Preoperational Monitoring of an Experimental Pilot Plant for Tritium and Deuterium in Surface Water at Valcea, Romania

Abstract

The paper reports the monitoring of the surface water radioactivity variations in the region surrounding the Experimental Pilot Plant for Tritium and Deuterium Separation for an experimental period with a duration of one year. The primary goal of the radioactivity monitoring of the environmental factors in the preoperative stage is to establish the baseline levels of radioactive concentrations present in the environment. Two surface water sampling points in the Olt River, Valcea, Romania were selected. The first was upstream of the discharge point of the “Deversor Olt” as the background location and the second was downstream of the liquid effluent discharge point as the indicator location. The activity concentration measurements were carried out on surface water samples from locations established on the Olt River in the vicinity of the magistrate channel “Deversor Olt” on a weekly basis. The employed analytical methodology was high resolution gamma ray spectrometry with the use of a high purity germanium detector. The observed activity concentration for ⁴⁰K was less than 1.17 Bq·l^−w. The activities of the analyte radionuclides, including ⁷Be, ⁵¹Cr, ⁶⁰Co, ⁶⁵Zn, ¹³⁷Cs, ²²⁶Ra, ²³⁵U, were below the detection limits. The results recorded for the background location were slightly different compared with the values recorded in the indicator location, but the differences were statistically insignificant. The nuclear activity in the preoperational stage of the Experimental Pilot Plant for Tritium and Deuterium Separation facility has not had any impact on the environment to date. This study creates a unique database that may be relevant for further operational monitoring of the Experimental Pilot Plant for Tritium and Deuterium Separation.

Keywords:

• Environmental
• gamma spectrometry
• monitoring
• radioactivity
• water