Grams Of Tritium Research Articles

Maximum Permissible Amounts of Accidentally Released Tritium Derived from an Environmental Experiment to Meet Dose Limits for Public Exposure

This paper reports that it is important in the design of future fusion reactors and associated facilities that incorporate passive safety to take account of the possible environmental impact of accidental tritium release. Reliable information on dose consequences can be obtained by evaluating urine samples from persons exposed to tritium. Translating the results of the environmental HT experiment performed in France in 1986 into worst-case exposure conditions, the effective dose equivalent to an individual with highest exposure at a distance of 800 m (typical for site boundaries) is {approximately}1 {times} 10{sup {minus}4} Sv per gram of tritium emitted as HT when inhalation and skin absorption are considered. From this value, maximum permissible amounts of accidentally released HT can be derived on the basis of regulatory or anticipated dose limits.

Operation of the TSTA Isotope Separation System with 100 Gram Tritium

In March of 1988 full operation of the 4-column isotope separation system (ISS) was realized in runs that approximated the design load of tritium. Previous operations had been fraught with operating difficulties principally due to external systems. This report will examine the recent highly successful 6-day period of operation. During this time the system was cooled from room temperature, loaded with hydrogen isotopes including 109 grams of tritium, integrated with the transfer pumping, impurity injection, and impurity removal systems, as well as the remote computer control system. At the end of the operation 12 grams of tritium having a measured purity of 99.987% (remainder deuterium) were offloaded from the system. Observed profiles in the columns in general agree with computer models. A Height Equivalent to a Theoretical Plate (HETP) of 5.0 cm is confirmed.

Molecular Excitation in Beta Decay

The theory of molecular excitation in beta decay is developed for the general case of a polyatomic molecule. Calculations of the daughter molecule vibrational excitation are carried through for diatomic molecules, and the results are presented graphically. Finally, the formation of the ${({\mathrm{He}}^{3}{\mathrm{H}}^{3})}^{+}$ molecule ion in the decay of one nucleus of a tritium molecule is studied in detail. It is concluded that the ${({\mathrm{He}}^{3}{\mathrm{H}}^{3})}^{+}$ ground electronic state vibrational spectrum should be observable in the light spontaneously emitted by tritium. For example, neglecting nonradiative transitions, one expects approximately ${10}^{14}$ photons per second to be radiated at wave number \ensuremath{\cong}2.35\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{3}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ by every gram of tritium in the 1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0 vibrational transition.