Tritium and Carbon-14 Concentrations around an Incinerator for Radioactive Liquid Scintillator Waste

Abstract

Activity measurements of ³H and ¹⁴C in several environmental samples around the incinerator for radioactive liquid scintillator waste at the Radioisotope Center, Kyushu University were carried out to estimate their levels. It was indicated that ³H and ¹⁴C concentrations in the atmosphere at 1 m from the outlet were about 0.2% of those estimated at the outlet, respectively. At 6 m away from the outlet, ³H concentration decreased to about one twentieth of that at 1 m and ¹⁴C concentration to background level. For soils and plants, ¹⁴C concentrations showed negligibly low values. The existence of these nuclides in particle form was not confirmed.
It is considered that the result of the higher ³H concentrations as compared to ¹⁴C concentrations reflects not only the difference of the waste amounts of their nuclides, but also the discharge of ³H as moisture as well as water vapor.