonnet, P.C. [IRSN, LERCM Cadarache and LMRE Orsay (France); Jean-Baptiste, P. [LSCE, UMR 1572-CEA/CNRS/UVQS, 91198 Gif sur Yvette (France)

2014-07-01

and adapts it to the specific radionuclides generated by the decommissioning phase. Some results from the terrestrial monitoring of the decommissioning site of Creys-Malville are presented here. Data highlight the very weak influence of gaseous discharges during all the operating phases and the decommissioning of the facility. Since the beginning (1985) to the end of plant operation (1998), tritium detected in the terrestrial environment near the Creys-Malville site (some Bq.L{sup -1} to a few tens of Bq.L{sup -1}) is almost exclusively linked to the global fall-out of nuclear bomb tests. During decommissioning operations, most of the observed environmental values remain very close to the ambient levels measured in zones not influenced by radioactive releases from nuclear activities i.e. 1 to 10 Bq.L{sup -1} (depending on the nature of the samples analyzed). In connection with the specific decommissioning operations, a slight influence of discharges had been briefly observed in the terrestrial environment; the measured concentrations were from 1 to 18 Bq.L{sup -1} for free water tritium, and from 1 to 11 Bq.L{sup -1} for organically bound tritium. (authors)

Review of recent japanese activities on tritium accountability in fusion reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fukada, Satoshi, E-mail: sfukada@nucl.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Dept. Advanced Energy Engineering Science, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-Koen, Kasuga, 816-8580 (Japan); Oya, Yasuhisa [College of Science, Academic Institute, Shizuoka University, 836 Otani, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8529 (Japan); Hatano, Yuji [Hydrogen Isotope Research Center, Organization for Promotion Research, University of Toyama, 3190 Gofuku, Toyama 930-8555 (Japan)

2016-12-15

Highlights: • Review of Japanese tritium-safety research is given from several viewpoints. • The keywords are tritium accountability and self sufficiency. • Tritium-relating history, tritium facilities and legal regulation are introduced. - Abstract: After introduction of Japanese history or recent topics on tritium (T)-relating research and T-handling capacity in facilities or universities, present activities on T engineering research in Japan are summarized in short in terms of T accountability on safety. The term of safety includes wide processes from T production, assay, storing, confinement, transfer through safety handling finally to shipment of its waste. In order to achieve reliable operation of fusion reactors, several unit processes included in the T cycle of fusion reactors are investigated. Especially, the following recent advances are focused: T retention in plasma facing materials, emergency detritiation system including fire case, T leak through metal tube walls, oxide coating and water detritiation. Strict control, storing and accurate measurement are especially demanded for T accountability depending on various molecular species. Since kg-order T of vaporable radioisotope (RI) will be handled in a fuel cycle or breeding system of a fusion reactor, the accuracy of <0.1% is demanded far over the conventional technology status. Necessity to control T balance within legal restrictions is always kept in mind for operation of the future reactor.

Review of recent japanese activities on tritium accountability in fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukada, Satoshi; Oya, Yasuhisa; Hatano, Yuji

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Review of Japanese tritium-safety research is given from several viewpoints. • The keywords are tritium accountability and self sufficiency. • Tritium-relating history, tritium facilities and legal regulation are introduced. - Abstract: After introduction of Japanese history or recent topics on tritium (T)-relating research and T-handling capacity in facilities or universities, present activities on T engineering research in Japan are summarized in short in terms of T accountability on safety. The term of safety includes wide processes from T production, assay, storing, confinement, transfer through safety handling finally to shipment of its waste. In order to achieve reliable operation of fusion reactors, several unit processes included in the T cycle of fusion reactors are investigated. Especially, the following recent advances are focused: T retention in plasma facing materials, emergency detritiation system including fire case, T leak through metal tube walls, oxide coating and water detritiation. Strict control, storing and accurate measurement are especially demanded for T accountability depending on various molecular species. Since kg-order T of vaporable radioisotope (RI) will be handled in a fuel cycle or breeding system of a fusion reactor, the accuracy of <0.1% is demanded far over the conventional technology status. Necessity to control T balance within legal restrictions is always kept in mind for operation of the future reactor.

Modification and testing of the Sandia Laboratories Livermore tritium decontamination systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gildea, P.D.; Birnbaum, H.G.; Wall, W.R.

1978-08-01

Sandia Laboratories, Livermore, has put into operation a new facility, the Tritium Research Laboratory. The laboratory incorporates containment and cleanup facilities such that any tritium accidentally released is captured rather than vented to the atmosphere. This containment is achieved with hermetically sealed glove boxes that are connected on demand by manifolds to two central decontamination systems called the Gas Purification System (GPS) and the Vacuum Effluent Recovery System (VERS). The primary function of the GPS is to remove tritium and tritiated water vapor from the glove box atmosphere. The primary function of the VERS is to decontaminate the gas exhausted from the glove box pressure control systems and vacuum pumps in the building before venting the gas to the stack. Both of these systems are designed to remove tritium to the few parts per billion range. Acceptance tests at the manufacturer's plant and preoperational testing at Livermore demonstrated that the systems met their design specifications. After preoperational testing the Gas Purification System was modified to enhance the safety of maintanance operations. Both the Gas Purification System and the Vacuum Effluent Recovery System were performance tested with tritium. Results show that concentraion reduction factors (ratio of inlet to exhaust concentrations) much in excess of 1000 per pass have been achieved for both systems at inlet concentrations of 1 ppM or less

Modification and testing of the Sandia Laboratories Livermore tritium decontamination systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gildea, P.D.; Birnbaum, H.G.; Wall, W.R.

1979-01-01

Sandia Laboratories, Livermore, has put into operation a new facility, the Tritium Research Laboratory. The laboratory incorporates containment and cleanup facilities such that any tritium accidentally released is captured rather than vented to the atmosphere. This containment is achieved with hermetically sealed glove boxes that are connected on demand by manifolds to two central decontamination systems called the Gas Purification System (GPS) and the Vacuum Effluent Recovery System (VERS). The primary function of the GPS is to remove tritium and tritiated water vapor from the glove box atmosphere. The primary function of the VERS is to decontaminate the gas exhausted from the glove box pressure control systems and vacuum pumps in the building before venting the gas to the stack. Both of these systems are designed to remove tritium to the few parts per billion range. Acceptance tests at the manufacturer's plant and preoperational testing at Livermore demonstrated that the systems met their design specifications. After preoperational testing the Gas Purification System was modified to enhance the safety of maintanance operations. Both the Gas Purification System and the Vacuum Effluent Recovery System were performance tested with tritium. Results show that concentration reduction factors (ratio of inlet to exhaust concentrations) much in excess of 1000 per pass have been achieved for both systems at inlet concentrations of 1 ppM or less

Canadian inter-laboratory organically bound tritium (OBT) analysis exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, S B; Olfert, J; Baglan, N; St-Amant, N; Carter, B; Clark, I; Bucur, C

2015-12-01

Tritium emissions are one of the main concerns with regard to CANDU reactors and Canadian nuclear facilities. After the Fukushima accident, the Canadian Nuclear Regulatory Commission suggested that models used in risk assessment of Canadian nuclear facilities be firmly based on measured data. Procedures for measurement of tritium as HTO (tritiated water) are well established, but there are no standard methods and certified reference materials for measurement of organically bound tritium (OBT) in environmental samples. This paper describes and discusses an inter-laboratory comparison study in which OBT in three different dried environmental samples (fish, Swiss chard and potato) was measured to evaluate OBT analysis methods currently used by CANDU Owners Group (COG) members. The variations in the measured OBT activity concentrations between all laboratories were less than approximately 20%, with a total uncertainty between 11 and 17%. Based on the results using the dried samples, the current OBT analysis methods for combustion, distillation and counting are generally acceptable. However, a complete consensus OBT analysis methodology with respect to freeze-drying, rinsing, combustion, distillation and counting is required. Also, an exercise using low-level tritium samples (less than 100 Bq/L or 20 Bq/kg-fresh) would be useful in the near future to more fully evaluate the current OBT analysis methods. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potential role of the Fast Flux Test Facility and the advanced test reactor in the U.S. tritium production system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dautel, W.A.

1996-01-01

The Department of Energy is currently engaged in a dual-track strategy to develop an accelerator and a commercial light water reactor (CLWR) as potential sources of tritium supply. New analysis of the production capabilities of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) at the Hanford Site argues for considering its inclusion in the tritium supply,system. The use of the FFTF (alone or together with the Advanced Test Reactor [ATR] at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory) as an integral part of,a tritium production system would help (1) ensure supply by 2005, (2) provide additional time to resolve institutional and technical issues associated with the- dual-track strategy, and (3) reduce discounted total life-cycle'costs and near-tenn annual expenditures for accelerator-based systems. The FFRF would also provide a way to get an early start.on dispositioning surplus weapons-usable plutonium as well as provide a source of medical isotopes. Challenges Associated With the Dual-Track Strategy The Department's purchase of either a commercial reactor or reactor irradiation services faces challenging institutional issues associated with converting civilian reactors to defense uses. In addition, while the technical capabilities of the individual components of the accelerator have been proven, the entire system needs to be demonstrated and scaled upward to ensure that the components work together 1548 as a complete production system. These challenges create uncertainty over the ability of the du2a-track strategy to provide an assured tritium supply source by 2005. Because the earliest the accelerator could come on line is 2007, it would have to operate at maximum capacity for the first few years to regenerate the reserves lost through radioactive decay after 2005

Remotely replaceable fuel and feed nozzles for the new waste calcining facility calciner vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fletcher, R.D.; Carter, J.A.; May, K.W.

1978-01-01

The development and testing of remotely replaceable fuel and feed nozzles for calcination of liquid radioactive wastes in the calciner vessel of the New Waste Calcining Facility being built at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory is described. A complete fuel nozzle assembly was fabricated and tested at the Remote Maintenance Development Facility to evolve design refinements, identify required support equipment, and develop handling techniques. The design also provided for remote replacement of the nozzle support carriage and adjacent feed and fuel pipe loops using two pairs of master-slave manipulators

Permeability of protective coatings to tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, J.M.

1987-10-01

The permeability of four protective coatings to tritium gas and tritiated water was investigated. The coatings, including two epoxies, one vinyl and one urethane, were selected for their suitability in CANDU plant service in Ontario Hydro. Sorption rates of tritium gas into the coatings were considerably larger than for tritiated water, by as much as three to four orders of magnitude. However, as a result of the very large solubility of tritiated water in the coatings, the overall permeability to tritium gas and tritiated water are comparable, being somewhat larger for HTO. Marked differences were also evident among the four coatings, the vinyl proving to be unique in behaviour and morphology. Because of a highly porous surface structure water condensation takes place at high relative humidities, leading to an abnormally high retention of free water. Desorption rates from the four coatings were otherwise quite similar. Of practical importance was the observation that more effective desorption of tritiated water could be carried out at relatively high humidities, in this case 60%. It was believed that isotopic exchange was responsible for this phenomenon. It appears that epoxy coatings having a high pigment-to-binder ratio are most suited for coating concrete in tritium handling facilities

Spatial distribution of tritium in the Rawatbhata Rajasthan site environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

GilI, Rajpal; Tiwari, S.N.; Gocher, A.K.; Ravi, P.M.; Tripathi, R.M.

2014-01-01

Tritium is one of the most environmentally mobile radionuclides and hence has high potential for migration into the different compartments of environment. Tritium from nuclear facilities at RAPS site is released into the environment through 93 m and 100 m high stack mainly as tritiated water (HTO). The released tritium undergoes dilution and dispersion and then follows the ecological pathway of water molecule. Environmental Survey Laboratory of Health Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), located at Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) site is continuously monitoring the concentration of tritium in the environment to ensure the public safety. Atmospheric tritium activity during the period (2009-2013) was measured regularly around Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS). Data collected showed a large variation of H-3 concentration in air fluctuating in the range of 0.43 - 5.80 Bq.m -3 at site boundary of 1.6 km. This paper presents the result of analyses of tritium in atmospheric environment covering an area up to 20 km radius around RAPS site. Large number of air moisture samples were collected around the RAPS site, for estimating tritium in atmospheric environment to ascertain the atmospheric dispersion and computation of radiation dose to the public

Simulation of tritium behavior after intended tritium release in ventilated room

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwai, Yasunori; Hayashi, Takumi; Yamanishi, Toshihiko; Kobayashi, Kazuhiro; Nishi, Masataka

2001-01-01

At the Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), Caisson Assembly for Tritium Safety study (CATS) with 12 m 3 of large airtight vessel (Caisson) was fabricated for confirmation and enhancement of fusion reactor safety to estimate tritium behavior in the case where a tritium leak event should happen. One of the principal objectives of the present studies is the establishment of simulation method to predict the tritium behavior after the tritium leak event should happen in a ventilated room. The RNG model was found to be valid for eddy flow calculation in the 50 m 3 /h ventilated Caisson with acceptable engineering precision. The calculated initial and removal tritium concentration histories after intended tritium release were consistent with the experimental observations in the 50 m 3 /h ventilated Caisson. It is found that the flow near a wall plays an important role for the tritium transport in the ventilated room. On the other hand, tritium behavior intentionally released in the 3,000 m 3 of tritium handling room was investigated experimentally under a US-Japan collaboration. The tritium concentration history calculated with the same method was consistent with the experimental observations, which proves that the present developed method can be applied to the actual scale of tritium handling room. (author)

Development of an on-line tritium monitor with gamma-ray rejection and energy discrimination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, S.A.; Yule, T.J.; Bennett, E.F.

1981-01-01

With the prospect of large fusion facilities coming on-line in the not-too-distant future, it is becoming increasingly important that an on-line tritium-monitoring system be developed which is capable of detecting small amounts of released tritium. Since tritium oxide is some 400 times as hazardous as elemental tritium, it is necessary to distinguish between the two in order to properly evaluate the hazard. Presently available on-line instrumentation has marginal sensitivity, is unable to distinguish between the two forms of tritium, and has poor discrimination against background gamma radiation and air activation products. The objective of our program is to develop a monitoring system with the capability of distinguishing between the two forms of tritium, detecting tritium with a sensitivity of a fraction of an MPC/sub a/ (1 MPC/sub a/ = 5. x 10 - 6 Ci/M 3 ) for the oxide, and discriminating against gamma activity and airborne activity other than tritium

Safety and environmental advantages of using tritium-lean targets for inertial fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arzeni, S.; Latkowski, J. F.; Logan, B. G.; Meier, W. R.; Moir, R. W.; Perkins, L. J.; Sanz, J.

1999-01-01

While traditional inertial fusion energy target designs typically use equimolar portions of deuterium and tritium and have areal densities (ρr) of ∼ 3 g/cm 2 , significant safety and environmental (S and E) advantages may be obtained through the use of high-density (ρr ∼ 10 g/cm 2 ) targets with tritium components as low as 0.5%. Such targets would absorb much of the neutron energy within the target and could be self-sufficient from a tritium breeding point of view. Tritium self-sufficiency within the target would free target chamber designers from the need to use lithium-bearing blanket materials, while low inventories within each target would translate into low inventories in target fabrication facilities. Absorption of much of the neutron energy within the target, the extremely low tritium inventories, and the greatly moderated neutron spectrum, make ''tritium-lean'' targets appear quite attractive from an S and E perspective

Tritium depth profiling by AMS in carbon samples from fusion experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedrich, M.; Pilz, W.; Sun, G.; Behrisch, R.; Garcia-Rosales, C.

2001-01-01

Tritium depth profiling measurements by accelerator mass spectrometry have been performed at a facility installed at the Rossendorf 3 MV Tandetron. In order to achieve an uniform erosion at the target surface inside of a commercial Cs ion sputtering source and to avoid edge effects, the samples were mechanically scanned inside of a commercial Cs sputter ion source. The sputtered negative ions were mass analysed by the injection magnet of the Tandetron. The tritium ions are counted after the acceleration with semiconductor detectors. Depth profiles have been measured for carbon samples which had been exposed to the plasma at the first wall of the Garching fusion experiment ASDEX-Upgrade and from the European fusion experiment JET, Culham/UK. A dedicated AMS facility with an air-insulated 100 kV tandem accelerator for depth profiling measurements at samples with high tritium concentration is under construction. First results of test operation are presented. (orig.)

Release of tritium from fuel and collection for storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burger, L.L.; Trevorrow, L.E.

1976-04-01

Recent work is reviewed on the technology that has been suggested as applicable to collection and storage of tritium in anticipation of the necessity of that course of action. Collection technology and procedures must be adapted to the tritium-bearing effluent and to the facility from which it emerges. Therefore, this discussion of tritium collection technology includes some information on the processes from which release is expected to occur, the amounts, the nature of the effluent media, and the form in which tritium appears. Recent work on collection and storage concepts has explored, both by experimentation and by feasibility analyses, the operations generally aimed at producing recycle, collection, or storage of tritium from these streams. Storage concepts aimed specifically at tritium involve plans to store volumes ranging from that of the entire effluent stream to only that of a small volume of a concentrate. Decisions between storage of unconcentrated streams and storage of concentrates are expected to be made largely by weighing the cost of storage space against the cost of concentration. The storage of tritium concentrate requires the selection of a form of tritium possessing physical and chemical properties appropriate for the expected storage conditions. This selection of an appropriate storage form has occupied a major portion of recent work concerned with tritium storage concepts. In summary, within the context of present regulations and expected amounts of waste tritium; this waste can be disposed of by dilution and dispersal to the environment. In the future, however, more restrictive regulations might be introduced that could be satisfied only by some collection and storage operations. Technology for this practice is not now available, and the present discussion reviews recent activities devoted to its development

An improved air-supplied plastic suit for protection against tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiernicki, C.

1987-01-01

A newly developed Saran/CPE plastic suit material is described which offers significantly better protection against HTO penetration and permeation than the 12-mil PVC currently used at SRP and most other DOE and commercial sites where tritium and HTO are exposure hazards. Tritium breakthrough time is an important parameter when evaluating the applicability of protective clothing; previously published tritium permeation tests did not measure this parameter. Future studies should quantify steady-state permeation rate and breakthrough time to more fully evaluate potential tritium protective clothing. Saran/CPE has successfully been fabricated into a plastic suit because, in addition to its superior tritium resistance, it has all the characteristics required to construct a rugged, dependable, and comfortable suit. The use of the Saran/CPE suit at SRP reactor and tritium production facilities should be a major contribution to the site As Low As Reasonably Achievable program. Both Saran/CPE have demonstrated excellent resistance to a wide range of chemical contaminants; therefore, this suit material may have applications in the general chemical industry and hazardous waste site cleanup operations. 4 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

Tritium radiobiology research in the US DOE program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carsten, A.L.

1986-01-01

The history of the original US Atomic Energy Commission, its replacement, the Energy Research and Development Administration, and the present Department of Energy's interest and sponsorship of tritium radiobiology is reviewed beginning in 1971 and continuing through 1986. In particular, the four remaining US Department of Energy, Division of Health and Environmental Research programs are described in some detail

PDRD (SR13046) TRITIUM PRODUCTION FINAL REPORT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, P.; Sheetz, S.

2013-09-30

Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) ran a Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) model of a basic SFR for comparison. A 600MWth core surrounded by a lithium blanket produced approximately 1,000 grams of tritium annually with a 13% enriched, 6 year core. This is similar results to a mid-1990’s study where the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), a 400 MWth reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), could produce about 1,000 grams with an external lithium target. Normalized to the LWRs values, comparative tritium production for an SFR could be approximately 0.31 g-T/kg LEU.

Development of a new monitor for tritium in air model TAM-II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Bin; Yang Hailan; Wen Xuelian; Zhao Yi; Yang Huaiyuan

2001-01-01

The author introduces development of a real-time continuous tritium monitor model TAM-II. The detector of the instrument is comprised of four geometric-symmetry open wall ionization chamber with the effective volume of 2 L, which enables to minimize the remember effect of the ionization chamber due to contamination by the monitored tritium. It is γ background compensation rate is better than 97% in almost all direction. The detector is equipped with a FET static electrometer working in micro-current integration mode. The measurement process of the tritium monitor can be controlled automatically by a micro-processor sheet, such as automatic range changing, data displaying and storing, and data processing. The measuring range is 6 - 10 6 Bq/L. It is especially application for monitoring tritium in off-gas effluence from glove-box or stack of tritium facility and laboratory

Design and test about de tritium system to filling tritium glove box

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei, Jiarong; Du, Yang; Yang, Yong

2008-01-01

In order to deal tritium permeated from inflating tritium system at the scene of inflating tritium, dealing waste tritium gas system was designed according to demand and action of dealing waste tritium gas from inflating tritium, and the data of character and volume about appliance of catalyst reaction and drying agent was calculated. Through the test at the scene of inflating tritium, it is result that dealing waste tritium gas system's efficiency reaches above 85% average in circulatory system, so that it can be used in practice extensively. (author)

Construction and operation of replacement hazardous waste handling facility at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-09-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA), DOE/EA-0423, for the construction and operation of a replacement hazardous waste handling facility (HWHF) and decontamination of the existing HWHF at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), Berkeley, California. The proposed facility would replace several older buildings and cargo containers currently being used for waste handling activities and consolidate the LBL's existing waste handling activities in one location. The nature of the waste handling activities and the waste volume and characteristics would not change as a result of construction of the new facility. Based on the analysis in the EA, DOE has determined that the proposed action would not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, 42 USC. 4321 et seq. Therefore, an environmental impact statement is not required

Tritium gettering from air with hydrogen uranyl phosphate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souers, P.C.; Uribe, F.S.; Stevens, C.G.; Tsugawa, T.T.

1985-08-01

The managers of all tritium facilities now worry about their emissions into the atmosphere. The only method for cleaning tritium out of air is to catalyze the formation of tritiated water which is adsorbed, along with the overwhelming bulk of naturally occurring water vapor, on a zeolite molecular sieve. This method generally costs several million dollars for a small system, because of the necessary steel ducting, compressors and holding tanks. We have long had the dream of finding another getter that might be cheaper to use and would, hopefully, not make tritiated water (HTO). In a previous paper, we discovered that hydrogen uranyl phosphate (HUP, with the formula HUO 2 PO 4 x 4H 2 O) getters 1 ppM of tritium gas out of moist air. This makes HUP the first known ''direct'' tritium getter to work in air. However, the tritium enters a hydroxyl network within the HUP, so that it is effectively still in ''water'' form within the HUP. Worse yet, we found up to 10% tritiated water formed during the previous gettering experiments. HUP is unusual in possessing the exceptionally low vapor pressure of 0.6 torr water vapor at 298 0 K. This allows HUP to be used in fairly dry environments. 14 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

Design of a deuterium and tritium-ablator shock ignition target for the National Ignition Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terry, Matthew R.; Perkins, L. John; Sepke, Scott M.

2012-01-01

Shock ignition presents a viable path to ignition and high gain on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). In this paper, we describe the development of the 1D design of 0.5 MJ class, all-deuterium and tritium (fuel and ablator) shock ignition target that should be reasonably robust to Rayleigh-Taylor fluid instabilities, mistiming, and hot electron preheat. The target assumes “day one” NIF hardware and produces a yield of 31 MJ with reasonable allowances for laser backscatter, absorption efficiency, and polar drive power variation. The energetics of polar drive laser absorption require a beam configuration with half of the NIF quads dedicated to launching the ignitor shock, while the remaining quads drive the target compression. Hydrodynamic scaling of the target suggests that gains of 75 and yields 70 MJ may be possible.

Tritium Research Laboratory safety analysis report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wright, D.A.

1979-03-01

Design and operational philosophy has been evolved to keep radiation exposures to personnel and radiation releases to the environment as low as reasonably achievable. Each experiment will be doubly contained in a glove box and will be limited to 10 grams of tritium gas. Specially designed solid-hydride storage beds may be used to store temporarily up to 25 grams of tritium in the form of tritides. To evaluate possible risks to the public or the environment, a review of the Sandia Laboratories Livermore (SLL) site was carried out. Considered were location, population, land use, meteorology, hydrology, geology, and seismology. The risks and the extent of damage to the TRL and vital systems were evaluated for flooding, lightning, severe winds, earthquakes, explosions, and fires. All of the natural phenomena and human error accidents were considered credible, although the extent of potential damage varied. However, rather than address the myriad of specific individual consequences of each accident scenario, a worst-case tritium release caused indirectly by an unspecified natural phenomenon or human error was evaluated. The maximum credible radiological accident is postulated to result from the release of the maximum quantity of gas from one experiment. Thus 10 grams of tritium gas was used in the analysis to conservatively estimate the maximum whole-body dose of 1 rem at the site boundary and a maximum population dose of 600 man-rem. Accidental release of this amount of tritium implies simultaneous failure of two doubly contained systems, an occurrence considered not credible. Nuclear criticality is impossible in this facility. Based upon the analyses performed for this report, we conclude that the Tritium Research Laboratory can be operated without undue risk to employees, the general public, or the environment. (ERB)

Tritium Research Laboratory safety analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, D.A.

1979-03-01

Design and operational philosophy has been evolved to keep radiation exposures to personnel and radiation releases to the environment as low as reasonably achievable. Each experiment will be doubly contained in a glove box and will be limited to 10 grams of tritium gas. Specially designed solid-hydride storage beds may be used to store temporarily up to 25 grams of tritium in the form of tritides. To evaluate possible risks to the public or the environment, a review of the Sandia Laboratories Livermore (SLL) site was carried out. Considered were location, population, land use, meteorology, hydrology, geology, and seismology. The risks and the extent of damage to the TRL and vital systems were evaluated for flooding, lightning, severe winds, earthquakes, explosions, and fires. All of the natural phenomena and human error accidents were considered credible, although the extent of potential damage varied. However, rather than address the myriad of specific individual consequences of each accident scenario, a worst-case tritium release caused indirectly by an unspecified natural phenomenon or human error was evaluated. The maximum credible radiological accident is postulated to result from the release of the maximum quantity of gas from one experiment. Thus 10 grams of tritium gas was used in the analysis to conservatively estimate the maximum whole-body dose of 1 rem at the site boundary and a maximum population dose of 600 man-rem. Accidental release of this amount of tritium implies simultaneous failure of two doubly contained systems, an occurrence considered not credible. Nuclear criticality is impossible in this facility. Based upon the analyses performed for this report, we conclude that the Tritium Research Laboratory can be operated without undue risk to employees, the general public, or the environment

Evaluation of retention and disposal options for tritium in fuel reprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grimes, W.R.; Hampson, D.C.; Larkin, D.J.; Skolrud, J.O.; Benjamin, R.W.

1982-08-01

Five options were evaluated as means of retaining tritium released from light-water reactor or fast breeder reactor fuel during the head-end steps of a typical Purex reprocessing scheme. Cost estimates for these options were compared with a base case in which no retention of tritium within the facility was obtained. Costs were also estimated for a variety of disposal methods of the retained tritium. The disposal costs were combined with the retention costs to yield total costs (capital plus operating) for retention and disposal of tritium under the conditions envisioned. The above costs were converted to an annual basis and to a dollars per curie retained basis. This then was used to estimate the cost in dollars per man-rem saved by retaining the tritium. Only the options that used the least expensive disposal costs could approach the $1000/man-rem cost used as a guide by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Tritium-surface interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirkaldy, J.S.

1983-06-01

The report deals broadly with tritium-surface interactions as they relate to a fusion power reactor enterprise, viz., the vacuum chamber, first wall, peripherals, pumping, fuel recycling, isotope separation, repair and maintenance, decontamination and safety. The main emphasis is on plasma-surface interactions and the selection of materials for fusion chamber duty. A comprehensive review of the international (particularly U.S.) research and development is presented based upon a literature review (about 1 000 reports and papers) and upon visits to key laboratories, Sandia, Albuquerque, Sandia, Livermore and EGβG Idaho. An inventory of Canadian expertise and facilities for RβD on tritium-surface interactions is also presented. A number of proposals are made for the direction of an optimal Canadian RβD program, emphasizing the importance of building on strength in both the technological and fundamental areas. A compendium of specific projects and project areas is presented dealing primarily with plasma-wall interactions and permeation, anti-permeation materials and surfaces and health, safety and environmental considerations. Potential areas of industrial spinoff are identified

ZEPHYR tritium system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swansiger, W.; Andelfinger, C.; Buchelt, E.; Fink, J.; Sandmann, W.; Stimmelmayr, A.; Wegmann, H.G.; Weichselgartner, H.

1982-04-01

The ignition experiment ZEPHYR will need tritium as an essential component of the fuel. The ZEPHYR Tritium Systems are designed as to recycle the fuel directly at the experiment. An amount of tritium, which is significantly below the total throughput, for example 10 5 Ci will be stored in uranium getters and introduced into the torus by a specially designed injection system. The torus vacuum system operates with tritium-tight turbomolecular pumps and multi-stage roots pumps in order to extract and store the spent fuel in intermediate storage tanks at atmospheric pressure. A second high vacuum system, similar in design, serves as to evacuate the huge containments of the neutral injection system. The spent fuel will be purified and subsequently processed by an isotope separation system in which the species D 2 , DT and T 2 will be recovered for further use. This isotope separation will be achieved by a preparative gaschromatographic process. All components of the tritium systems will be installed within gloveboxes which are located in a special tritium handling room. The atmospheres of the gloveboxes and of the tritium rooms are controlled by a tritium monitor system. In the case of a tritium release - during normal operation as well as during an accident - these atmospheres become processed by efficient tritium absorption systems. All ZEPHYR tritium handling systems are designed as to minimize the quantity of tritium released to the environment, so that the stringent German laws on radiological protection are satisfied. (orig.)

Tritium releases, birth defects and infant deaths

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The AECB has published a report 'Tritium releases from the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station and Birth Defects and Infant Mortality in Nearby Communities 1971-1988' (report number INFO-0401). This presents the results of a detailed analysis of deaths and birth defects occurring in infants born to mothers living in the area (25 Km radius) of the Pickering nuclear power plant, over an 18-year period. The analysis looked at the frequency of these defects and deaths in comparison to the general rate for Ontario, and also in relation to airborne and waterborne releases of tritium from the power plant. The overall conclusion was that the rates of infant death and birth defects were generally not higher in the study population than in all of Ontario. There was no prevalent relationship between these deaths and defects and tritium releases measured either at the power plant or by ground monitoring stations t some distance from the facility

Tritium : health risks, regulatory issues and the nuclear future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambers, D. B.; Garva, A.

2010-10-01

The refurbishment of existing reactors and proposed new build reactors in Canada has resulted in increased public opposition to nuclear power. This opposition has been fuelled by information provided to local groups by highly motivated national and international anti-nuclear groups who foster overstated and often incorrect views on the risks of low doses of radiation. Over the past several years, there has been increased scientific and public interest in the risks of low exposures to tritium. Scientific aspects which have received considerable attention include amongst others, behaviour in the environment, the possibility of increasing the relative biological effectiveness for tritium, the importance of organically bound tritium, and tritium dosimetry. In Canada at least, the perception of harm from exposures to low levels of tritium has been enhanced in the public mind by a proposal in one Province to lower the drinking water standard for tritium from 7,000 Bq/L to 20 Bq/L, which certain non-governmental organizations use to suggest the risks have been greatly underestimated in the past. Actually regulatory environment, the approval of local public of often a requirement for licensing a nuclear facility and thus it is important to ensure that correct information is not only available but available in a technically correct but easily understood form. This paper reviews the currently available scientific information on the risks from exposure to tritium and provides a context of the implications for regulatory actions and communications with the public. (Author)

Tritium: An analysis of key environmental and dosimetric questions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Till, J.E.; Meyer, H.R.; Etnier, E.L.; Bomar, E.S.; Gentry, R.D.; Killough, G.G.; Rohwer, P.S.; Tennery, V.J.; Travis, C.C.

1980-05-01

This document summarizes new theoretical and experimental data that may affect the assessment of environmental releases of tritium and analyzes the significance of this information in terms of the dose to man. Calculated doses resulting from tritium releases to the environment are linearly dependent upon the quality factor chosen for tritium beta radiation. A reevaluation of the tritium quality factor by the ICRP is needed; a value of 1.7 would seem to be more justifiable than the old 1.0 value. A new exposure model is proposed, based primarily upon the approach recommended by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. Employing a /open quotes/typical/close quotes/ LMFBR reprocessing facility source term, a /open quotes/base case/close quotes/ dose commitment to total body (for a maximally exposed individual) was calculated to be 4.0 /times/ 10/sup /minus/2/ mSv, with 3.2 /times/ 10/sup /minus// mSv of the dose due to intake of tritium. The study analyzes models which exist for evaluating the buildup of global releases of tritium from man-made sources. Scenarios for the release of man-made tritium to the environment and prediction of collective dose commitment to future generations suggest that the dose from nuclear weapons testing will be less than that from nuclear energy even though the weapons source term is greater than that for any of our energy scenarios

Potential role of the Fast Flux Test Facility and the advanced test reactor in the U.S. tritium production system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dautel, W.A.

1996-10-01

The Deparunent of Energy is currently engaged in a dual-track strategy to develop an accelerator and a conunercial light water reactor (CLWR) as potential sources of tritium supply. New analysis of the production capabilities of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) at the Hanford Site argues for considering its inclusion in the tritium supply,system. The use of the FFTF (alone or together with the Advanced Test Reactor [ATR] at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory) as an integral part of,a tritium production system would help (1) ensure supply by 2005, (2) provide additional time to resolve institutional and technical issues associated with the- dual-track strategy, and (3) reduce discounted total life-cycle`costs and near-tenn annual expenditures for accelerator-based systems. The FFRF would also provide a way to get an early start.on dispositioning surplus weapons-usable plutonium as well as provide a source of medical isotopes. Challenges Associated With the Dual-Track Strategy The Departinent`s purchase of either a commercial reactor or reactor irradiation services faces challenging institutional issues associated with converting civilian reactors to defense uses. In addition, while the technical capabilities of the individual components of the accelerator have been proven, the entire system needs to be demonstrated and scaled upward to ensure that the components work toge ther 1548 as a complete production system. These challenges create uncertainty over the ability of the du2a-track strategy to provide an assured tritium supply source by 2005. Because the earliest the accelerator could come on line is 2007, it would have to operate at maximum capacity for the first few years to regenerate the reserves lost through radioactive decay aftei 2005.

Calibration of an experimental model of tritium storage bed designed for 'in situ' accountability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bidica, Nicolae; Stefanescu, Ioan; Bucur, Ciprian; Bulubasa, Gheorghe; Deaconu, Mariea

2009-01-01

Full text: Objectives: Tritium accountancy of the storage beds in tritium facilities is an important issue for tritium inventory control. The purpose of our work was to perform calibration of an experimental model of tritium storage bed with a special design, using electric heaters to simulate tritium decay, and to evaluate the detection limit of the accountancy method. The objective of this paper is to present an experimental method used for calibration of the storage bed and the experimental results consisting of calibration curves and detection limit. Our method is based on a 'self-assaying' tritium storage bed. The basic characteristics of the design of our storage bed consists, in principle, of a uniform distribution of the storage material on several copper thin fins (in order to obtain a uniform temperature field inside the bed), an electrical heat source to simulate the tritium decay heat, a system of thermocouples for measuring the temperature field inside the bed, and good thermal isolation of the bed from the external environment. Within this design of the tritium storage bed, the tritium accounting method is based on determining the decay heat of tritium by measuring the temperature increase of the isolated storage bed. Experimental procedure consisted in measuring of temperature field inside the bed for few values of the power injected with the aid of electrical heat source. Data have been collected for few hours and the temperature increase rate was determined for each value of the power injected. Graphical representation of temperature rise versus injected powers was obtained. This accounting method of tritium inventory stored as metal tritide is a reliable solution for in-situ tritium accountability in a tritium handling facility. Several improvements can be done regarding the design of the storage bed in order to improve the measurement accuracy and to obtain a lower detection limit as for instance use of more accurate thermocouples or special

Tritium assay of Li2O pellets in the LBM/LOTUS experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quanci, J.; Azam, S.; Bertone, P.

1986-01-01

One of the objectives of the Lithium Blanket Module (LBM) program is to test the ability of advanced neutronics codes to model the tritium breeding characteristics of a fusion blanket exposed to a toroidal fusion neutron source. The LBM consists of over 20,000 cylindrical lithium oxide pellets and numerous diagnostic pellets and wafers. The LBM has been irradiated at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) LOTUS facility with a Haefely sealed neutron generator that gives a point deuterium-tritium neutron source up to 5 x 10 12 14-MeV n/s. Both Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL) and EPFL assayed the tritium bred at various positions in the LBM. EPFL employed a dissolution technique while PPPL recovered the tritium by a thermal extraction method

Status and practicality of detritiation and tritium production strategies for environmental remediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fulbright, H.H.; Schwirian-Spann, A.L.; Brunt, V. van; Jerome, K.M.; Looney, B.B.

1996-01-01

Operation of nuclear facilities throughout the world generates wastewater, groundwater and surface water contaminated with tritium. Because of a commitment to minimize radiation exposures to ''levels as low as reasonably achievable'', the US Department of Energy supports development of tritium isotope separation technologies. Also, DOE periodically documents the status and potential viability of alternative tritium treatment technologies and management strategies. The specific objectives of the current effort are to evaluate practical engineering issues, technology acceptability issues, and costs for realistic tritium treatment scenarios. A unique feature of the assessment is that the portfolio of options was expanded to include various management strategies rather than only evaluating detritiation technologies. The ultimate purpose of this effort is to assist Environmental Restoration and its support organizations in allocating future investments

Thermal neutron calibration of a tritium extraction facility using the 6Li(n,t)4He/197Au(n,γ)198Au cross section ratio for standardization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bretscher, M.M.; Smith, D.L.

1980-08-01

Absolute tritium activities in a neutron-activated metallic lithium samples have been measured by liquid scintillation methods to provide data needed for the determination of capture-to-fission ratios in fast breeder reactor spectra and for recent measurements of the 7 Li(n,n't) 4 He cross section. The tritium extraction facility used for all these experiments has now been calibrated by measuring the 6 Li(n,t) 4 He/ 197 Au/n,γ) 198 Au activity ratio for thermal neutrons and comparing the result with the well-known cross sections. The calculated-to-measured activity ratio was found to be 1.033 +- 0.018. 2 figures, 20 tables

Development of New Tritium Labelling Methods for Peptides & Investigation of Guest-Host Mediated Electrocyclization and Sigma-Tropic Rearrangement Reactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Martin Holst Friborg

The main parts of the work presented here is Part I; which have involved the installation of a Tritium Chemistry Facility for the synthesis of radiolabelled compounds with tritium, and Part II; the development of new tritium labelling methods for peptides. The intention of Part I is to supply bac...

Study of Tritium Behavior in Cement Paste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takata, H.; Motoshima, T.; Satake, S.; Nishikawa, M.

2005-01-01

The concrete materials are used as the partition wall of the tritium handling facilities. It is important to grasp the tritium behavior in the concrete wall for radiation safety. It is considered in this study that the surface water on the concrete materials consists of physically adsorbed water, chemically adsorbed water and structural water as in the case of porous adsorption materials. The adsorption capacity due to physically and chemically adsorption isotherms observed in this study shows that the amount of water adsorption on the cement paste is a quarter of the amount adsorbed onto the surface of activated alumina or molecular sieves 5A (MS-5A). It shows that concrete is easily contaminated with tritiated water

Monitoring and comparison of tritium content in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su Feng; Hua Wei; Zheng Chuancheng; Wang Xu; Wen Wanxin

2009-01-01

Objective: To ensure the health of staff engaged in tritium, the purpose of experiment is to find out a fast, convenient and reliable sample preparation and measurement methods for such routine monitoring. Methods: We use the conventional distillation decolorization and non-decoloration quenching correction methods dealing with urine sample, and then carried out the urine sample liquid scintillation measurements, statistical analysis between the two measurements. Results: By using above two different methods of sample pretreatment, the results that we measure tritium in urine sample are not obviously different in comparison. Conclusion: The above two different methods can be used for nuclear facilities staff and staff related to conventional tritium detection. However, non-decoloration quenching correction method is simpler and less in time and manpower than the conventional distillation method in operation. It is suitable for a large number of samples prepared, measured, and analyzed in a short period of time. (authors)

Sandia, California Tritium Research Laboratory transition and reutilization project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia, T.B. [Sandia National Lab., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1997-02-01

This paper describes a project within Sandia National Laboratory to convert the shut down Tritium Research Laboratory into a facility which could be reused within the laboratory complex. In the process of decommissioning and decontaminating the facility, the laboratory was able to save substantial financial resources by transferring much existing equipment to other DOE facilities, and then expeditiously implementing a decontamination program which has resulted in the building being converted into laboratory space for new lab programs. This project of facility reuse has been a significant financial benefit to the laboratory.

An electrical pulse hydride injector (EPHI) for reactor fueling and tritium handling applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azizov, E.A.; Kareev, Yu.A.; Savotkin, A.N.; Frunze, V.V.; Penzhorn, R.D.; Glugla, M.

1995-01-01

An electrical pulse hydride injector (EPHI) has been developed for reactor fuelling as well as for handling of hydrogen isotopes in facilities operating with tritium. Salient features of the EPHI are the accuracy with which the fuelling rate can be controlled and the avoidance of a pressurized ballast. The generator is simple and allows for safe operation with tritium. (orig.)

Tritium release from lithium titanate, a low-activation tritium breeding material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopasz, J.P.; Miller, J.M.; Johnson, C.E.

1994-01-01

The goals for fusion power are to produce energy in as safe, economical, and environmentally benign a manner as possible. To ensure environmentally sound operation low-activation materials should be used where feasible. The ARIES Tokamak Reactor Study has based reactor designs on the concept of using low-activation materials throughout the fusion reactor. For the tritium breeding blanket, the choices for low activation tritium breeding materials are limited. Lithium titanate is an alternative low-activation ceramic material for use in the tritium breeding blanket. To date, very little work has been done on characterizing the tritium release for lithium titanate. We have thus performed laboratory studies of tritium release from irradiated lithium titanate. The results indicate that tritium is easily removed from lithium titanate at temperatures as low as 600 K. The method of titanate preparation was found to affect the tritium release, and the addition of 0.1% H 2 to the helium purge gas did not improve tritium recovery. ((orig.))

Organically bound tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diabate, S.; Strack, S.

1993-01-01

Tritium released into the environment may be incorporated into organic matter. Organically bound tritium in that case will show retention times in organisms that are considerably longer than those of tritiated water which has significant consequences on dose estimates. This article reviews the most important processes of organically bound tritium production and transport through food networks. Metabolic reactions in plant and animal organisms with tritiated water as a reaction partner are of great importance in this respect. The most important production process, in quantitative terms, is photosynthesis in green plants. The translocation of organically bound tritium from the leaves to edible parts of crop plants should be considered in models of organically bound tritium behavior. Organically bound tritium enters the human body on several pathways, either from the primary producers (vegetable food) or at a higher tropic level (animal food). Animal experiments have shown that the dose due to ingestion of organically bound tritium can be up to twice as high as a comparable intake of tritiated water in gaseous or liquid form. In the environment, organically bound tritium in plants and animals is often found to have higher specific tritium concentrations than tissue water. This is not due to some tritium enrichment effects but to the fact that no equilibrium conditions are reached under natural conditions. 66 refs

Tritium interactions with steel and construction materials in fusion devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickson, R.S.

1990-11-01

The literature on the interactions of tritium and tritiated water with metals, glasses, ceramics, concrete, paints, polymers and other organic materials is reviewed in this report Some of the processes affecting the amount of tritium found on various materials, such as permeation, sorption and the conversion of tritium found on various materials, such as permeation, sorption and conversion of elemental tritium (T 2 ) to tritiated water (HTO), are also briefly outlined. Tritium permeation in steels is fairly well understood, but effects of surface preparation and coatings on sorption are not yet clear. Permeation of T 2 into other metals with cleaned surfaces has been studied thoroughly at high temperature, and the effect of surface oxidation has also been explored. The room-temperature permeation rates of low-permeability metals with cleaned surfaces are much faster than indicated by high-temperature results, because of grain-boundary diffusion. Elastomers have been studied to a certain extent, but some mechanisms of interaction with tritium gas and sorbed tritium are unclear. Ceramics have some of the lowest sorption and permeation rates, but ceramic coatings on stainless steels do not lower permeation or tritium as effectively as coatings obtained by oxidation of the steel, probably because of cracking caused by differences in thermal expansion coefficient. Studies on concrete are in their early stages; they show that sorption of tritiated water on concrete is a major concern in cleanup of releases of elemental tritium into air in tritium handling facilities. Some of the codes for modelling releases and sorption of T 2 and HTO contain unproven assumptions about sorption and T 2 → HTO conversion. Several experimental programs will be required in order to clear up ambiguities in previous work and to determine parameters for materials which have not yet been investigated. (146 refs., tab.)

Tritium breeders and tritium permeation barrier coatings for fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamawaki, Michio; Kawamura, Hiroshi; Tsuchiya, Kunihiko

2004-01-01

A state of R and D of tritium breeders and tritium permeation barrier coatings for fusion reactor is explained. A list of candidate for tritium breeders consists of ceramics containing lithium, for examples, Li 2 O, Li 2 TiO 3 , Li 2 ZrO 3 , Li 4 SiO 4 and LiAlO 2 . The characteristics and form are described. The optimum particle size is from 1 to 10 μm. The production technologies of tritium breeders in the world are stated. Characteristics of ceramics with lithium as tritium breeders are compared. TiC, TiN/TiC, Al 2 O 3 and Cr 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -P 2 O 5 are tritium permeation barrier coating materials. These production methods and evaluation of characteristics are explained. (S.Y.)

Development on the cryogenic hydrogen isotopes distillation process technology for tritium removal (Final report)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sung, Ki Woung; Kim, Yong Ik; Na, Jeong Won; Ku, Jae Hyu; Kim, Kwang Rak; Jeong, Yong Won; Lee, Han Soo; Cho, Young Hyun; Ahn, Do Hee; Baek, Seung Woo; Kang, Hee Seok; Kim, You Sun

1995-12-01

While tritium exposure to the site-workers in Wolsung NPP is up to about 40% of the total personnel exposure, Ministry of Science and Technology has asked tritium removal facility for requirement of post heavy-water reactor construction. For the purpose of essential removal of tritium from the Wolsung heavy-water reactor system, a preliminary study on the cryogenic Ar-N 2 and H 2 -D 2 distillation process for development of liquid-phase catalytic exchange cryogenic hydrogen distillation process technology. The Ar-N 2 distillation column showed good performance with approximately 97% of final Ar concentration, and a computer simulation code was modified using these data. A simulation code developed for cryogenic hydrogen isotopes (H 2 , HD, D 2 , HT, DT, T 2 ) distillation column showed good performance after comparison with the result of a JAERI code, and a H 2 -D 2 distillation column was made. Gas chromatography for hydrogen isotopes analysis was established using a vacuum sampling loop, and a schematic diagram of H 2 -D 2 distillation process was suggested. A feasibility on modification of H 2 -D 2 distillation process control system using Laser Raman Spectroscopy was studied, and the consideration points for tritium storage system for Wolsung tritium removal facility was suggested. 31 tabs., 79 figs., 68 refs. (Author)

Status and practicality of detritiation and tritium production strategies for environmental remediation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fulbright, H.H.; Schwirian-Spann, A.L.; Brunt, V. van [Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (US); Jerome, K.M.; Looney, B.B. [Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (US)

1996-02-26

Operation of nuclear facilities throughout the world generates wastewater, groundwater and surface water contaminated with tritium. Because of a commitment to minimize radiation exposures to ''levels as low as reasonably achievable'', the US Department of Energy supports development of tritium isotope separation technologies. Also, DOE periodically documents the status and potential viability of alternative tritium treatment technologies and management strategies. The specific objectives of the current effort are to evaluate practical engineering issues, technology acceptability issues, and costs for realistic tritium treatment scenarios. A unique feature of the assessment is that the portfolio of options was expanded to include various management strategies rather than only evaluating detritiation technologies. The ultimate purpose of this effort is to assist Environmental Restoration and its support organizations in allocating future investments.

Studies on chemical phenomena of high concentration tritium water and organic compounds of tritium from viewpoint of the tritium confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamanishi, Toshihiko; Hayashi, Takumi; Iwai, Yasunori; Isobe, Kanetsugu; Hara, Masanori; Sugiyama, Takahiko; Okuno, Kenji

2009-01-01

As a part of the grant-in-aid for scientific research on priority areas entitled 'frontiers of tritium researches toward fusion reactors', coordinated two research programs on chemical phenomena of high concentration tritium water and organic compounds of tritium from view point of the tritium confinement have been conducted by the C01 team. The results are summarized as follows: (1) Chemical effects of the high concentration tritium water on stainless steels as structural materials of fusion reactors were investigated. Basic data on tritium behaviors at the metal-water interface and corrosion of metal in tritium water were obtained. (2) Development of the tritium confinement and extraction system for the circulating cooling water in the fusion reactor was studied. Improvement was obtained in the performance of a chemical exchange column and catalysts as major components of the water processing system. (J.P.N.)

Measurement assurance program for LSC analyses of tritium samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levi, G.D. Jr.; Clark, J.P.

1997-01-01

Liquid Scintillation Counting (LSC) for Tritium is done on 600 to 800 samples daily as part of a contamination control program at the Savannah River Site's Tritium Facilities. The tritium results from the LSCs are used: to release items as radiologically clean; to establish radiological control measures for workers; and to characterize waste. The following is a list of the sample matrices that are analyzed for tritium: filter paper smears, aqueous, oil, oily rags, ethylene glycol, ethyl alcohol, freon and mercury. Routine and special causes of variation in standards, counting equipment, environment, operators, counting times, samples, activity levels, etc. produce uncertainty in the LSC measurements. A comprehensive analytical process measurement assurance program such as JTIPMAP trademark has been implemented. The process measurement assurance program is being used to quantify and control many of the sources of variation and provide accurate estimates of the overall measurement uncertainty associated with the LSC measurements. The paper will describe LSC operations, process improvements, quality control and quality assurance programs along with future improvements associated with the implementation of the process measurement assurance program

Tritium in the aquatic environment and the associated risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tort, V.; Lefaure, C.; Linden, G.; Herbelet, J.

1997-01-01

Tritium, which is naturally present in the environment under tritiated water form, participates to the global water cycle. Today, nuclear fuel cycle facilities represent the main source of man-made tritium. The civilian production is estimated to be about 2 x 10 4 TBq/y, corresponding to a third of the natural production. Due to the fact that tritium releases are very local, concentrations in water higher than natural background (of 0.1 to 0.9 Bq/l for surface waters) are observed around these sites. Measurements in French aquatic environment reveal tritium concentration generally below 10 Bq/1 for underground waters and below 20 Bq/l for rivers. Nevertheless, some ground waters and some rivers presents locally a concentration up to a few hundreds of Bq/l. Moreover, measurements performed in France are generally coherent with monitoring in other European countries. Furthermore, the associated radiological impact for a potential individual taking all this water needs from a 100 Bq/l tritiated water source, was evaluated to about one thousandth of the natural background. (authors)

Fixation and long-term accumulation of tritium from tritiated water in an experimental aquatic environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strand, J.A.; Templeton, W.L.; Olson, P.A.

1975-01-01

The accumulation of tritium in selected freshwater biota was studied in a 10 m diameter concrete-lined pond at the Hanford Atomic Energy Works. Tritium as tritiated water was introduced for 8 months continuously in the replacement water at a concentration of μCi per liter; and water, biota (carp, clams, crayfish, periphyton, pondweed), and sediments were sampled on a predetermined schedule. The pond was maintained on uncontaminated replacement waters for an additional 8 months to determine the rate of elimination from the ecosystem. After the first day, tissue-free-water tritium in all biota approached an equilibrium with pond water. Final concentration factors of 0.89, 0.87, 0.82, 0.92, 0.77, 0.88 were calculated for carp, clam, crayfish, snail, periphyton, and pondweed. Although highly variable, analyses of pond sediments suggested an initial rapid uptake by the loose water fraction, attaining 0.30 of the pond equilibrium level in three days. There was evidence to suggest a secondary slower rate of uptake that accounted for 0.65 of the pond equilibrium level as determined at seven months. Tissue-bond tritium initially increased rapidly in all biota sampled, but slowed with time. Equilibrium conditions were not reached. Final concentration factors for carp, clam, crayfish, snail, periphyton, and pondweed were calculated to be 0.49, 0.10, 0.53, 0.54, 0.15, and 0.62. Analyses of sediments after removal of the loose water fraction revealed little or no organically bound tritium

Tritium inventories and tritium safety design principles for the fuel cycle of ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cristescu, I.R.; Cristescu, I.; Doerr, L.; Glugla, M.; Murdoch, D.

2007-01-01

Within the tritium plant of ITER a total inventory of about 2-3 kg will be necessary to operate the machine in the DT phase. During plasma operation, tritium will be distributed in the different sub-systems of the fuel cycle. A tool for tritium inventory evaluation within each sub-system of the fuel cycle is important with respect to both the process of licensing ITER and also for operation. It is very likely that measurements of total tritium inventories may not be possible for all sub-systems; however, tritium accounting may be achieved by modelling its hold-up within each sub-system and by validating these models in real-time against the monitored flows and tritium streams between the sub-systems. To get reliable results, an accurate dynamic modelling of the tritium content in each sub-system is necessary. A dynamic model (TRIMO) for tritium inventory calculation reflecting the design of each fuel cycle sub-systems was developed. The amount of tritium needed for ITER operation has a direct impact on the tritium inventories within the fuel cycle sub-systems. As ITER will function in pulses, the main characteristics that influence the rapid tritium recovery from the fuel cycle as necessary for refuelling are discussed. The confinement of tritium within the respective sub-systems of the fuel cycle is one of the most important safety objectives. The design of the deuterium/tritium fuel cycle of ITER includes a multiple barrier concept for the confinement of tritium. The buildings are equipped with a vent detritiation system and re-circulation type room atmosphere detritiation systems, required for tritium confinement barrier during possible tritium spillage events. Complementarily to the atmosphere detritiation systems, in ITER a water detritiation system for tritium recovery from various sources will also be operated

Mound Laboratory tritium environmental study: 1976--1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kershner, C.J.; Rhinehammer, T.B.

1978-01-01

In the course of an extensive investigation of tritium in the aquifer underlying the Mound Facility site, an unusual behavior was noted for a beta-emitting radionuclide contaminant present in the environs of the abandoned Miami-Erie Canal adjacent to the laboratory site. The soil contaminant was determined to be tritium, of which 90% was in the form of a relatively stable or bound species that was not readily exchangeable with the free water in the soil. (Bound-to-exchangeable transfer half-time was found to be approximately 3 yr.) The contamination was found to be concentrated within two feet of the surface in the center of the canal channel and near the Facility site drainage ditch and canal confluence. In order to characterize the contaminant and to assess its potential for reaching the aquifer, an analysis program and study were initiated in September 1976. The results and findings from the first phase of this work which was completed in February 1977 are the subject of this report

Experimental study of permeation and selectivity of zeolite membranes for tritium processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borisevich, Olga; Antunes, Rodrigo; Demange, David, E-mail: david.demange@kit.edu

2015-10-15

Highlights: • We report about new experimental results on advanced membranes for tritium processing especially for the DEMO breeding blanket. • High permeances are measured on different zeolite MFI membranes made by film deposition or pore plugging. • Selectivity for H{sub 2}/He is limited requiring a multi-stage membrane process. • Selectivity of H{sub 2}O/He seems high enough to operate one single module. - Abstract: Zeolites are known as tritium compatible inorganic materials widely used in packed beds as driers in detritiation systems and are also suggested for tritium removal from helium at cryogenic temperature. The Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe (TLK) proposed a new fully continuous approach for tritium extraction from the solid breeding blanket of fusion machines that improves the overall tritium management and minimizes both the tritium inventory and processing time. It is based on membrane permeation as a pre-concentration stage upstream of a final tritium recovery stage using a catalytic Pd-based membrane reactor. Zeolite membranes were identified as the most promising candidates for the pre-concentration stage. In the present work the tubular zeolite MFI membrane provided by the Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS, Hermsdorf, Germany) is studied to consolidate the proposed approach. The permeation measurements for single gases hydrogen (replacing radioactive tritium) and helium, for binary mixtures H{sub 2}/He and H{sub 2}O/He at different concentrations and temperatures are presented. The tested membrane demonstrates a high performance, almost independent from the inlet composition in the case of a gaseous mixture, while the transport in the presence of water vapour is strongly related to the temperature of the mixture and component concentrations.

Tritium dosimetry and standardization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balonov, M.I.

1983-01-01

Actual problem of radiation hygiene such as an evaluation of human irradiation hazard due to a contact with tritium compounds both in industrial and public spheres is under discussion. Sources of tritium release to environment are characterized. Methods of tritium radiation monitoring are discussed. Methods of dosimetry of internal human exposure resulted from tritium compounds are developed on the base of modern representations on metbolism and tritium radiobiological effect. A system of standardization of permissible intake of tritium compounds for personnel and persons of population is grounded. Some protection measures are proposed as applied to tritium overdosage

Linear accelerator for production of tritium: Physics design challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wangler, T.P.; Lawrence, G.P.; Bhatia, T.S.; Billen, J.H.; Chan, K.C.D.; Garnett, R.W.; Guy, F.W.; Liska, D.; Nath, S.; Neuschaefer, G.; Shubaly, M.

1990-01-01

In the summer of 1989, a collaboration between Los Alamos National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory conducted a study to establish a reference design of a facility for accelerator production of tritium (APT). The APT concept is that of a neutron-spallation source, which is based on the use of high-energy protons to bombard lead nuclei, resulting in the production of large quantities of neutrons. Neutrons from the lead are captured by lithium to produce tritium. This paper describes the design of a 1.6-GeV, 250-mA proton cw linear accelerator for APT.

Use of system code to estimate equilibrium tritium inventory in fusion DT machines, such as ARIES-AT and components testing facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, C.P.C.; Merrill, B.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • With the use of a system code, tritium burn-up fraction (f burn ) can be determined. • Initial tritium inventory for steady state DT machines can be estimated. • f burn of ARIES-AT, CFETR and FNSF-AT are in the range of 1–2.8%. • Respective total tritium inventories of are 7.6 kg, 6.1 kg, and 5.2 kg. - Abstract: ITER is under construction and will begin operation in 2020. This is the first 500 MW fusion class DT device, and since it is not going to breed tritium, it will consume most of the limited supply of tritium resources in the world. Yet, in parallel, DT fusion nuclear component testing machines will be needed to provide technical data for the design of DEMO. It becomes necessary to estimate the tritium burn-up fraction and corresponding initial tritium inventory and the doubling time of these machines for the planning of future supply and utilization of tritium. With the use of a system code, tritium burn-up fraction and initial tritium inventory for steady state DT machines can be estimated. Estimated tritium burn-up fractions of FNSF-AT, CFETR-R and ARIES-AT are in the range of 1–2.8%. Corresponding total equilibrium tritium inventories of the plasma flow and tritium processing system, and with the DCLL blanket option are 7.6 kg, 6.1 kg, and 5.2 kg for ARIES-AT, CFETR-R and FNSF-AT, respectively

Tritium production distribution in the accelerator production of tritium device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kidman, R.B.

1997-11-01

Helium-3 ( 3 He) gas is circulated throughout the accelerator production of tritium target/blanket (T/B) assembly to capture neutrons and convert 3 He to tritium. Because 3 He is very expensive, it is important to know the tritium producing effectiveness of 3 He at all points throughout the T/B. The purpose of this paper is to present estimates of the spatial distributions of tritium production, 3 He inventory, and the 3 He FOM

Atmospheric tritium 1968-1984. Tritium Laboratory data report No. 14

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oestlund, H.G.; Mason, A.S.

1985-04-01

Tritium in the form of water, HTO, from the atmospheric testing of nuclear devices in the 60s has now mainly disappeared from the atmosphere and entered the ocean. The additions of such tritium from Chinese and French tests in the 70s were observed but did not make a big impression on the diminishing inventory of atmospheric HTO. Tritium in elemental form, HT, went through a maximum in the mid 70s, apparently primarily as a results of some underground testing of large nuclear devices and releases from civilian and military nuclear industry. The mid 70s maximum was 1.3 kg of tritium in this form, and in 1984 0.5 kg remain. The disappearance is slower than the decay rate of tritium, so sources must still have been present during this time. The global distribution shows, not unexpectedly, smaller inventory in the Southern Hemisphere across the equator and thus southward transport of HT. The chemical lifetime of hydrogen gas in the atmosphere, assuming the elemental tritium being in the form of HT, not T 2 , has been estimated between 6 and 10 years. It is to be expected that increasing activity of nuclear fuel reprocessing would in the near future again increase the global tritium gas inventory. Tritium in the form of light hydrocarbons, primarily methane, has also been measured, and in this form a quantity of 200 g of tritium resided in the global atmosphere 1956 to 1976. By 1982 it had decreased to 50 g. 25 refs., 5 figs., 11 tabs

Techniques for tritium recovery from carbon flakes and dust at the JET active gas handling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gruenhagen, S.; Perevezentsev, A.; Brennan, P. D.; Camp, P.; Knipe, S.; Miller, A.; Yorkshades, J.

2008-01-01

Detritiation of highly tritium contaminated carbon and metal material used as first wall armour is a key issue for fusion machines like JET and ITER. Re-deposited carbon and hydrogen in the form of flakes and dust can lead to a build-up of the tritium inventory and therefore this material must be removed and processed. The high tritium concentration of the flake and dust material collected from the JET vacuum vessel makes it unsuitable for direct waste disposal without detritiation. A dedicated facility to process the tritiated carbon flake material and recover the tritium has been designed and built. In several test runs active material was successfully processed and de-tritiated in the new facility. Samples containing only carbon and hydrogen isotopes have been completely oxidized without any residue. Samples containing metallic impurities, e.g. beryllium, require longer processing times, adjusted processing parameters and yield an oxide residue. The detritiation factor was 2x10 4 . In order to simulate in-vessel and ex-vessel detritiation techniques, the detritiation of a carbon flake sample by isotopic exchange in a hydrogen atmosphere was investigated. 2.8% of tritium was recovered by this means. (authors)

Development of tritium cleanup system for LHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakuma, Yoichi; Kawano, Takao; Shibuya, Mamoru; Kabutomori, Toshiki

2000-01-01

Energy is vital for humans and we have been consuming a large amount of fossil fuel especially from the beginning of the industrial revolution. Nowadays its huge consumption has however come to threaten our life and we have to prepare nonfossil fuels, for instance solar energy, biomass energy, nuclear energy and so on. Fusion energy is an unlimited resource and one of the strongest candidates of the future energy source. At the National Institute for Fusion Science (referred to as 'NIFS' hereafter), we have constructed a new fusion experimental device called large helical device (referred to as 'LHD' hereafter) in 1998. The device will generate a small amount of tritium, as a fusion product. In order to remove it from the exhaust gas, we have designed a tritium cleanup system based on a new concept. This system is mainly composed of a palladium permeater, a decomposer and hydrogen absorbing alloys. It may perfectly recover the tritium from exhaust gas without oxidizing it. This system is applicable for the future needs at fusion power plants. In order to remove tritium discharged from fusion experimental facilities, it is usual to employ a system by which tritiated constituents, in various chemical forms, are entirely converted to a form of water vapor by catalytic oxidation. The water vapor containing tritiated form is then absorbed by molecular sieve (referred to as 'wet system' hereafter). However, in the case of LHD, it is not rational to deliberately convert the discharged tritium into the water vapor, because the tritium discharged from LHD is almost in a form of hydrogen molecules. Moreover, the tritium in the form of water vapor affects the human body 18000 times stronger than that of hydrogen molecules. In accordance with these view points, we have developed another type of tritium cleanup system based on a new concept, in which hydrogen molecules including tritiated ones (HT, DT and T 2 ) found in the exhaust gas of LHD are directly fixed to hydrogen

Analysis on tritium permeation in tritium storage bed with gas flowing calorimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakamura, Hirofumi; Hayashi, Takumi; Suzuki, Takumi; Nishi, Masataka [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Naka Fusion Research Establishment, Department of Fusion Engineering Research, Naka, Ibaraki (Japan); Yoshida, Hiroshi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Naka Fusion Research Establishment, ITER-Joint Centeral Team, Naka, Ibaraki (Japan)

2000-10-01

Tritium permeation amount in a tritium storage bed with gas flowing calorimetric was evaluated under a condition of new operation mode for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). As a result, tritium permeation under the new operation mode was estimated to be about twice of that under the practical operation mode. This result show that it would be regardless in a view point of material control of tritium, however, it was suggested to be required additional tritium removal or evacuate system in a view points of safety control or performance of accountability or thermal insulating of the tritium storage bed. (author)

Mass transfer behavior of tritium from air to water through the water surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takata, Hiroki; Nishikawa, Masabumi; Kamimae, Kozo

2005-01-01

It is anticipated that a certain amount of tritiated water exists in the atmosphere of tritium handling facilities, and it is recognized that the hazardous potential of tritiated water is rather high. Then, it is important to grasp the behavior of tritiated water for preserving of the radiation safety. The mass transfer behavior of tritium from air to water through the water surface was discussed in this study. The evaporation rate of water and the condensation rate of water were experimentally examined from measurement of change of the weight of distilled water. The tritium transfer rate from the tritiated water in air to the distilled water was also experimentally examined by using a liquid scintillation counter. Experimental results about change of tritium level in a small beaker placed in the atmosphere with tritiated water showed that diffusion of tritium in water and gas flow in the atmosphere gives considerable effect on tritium transfer. The estimation method of the tritium transfer made in this study was applied to explain the data at The Japan Atomic Power Company second power station at Tsuruga and good agreement was obtained. (author)

Final report of the tritium issues working group. Vol. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spratt, Peter; Hardy, David; Peirce, Denny; Smith, Ron; Wyatt, Alan.

1985-09-01

Early in 1985 the proposed sale of the isotope 'tritium' by Ontario Hydro became a public issue. A number of community groups claimed in public forum that tritium recovered from Ontario Hydro's nuclear reactors would be sold or diverted to American thermonuclear (fusion) weapons. Their position was based on the following presumptions: that tritium was a major component in American nuclear weapons, that the United States has a supply problem with or shortage of this material, and that Ontario Hydro would directly or indirectly support the American nuclear weapons program: a) by providing tritium directly to the U.S. Department of Energy for use in nuclear weapons, or b) by supplying tritium to certain buyers - either traditional commercial facilities or the developing fusion research agencies associated with the Department of Energy, thus allowing or making possible the diversion of this isotope to nuclear weapons purposes, or c) by answering the needs of the commercial market, at present supplied from production reactors dedicated to supplying U.S. military requirements, indirectly allowing the U.S. government to concentrate its efforts on the production of tritium for nuclear weapons. When members of what has become known as the 'Tritium Issues Working Group' were first approached by Dr. T.S. Drolet in mid-April 1985, we were asked if we would agree to participate in a study to assess whether Canadian tritium, which is to be produced only for commercial and research purposes, could be inadvertantly utilized, either directly or indirectly, in the American nuclear weapons program. Our discussion of these issues is covered in Volume 1 of this report and is supplemented by appropriate Appendices in Volume 2. We could find absolutely nothing of a factual nature to justify the hypothesis that Canadian tritium would find its way into the American weapons program

Tritium storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hircq, B.

1989-01-01

A general synthesis about tritium storage is achieved in this paper and a particular attention is given to practical application in the Fusion Technology Program. Tritium, storage under gaseous form and solid form are discussed (characteristics, advantages, disadvantages and equipments). The way of tritium storage is then discussed and a choice established as a function of a logic which takes into account the main working parameters

Oxidative Tritium Decontamination System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gentile, Charles A.; Parker, John J.; Guttadora, Gregory L.; Ciebiera, Lloyd P.

2002-01-01

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Tritium Systems Group has developed and fabricated an Oxidative Tritium Decontamination System (OTDS), which is designed to reduce tritium surface contamination on various components and items. The system is configured to introduce gaseous ozone into a reaction chamber containing tritiated items that require a reduction in tritium surface contamination. Tritium surface contamination (on components and items in the reaction chamber) is removed by chemically reacting elemental tritium to tritium oxide via oxidation, while purging the reaction chamber effluent to a gas holding tank or negative pressure HVAC system. Implementing specific concentrations of ozone along with catalytic parameters, the system is able to significantly reduce surface tritium contamination on an assortment of expendable and non-expendable items. This paper will present the results of various experimentation involving employment of this system

Use of system code to estimate equilibrium tritium inventory in fusion DT machines, such as ARIES-AT and components testing facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wong, C.P.C., E-mail: wongc@fusion.gat.com [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States); Merrill, B. [Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2014-10-15

Highlights: • With the use of a system code, tritium burn-up fraction (f{sub burn}) can be determined. • Initial tritium inventory for steady state DT machines can be estimated. • f{sub burn} of ARIES-AT, CFETR and FNSF-AT are in the range of 1–2.8%. • Respective total tritium inventories of are 7.6 kg, 6.1 kg, and 5.2 kg. - Abstract: ITER is under construction and will begin operation in 2020. This is the first 500 MW{sub fusion} class DT device, and since it is not going to breed tritium, it will consume most of the limited supply of tritium resources in the world. Yet, in parallel, DT fusion nuclear component testing machines will be needed to provide technical data for the design of DEMO. It becomes necessary to estimate the tritium burn-up fraction and corresponding initial tritium inventory and the doubling time of these machines for the planning of future supply and utilization of tritium. With the use of a system code, tritium burn-up fraction and initial tritium inventory for steady state DT machines can be estimated. Estimated tritium burn-up fractions of FNSF-AT, CFETR-R and ARIES-AT are in the range of 1–2.8%. Corresponding total equilibrium tritium inventories of the plasma flow and tritium processing system, and with the DCLL blanket option are 7.6 kg, 6.1 kg, and 5.2 kg for ARIES-AT, CFETR-R and FNSF-AT, respectively.

Computer program for assessing the human dose due to stationary release of tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Masahiro; Raskob, Wolfgang

2003-01-01

The computer program TriStat (Tritium dose assessment for stationary release) has been developed to assess the dose to humans assuming a stationary release of tritium as HTO and/or HT from nuclear facilities. A Gaussian dispersion model describes the behavior of HT gas and HTO vapor in the atmosphere. Tritium concentrations in soil, vegetables and forage were estimated on the basis of specific tritium concentrations in the free water component and the organic component. The uptake of contamination via food by humans was modeled by assuming a forage compartment, a vegetable component, and an animal compartment. A standardized vegetable and a standardized animal with the relative content of major nutrients, i.e. proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, representing a standard Japanese diet, were included. A standardized forage was defined in a similar manner by using the forage composition for typical farm animals. These standard feed- and foodstuffs are useful to simplify the tritium dosimetry and the food chain related to the tritium transfer to the human body. (author)

Tritium levels in milk in the vicinity of chronic tritium releases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Goff, P.; Guétat, Ph.; Vichot, L.; Leconte, N.; Badot, P.M.; Gaucheron, F.; Fromm, M.

2016-01-01

Tritium is the radioactive isotope of hydrogen. It can be integrated into most biological molecules. Even though its radiotoxicity is weak, the effects of tritium can be increased following concentration in critical compartments of living organisms. For a better understanding of tritium circulation in the environment and to highlight transfer constants between compartments, we studied the tritiation of different agricultural matrices chronically exposed to tritium. Milk is one of the most frequently monitored foodstuffs in the vicinity of points known for chronic release of radionuclides firstly because dairy products find their way into most homes but also because it integrates deposition over large areas at a local scale. It is a food which contains all the main nutrients, especially proteins, carbohydrates and lipids. We thus studied the tritium levels of milk in chronic exposure conditions by comparing the tritiation of the main hydrogenated components of milk, first, component by component, then, sample by sample. Significant correlations were found between the specific activities of drinking water and free water of milk as well as between the tritium levels of cattle feed dry matter and of the main organic components of milk. Our findings stress the importance of the metabolism on the distribution of tritium in the different compartments. Overall, dilution of hydrogen in the environmental compartments was found to play an important role dimming possible isotopic effects even in a food chain chronically exposed to tritium. - Highlights: • Tritium can be incorporated in all the hydrogenated components of milk. • Components' isotopic ratios T/H of chronically exposed milk remain in the same range. • In environmental conditions, distribution of tritium in milk components varies. • Metabolism plays a role in the distribution of tritium in the components of milk. • In environmental conditions, dilution of hydrogen dims possible isotopic effects.

Neutron beam facilities at the Australian Replacement Research Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennedy, Shane; Robinson, Robert; Hunter, Brett

2001-01-01

Australia is building a research reactor to replace the HIFAR reactor at Lucas Heights by the end of 2005. Like HIFAR, the Replacement Research Reactor will be multipurpose with capabilities for both neutron beam research and radioisotope production. It will be a pool-type reactor with thermal neutron flux (unperturbed) of 4 x 10 14 n/cm 2 /sec and a liquid D 2 cold neutron source. Cold and thermal neutron beams for neutron beam research will be provided at the reactor face and in a large neutron guide hall. Supermirror neutron guides will transport cold and thermal neutrons to the guide hall. The reactor and the associated infrastructure, with the exception of the neutron beam instruments, is to be built by INVAP S.E. under contract. The neutron beam instruments will be developed by ANSTO, in consultation with the Australian user community. This status report includes a review the planned scientific capabilities, a description of the facility and a summary of progress to date. (author)

Environmental effects of a tritium gas release from the Savannah River Plant on December 31, 1975

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobsen, W.R.

1976-03-01

At 10:00 p.m. EST on December 31, 1975, 182,000 Ci of tritium gas was released within about 1.5 min from a tritium processing facility at the Savannah River Plant. The release was caused by the failure of a vacuum gage and was exhausted to the atmosphere by way of a 200-ft-high stack. Winds averaging 20 mph carried the tritium offplant toward the east. Calculations indicate that the puff passed out to sea about 35 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina, about 7 hr after the release occurred. Samples from the facility exhaust system indicated that 99.4 percent of the tritium was in elemental form and 0.6 percent was in the more biologically active oxide (water) form. The maximum potential dose to a person (from inhalation and skin absorption) at the puff centerline on the plant boundary was calculated to be 0.014 mrem, or about 0.01 percent of the annual dose received from natural radioactivity. The integrated dose to the population under the release path was calculated to be 0.2 man-rem before the tritium passed out to sea. Over 300 environmental samples were collected and analyzed following the release. These samples included air moisture, atmospheric hydrogen, vegetation, soil, surface water, milk, and human urine. Positive results were obtained in some onplant and plant perimeter samples; these results aided in confirming the close-in puff trajectory. Tritium concentrations in nearly all samples taken beyond the plant perimeter fell within normal ranges; no urine samples indicated any tritium uptakes as a result of the release. Two milk samples did indicate a measurable tritium uptake; the maximum potential dose to an individual drinking this milk was calculated to be about 0.1 mrem. Because calculated doses from assumed exposure to the tritium are low and analyses of environmental samples indicated no significant accumulation of tritium, it is concluded that no significant environmental effects resulted from the December 31, 1975, tritium release

Thermal enhancement cartridge heater modified tritium hydride bed development, Part 2 - Experimental validation of key conceptual design features

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heroux, K.J.; Morgan, G.A. [Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States)

2015-03-15

The Thermal Enhancement Cartridge Heater Modified (TECH Mod) tritium hydride bed is an interim replacement for the first generation (Gen1) process hydride beds currently in service in the Savannah River Site (SRS) Tritium Facilities. 3 new features are implemented in the TECH Mod hydride bed prototype: internal electric cartridge heaters, porous divider plates, and copper foam discs. These modifications will enhance bed performance and reduce costs by improving bed activation and installation processes, in-bed accountability measurements, end-of-life bed removal, and He-3 recovery. A full-scale hydride bed test station was constructed at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in order to evaluate the performance of the prototype TECH Mod hydride bed. Controlled hydrogen (H{sub 2}) absorption/ desorption experiments were conducted to validate that the conceptual design changes have no adverse effects on the gas transfer kinetics or H{sub 2} storage/release properties compared to those of the Gen1 bed. Inert gas expansions before, during, and after H{sub 2} flow tests were used to monitor changes in gas transfer rates with repeated hydriding/de-hydriding of the hydride material. The gas flow rates significantly decreased after initial hydriding of the material; however, minimal changes were observed after repeated cycling. The data presented herein confirm that the TECH Mod hydride bed would be a suitable replacement for the Gen1 bed with the added enhancements expected from the advanced design features. (authors)

Metabolism and dosimetry of tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, R.L.; Johnson, J.R.

1993-01-01

This document was prepared as a review of the current knowledge of tritium metabolism and dosimetry. The physical, chemical, and metabolic characteristics of various forms of tritium are presented as they pertain to performing dose assessments for occupational workers and for the general public. For occupational workers, the forms of tritium discussed include tritiated water, elemental tritium gas, skin absorption from elemental tritium gas-contaminated surfaces, organically bound tritium in pump oils, solvents and other organic compounds, metal tritides, and radioluminous paints. For the general public, age-dependent tritium metabolism is reviewed, as well as tritiated water, elemental tritium gas, organically bound tritium, organically bound tritium in food-stuffs, and tritiated methane. 106 refs

JET experiments with tritium and deuterium–tritium mixtures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horton, Lorne, E-mail: Lorne.Horton@jet.uk [JET Exploitation Unit, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); European Commission, B-1049 Brussels (Belgium); EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Batistoni, P. [Unità Tecnica Fusione - ENEA C. R. Frascati - via E. Fermi 45, Frascati (Roma), 00044, Frascati (Italy); EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Boyer, H.; Challis, C.; Ćirić, D. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB, Oxon (United Kingdom); EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Donné, A.J.H. [EUROfusion Programme Management Unit, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); FOM Institute DIFFER, PO Box 1207, NL-3430 BE Nieuwegein (Netherlands); EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Eriksson, L.-G. [European Commission, B-1049 Brussels (Belgium); EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Garcia, J. [CEA, IRFM, F-13108 Saint Paul Lez Durance (France); EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Garzotti, L.; Gee, S. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB, Oxon (United Kingdom); EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Hobirk, J. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, D-85748 Garching (Germany); EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Joffrin, E. [CEA, IRFM, F-13108 Saint Paul Lez Durance (France); EUROfusion Consortium, JET, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); and others

2016-11-01

Highlights: • JET is preparing for a series of experiments with tritium and deuterium–tritium mixtures. • Physics objectives include integrated demonstration of ITER operating scenarios, isotope and alpha physics. • Technology objectives include neutronics code validation, material studies and safety investigations. • Strong emphasis on gaining experience in operation of a nuclear tokamak and training scientists and engineers for ITER. - Abstract: Extensive preparations are now underway for an experiment in the Joint European Torus (JET) using tritium and deuterium–tritium mixtures. The goals of this experiment are described as well as the progress that has been made in developing plasma operational scenarios and physics reference pulses for use in deuterium–tritium and full tritium plasmas. At present, the high performance plasmas to be tested with tritium are based on either a conventional ELMy H-mode at high plasma current and magnetic field (operation at up to 4 MA and 4 T is being prepared) or the so-called improved H-mode or hybrid regime of operation in which high normalised plasma pressure at somewhat reduced plasma current results in enhanced energy confinement. Both of these regimes are being re-developed in conjunction with JET's ITER-like Wall (ILW) of beryllium and tungsten. The influence of the ILW on plasma operation and performance has been substantial. Considerable progress has been made on optimising performance with the all-metal wall. Indeed, operation at the (normalised) ITER reference confinement and pressure has been re-established in JET albeit not yet at high current. In parallel with the physics development, extensive technical preparations are being made to operate JET with tritium. The state and scope of these preparations is reviewed, including the work being done on the safety case for DT operation and on upgrading machine infrastructure and diagnostics. A specific example of the latter is the planned calibration at

Tritium research and technology facilities for fusion inside the Bruyeres-le-Chatel Research Center of the French Atomic Energy Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hircq, B.

1990-01-01

Because of a large tritium experience in the Bruyeres-le-Chatel Research Center (Atomic Energy Commission-FRANCE), new activities could be undertaken in 1986 inside the European Fusion Technology Program, especially tritium studies within the frame work of the Next European Torus. After presenting the general tritium research program which concerns the Torus Exhaust Gas Processing (deuterium-tritium purification and storage) and involved materials (weldability of tritium-helium containing steels and corrosion of steels by tritiated water), major obtained results are given before describing the associated equipments. (orig.)

Development on the cryogenic hydrogen isotopes distillation process technology for tritium removal (Final report)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sung, Ki Woung; Kim, Yong Ik; Na, Jeong Won; Ku, Jae Hyu; Kim, Kwang Rak; Jeong, Yong Won; Lee, Han Soo; Cho, Young Hyun; Ahn, Do Hee; Baek, Seung Woo; Kang, Hee Seok; Kim, You Sun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1995-12-01

While tritium exposure to the site-workers in Wolsung NPP is up to about 40% of the total personnel exposure, Ministry of Science and Technology has asked tritium removal facility for requirement of post heavy-water reactor construction. For the purpose of essential removal of tritium from the Wolsung heavy-water reactor system, a preliminary study on the cryogenic Ar-N{sub 2} and H{sub 2}-D{sub 2} distillation process for development of liquid-phase catalytic exchange cryogenic hydrogen distillation process technology. The Ar-N{sub 2} distillation column showed good performance with approximately 97% of final Ar concentration, and a computer simulation code was modified using these data. A simulation code developed for cryogenic hydrogen isotopes (H{sub 2}, HD, D{sub 2}, HT, DT, T{sub 2}) distillation column showed good performance after comparison with the result of a JAERI code, and a H{sub 2}-D{sub 2} distillation column was made. Gas chromatography for hydrogen isotopes analysis was established using a vacuum sampling loop, and a schematic diagram of H{sub 2}-D{sub 2} distillation process was suggested. A feasibility on modification of H{sub 2}-D{sub 2} distillation process control system using Laser Raman Spectroscopy was studied, and the consideration points for tritium storage system for Wolsung tritium removal facility was suggested. 31 tabs., 79 figs., 68 refs. (Author).

Overview of tritium processing development at the tritium systems test assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J.L.

1986-01-01

The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory has been operating with tritium since June 1984. Presently there are some 50 g of tritium in the main processing loop. This 50 g has been sufficient to do a number of experiments involving the cryogenic distillation isotope separation system and to integrate the fuel cleanup system into the main fuel processing loop. In January 1986 two major experiments were conducted. During these experiments the fuel cleanup system was integrated, through the transfer pumping system, with the isotope separation system, thus permitting testing on the integrated fuel processing loop. This integration of these systems leaves only the main vacuum system to be integrated into the TSTA fuel processing loop. In September 1986 another major tritium experiment was performed in which the integrated loop was operated, the tritium inventory increased to 50 g and additional measurements on the performance of the distillation system were taken. In the period June 1984 through September 1986 the TSTA system has processed well over 10 8 Ci of tritium. Total tritium emissions to the environment over this period have been less than 15 Ci. Personnel exposures during this period have totaled less than 100 person-mRem. To date, the development of tritium technology at TSTA has proceeded in progressive and orderly steps. In two years of operation with tritium, no major design flows have been uncovered

Tritium labeling of amino acids and peptides with liquid and solid tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng, C.T.; Hua, R.L.; Souers, P.C.; Coronado, P.R.

1988-01-01

Amino acids and peptides were labeled with liquid and solid tritium at 21 K and 9 K. At these low temperatures radiation degradation is minimal, and tritium incorporation increases with tritium concentration and exposure time. Ring saturation in L-phenyl-alanine does not occur. Peptide linkage in oligopeptides is stable toward tritium. Deiodination in 3-iodotyrosine and 3,5-diiodotyrosine occurs readily and proceeds in steps by losing one iodine atom at a time. Nickel and noble metal supported catalysts when used as supports for dispersion of the substrate promote tritium labeling at 21 K. Our study shows that both liquid and solid tritium are potentially useful agents for labeling peptides and proteins. 11 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs

Tritium labeling of amino acids and peptides with liquid and solid tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souers, P.C.; Coronado, P.R.; Peng, C.T.; Hua, R.L.

1988-01-01

Amino acids and peptides were labeled with liquid and solid tritium at 21/degree/K and 9/degree/K. At these low temperatures radiation degradation is minimal, and tritium incorporation increases with tritium concentration and exposure time. Ring saturation in L-phenylalanine does not occur. Peptide linkage in oligopeptides is stable toward tritium. Deiodination in 3-iodotyrosine and 3,5-diiodotyrosine occurs readily and proceeds in steps by losing one iodine atom at a time. Nickel and noble metal supported catalysts when used as supports for dispersion of the substrate promote tritium labeling at 21 K. Our study shows that both liquid and solid tritiums are potentially useful agents for labeling peptides and proteins

Tritium contaminated waste management at the tritium systems test assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jalbert, R.A.; Carlson, R.V.

1987-01-01

The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at Los Alamos continues to move toward full operation of an integrated, full-sized, computer-controlled fusion fuel processing loop. Concurrent nonloop experiments further the development of advanced tritium technologies and handling methods. Since tritium operations began in June 1984, tritium contaminated wastes have been produced at TSTA that are roughly typical in kind and amount of those to be produced by tritium fueling operations at fusion reactors. Methods of managing these wastes are described, including information on some methods of decontamination so that equipment can be reused. Data are given on the kinds and amounts of wastes and the general level of contamination. Also included are data on environmental emissions and doses to personnel that have resulted from TSTA operations. Particular problems in waste managements are discussed

In-vessel tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, Yoshio; Ohya, Kaoru; Ashikawa, Naoko; Ito, Atsushi M.; Kato, Daiji; Kawamura, Gakushi; Takayama, Arimichi; Tomita, Yukihiro; Nakamura, Hiroaki; Ono, Tadayoshi; Kawashima, Hisato; Shimizu, Katsuhiro; Takizuka, Tomonori; Nakano, Tomohide; Nakamura, Makoto; Hoshino, Kazuo; Kenmotsu, Takahiro; Wada, Motoi; Saito, Seiki; Takagi, Ikuji; Tanaka, Yasunori; Tanabe, Tetsuo; Yoshida, Masafumi; Toma, Mitsunori; Hatayama, Akiyoshi; Homma, Yuki; Tolstikhina, Inga Yu.

2012-01-01

The in-vessel tritium research is closely related to the plasma-materials interaction. It deals with the edge-plasma-wall interaction, the wall erosion, transport and re-deposition of neutral particles and the effect of neutral particles on the fuel recycling. Since the in-vessel tritium shows a complex nonlinear behavior, there remain many unsolved problems. So far, behaviors of in-vessel tritium have been investigated by two groups A01 and A02. The A01 group performed experiments on accumulation and recovery of tritium in thermonuclear fusion reactors and the A02 group studied theory and simulation on the in-vessel tritium behavior. In the present article, outcomes of the research are reviewed. (author)

Tritium sampling and measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, M.J.; McElroy, R.G.; Surette, R.A.; Brown, R.M.

1993-01-01

Current methods for sampling and measuring tritium are described. Although the basic techniques have not changed significantly over the last 10 y, there have been several notable improvements in tritium measurement instrumentation. The design and quality of commercial ion-chamber-based and gas-flow-proportional-counter-based tritium monitors for tritium-in-air have improved, an indirect result of fusion-related research in the 1980s. For tritium-in-water analysis, commercial low-level liquid scintillation spectrometers capable of detecting tritium-in-water concentrations as low as 0.65 Bq L-1 for counting times of 500 min are available. The most sensitive method for tritium-in-water analysis is still 3He mass spectrometry. Concentrations as low as 0.35 mBq L-1 can be detected with current equipment. Passive tritium-oxide-in-air samplers are now being used for workplace monitoring and even in some environmental sampling applications. The reliability, convenience, and low cost of passive tritium-oxide-in-air samplers make them attractive options for many monitoring applications. Airflow proportional counters currently under development look promising for measuring tritium-in-air in the presence of high gamma and/or noble gas backgrounds. However, these detectors are currently limited by their poor performance in humidities over 30%. 133 refs

Workshop on tritium safety and environmental effects, October 15--17, 1990, Aiken, South Carolina: Session summaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, C.E. Jr.

1991-01-01

A meeting was held on October 15, 16, 17, 1990 to discuss the state of tritium safety and environmental effects. The meeting was organized with the help of the International Energy Agency planning committee consisting of K. Steinmetz, Y. Seki, G. Nardella, and G. Vivian. Representative of tritium production facilities and heavy water reactor power production were also involved. The meeting was organized to address seven topics in tritium safety that were thought to require further work. The topics were: (1) materials science, (2) environmental models, (3) environmental model validation, (4) tritiated organic compounds, (5) human dosimetry, (6) tritium sampling and measurement, and (7) long-term environmental databases

Tritium autoradiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caskey, G.R. Jr.

1981-01-01

Hydrogen distribution and diffusion within many materials may be investigated by autoradiography if the radioactive isotope tritium is used in the study. Tritium is unstable and decays to helium-3 by emission of a low energy (18 keV) beta particle which may be detected photographically. The basic principles of tritium autoradiography will be discussed. Limitations are imposed on the technique by: (1) the low energy of the beta particles; (2) the solubility and diffusivity of hydrogen in materials; and (3) the response of the photographic emulsion to beta particles. These factors control the possible range of application of tritium autoradiography. The technique has been applied successfully to studies of hydrogen solubility and distribution in materials and to studies of hydrogen damage

Tritium sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glodic, S.; Boreli, F.

1993-01-01

Tritium is the only radioactive isotope of hydrogen. It directly follows the metabolism of water and it can be bound into genetic material, so it is very important to control levels of contamination. In order to define the state of contamination it is necessary to establish 'zero level', i.e. actual global inventory. The importance of tritium contamination monitoring increases with the development of fusion power installations. Different sources of tritium are analyzed and summarized in this paper. (author)

Tritium isolation from lithium inorganic compounds applicable to thermonuclear reactor breeding blanket

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasil'ev, V.G.; Ershova, Z.V.; Nikiforov, A.S.

1982-01-01

Tritium separation from inorganic lithium compounds: Li 2 O, LiAlO 2 , Li 2 SiO 3 , Li 4 SiO 4 , LiF, LiBeF 3 , Li 2 BeF 4 irradiated with a beam of a gamma facility and a nuclear reactor, has been studied. In the first case the gas phase is absent. In the latter one- the tritium amount in the gas does not exceed 1-2% of its total amount in the salt. Based on the EPR spectra of irradiated salts the concentrations of paramagnetic centres are calculated. It is shown that during thermal annealing the main portion of tritium in the gas phase is in the form of oxide (HTO, T 2 O). Tritium is separated from lithium fluoroberyllates in the form of hydrogen (HT, T 2 ). The kinetics of tritium oxide isolation from irradiated lithium oxide aluminate, metha- and orthosilicates, lithium sulphate has been studied. The activation energies of tritium oxide separation process are presented. A supposition is made that chemical reaction of the HTO (T 2 O) or HT(T 2 ) or HF(TF) formation is a limiting stage. Clarification of the process stage limiting the rate of tritium recovery will permit to evaluate conditions for the optimum work of lithium material in the blanket, lithium zone to select the lithium element structure and temperature regime of irradiation

Tritium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiege, A.

1992-07-01

This report contains information on chemical and physical properties, occurence, production, use, technology, release, radioecology, radiobiology, dose estimates, radioprotection and legal aspects of tritium. The objective of this report is to provide a reliable data base for the public discussion on tritium, especially with regard to its use in future nuclear fusion plants and its radiological assessment. (orig.) [de

Construction and operation of replacement hazardous waste handling facility at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Environmental Assessment