Self contained enrichment cell for tritium

Abstract

Tritiated water is probably the most mobile manmade nuclide found in the environment. The low-energy beta decay produces few health concerns except at extremely high concentrations of tritium. However, because of the ubiquitous nature of tritiated water, when identified in the bionetwork, it can be viewed as a precursor of nuclides with greater health risks. For this reason alone it becomes desirable to determine tritium concentrations many orders of magnitude below that considered a health concern. A devise is described that eliminates the need for large water-filled chest freezers used as coolers. The enrichment cells can be employed individually or in series.