Behavior of tritium in the TSTA test cell combined with operation of the Experimental Tritium Cleanup (ETC) system

Tritium and deuterium are expected to be the fuel for the first fusion power reactors. Being radioactive, tritium is a health, safety and environment concern. Room air tritium clean systems can be used to handle tritium that has been lost to the room from primary or secondary containment. Such a system called the Experimental Tritium Cleanup (ETC) systems is installed at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The ETC consists of (1) two compressors which draw air from the room, (2) a catalyst bed for conversion of tritium to tritiated water, and (3) molecular sieve beds for collection of the water. The exhaust from this system can be returned to the room or vented to the stack. As part of the US–Japan fusion collaboration, on two separate occasions, tritium was released into the 3000 m3 TSTA test cell, and the ETC was used to handle these releases. Each release consisted of about one Curie of tritium. Tritium concentrations in the room were monitored at numerous locations. Also recorded were the HT and HTO concentrations at the inlet and outlet of the catalyst bed. Tritium surface concentrations in the test cell were measured before and at a series of times after the releases. Surfaces included normal test cell equipment as well as idealized test specimens. The results showed that the tritium became well-mixed in the test cell after about 45 min. When the ETC was turned on, the tritium in the TSTA test cell decreased exponentially as was expected. The test cell air tritium concentration was reduced to below one DAC (derived air concentration) in about 260 min. For the catalyst bed, at startup when the bed was at ambient temperature, there was little conversion of tritium to HTO. However, once the bed warmed to about 420 K, all of the tritium that entered the bed was converted to HTO. Immediately after the experiment, surfaces in the room initially showed moderately elevated tritium concentrations. However, with normal ventilation, these concentrations soon returned to routine levels. The data collected and reported here should be useful for planning for the operation of existing and future tritium facilities.