Dismantling of the PETRA Glove Box: Tritium Contamination and Inventory Assessment

The PETRA facility is the first installation in which experiments with tritium were carried out at the Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe. After completion of two main experimental programs, the decommissioning of PETRA was initiated with the aim to reuse the glove box and its main still valuable components. A decommissioning plan was engaged to: i) identify the source of tritium release in the glove box, ii) clarify the status of the main components, iii) assess residual tritium inventories, and iv) detritiate the components to be disposed of as waste. Several analytical techniques - calorimetry on small solid samples, wipe test followed by liquid scintillation counting for surface contamination assessment, gas chromatography on gaseous samples - were deployed and cross-checked to assess the remaining tritium inventories and initiate the decommissioning process. The methodology and the main outcomes of the numerous different tritium measurements are presented and discussed.