Measurement of tritium concentration in water by imaging plate

Abstract

Concentration of tritium in water (4–400kBqcm−3) was measured by exposing an imaging plate without protection layer (Fujifilm, BAS-IP TR) to vapor for 2–48h. It was found that tritium gradually penetrated into Eu-doped BaFBr phosphor and induced sufficiently intense photostimulated luminescence (PSL) even at the concentration of 4kBqcm−3. The intensity of PSL was proportional to tritium concentration in water. In addition, tritium absorbed in phosphor was reversibly released by keeping IP in air, and IP was able to be used repeatedly if total duration of exposure was ca. 24h or less. The contamination of IP with tritium was not serious. It was concluded that IP technique has potential to measure tritium concentration in water without direct handling of tritiated water and with a minimum amount of radioactive waste.