Re-emission of heavy water vapour from soil to the atmosphere

Abstract

The re-emission process of tritiated water (HTO) deposited on a soil surface is an important process to assess tritium doses to the general public around nuclear fusion facilities in future. A field experiment using heavy water (HDO) as a substitute for HTO was carried out in the summertime to investigate the re-emission process of HTO from soil to the atmosphere. In the experiment, the time variations of depth profiles of HDO concentrations in soil exposed to HDO vapour and soil mixed with HDO were measured during the re-emission process on the field. The HDO concentrations in soil water in top soil layers of both the exposed and mixed soil rapidly decreased with time during the re-emission. However, the decrease of exposed soil was much greater than that of mixed soil. The re-emission process was analysed using a model including the evaporation of HDO from soil, the exchange between soil HDO and air H 2O, and the diffusion of HDO in soil. It was found that the model is applicable to calculating the time variations of detailed depth profiles of HDO concentration in soil water in surface soil layers, using an estimated exchange velocity.