Radiological Characterization of the Resulting Solid Materials from the Refurbishment of the Tritium Laboratory

The Tritium Laboratory at Horia Hulubei National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering was initially licensed in 1976 and completely refurbished in 2011 as a unique isotope laboratory focused on tritium handling and processing to conduct a variety of scientific experiments. During laboratory renovation, different types of solid radioactive waste or potential waste contaminated with tritium were created: bricks, mortars, cements, false ceiling (polyvinyl chloride), linoleum, rubber, etc.

In order to fulfill all the requirements of the license issued by the Romanian regulatory body, the characterization of the physical, chemical, and radiological properties of the waste, in order to establish the need for further treatment, conditioning, and for storage or disposal, was mandatory. The present work treats the development of a method for the determination of tritium activity in the solid waste according to the operation licensing framework. The measurement results, regarding the tritium-specific activity in different solid waste resulting from the renovation of the laboratory, are presented in this paper.