The RMC Method to Handle Tritium Efficiently and Safely

Abstract

When it comes to the task of handling gaseous tritium, the challenge is to reduce losses of this precious, gaseous, hydrogen isotope. The driving force to achieve this is based on three requests: 1. Improve the safety and efficiency by spotting losses of gaseous tritium. 2. Embed the real-time tritium monitoring in the process and safety automation. 3. Be transparent in the whole workflow for its own safety and for auditable compliance. Many good and accepted single devices and working procedures have been proposed and used already. By introducing the Smolsys Ltd.® Radio Medical Container (RMC) method, a team at Smolsys Ltd. has brought the efficient and safe handling of tritium to a new performance level. The idea of the RMC method is to combine many of those approved single devices for gaseous tritium handling and link the workflow logically and digitally in a well-controllable confinement. In the case of the RMC, the working space or room is a container in which the working places and machines are run; hence, the room itself becomes part of the production process and tritium machine. It is monitored and controlled by the process logic and as such becomes a smart and digitized RMC for more safety and efficiency in tritium handling. This paper presents the RMC based on a realized tritium-processing factory in Switzerland. This RMC is a fully engineered tritium facility with a designed and engineered safety factor and is very flexible to be customized. The RMC is also transportable since standard container sizes are used.