LOCATING TRITIUM SOURCES IN A RESEARCH REACTOR BUILDING

Abstract

Despite renovation of the D2O facility, tritium concentrations in the condensates of reactor room air showed tens of Bq mL before venting resumption on July 1997. This suggested the presence of tritium sources in the research reactor-containment building. An investigation was therefore initiated to locate the source and determine the distribution of tritium in the containment building. Air monitoring in the working area using a dish of water placed in the building suggested that the source of tritium was near the reactor core. Monitoring exhaust air from the two facilities (a cold neutron source and a D(2)O tank) showed high specific activity on the order of 10 Bq mL(-1), suggesting the presence of tritium in condensates near the reactor core. The major concern was whether the leakage of liquid deuterium (4 L) and heavy water (2 x 10(3) L) used as a moderator had occurred. The concentration of tritium in condensates has not increased over the past few years in either the exhaust line or working area, and the deuterium itself has not been found in the surrounding environment. The concentration of tritium measured using an ionization chamber after Ar decay was dependent on the thermal output of the research reactor, indicating that the tritium was produced by the irradiation process within shielding/moderator materials or cover gas with neutrons.