Corrosion Control and Management Strategy for Gaseous and Liquid Tritium in French Processing Plants

Abstract

Dealing with problems of corrosion in a tritiated medium requires a thorough knowledge of this medium. This knowledge starts with a description of the various processes, i.e., the manufacture of tritiated end products and waste reprocessing. These operations make use of loops that are exposed to the corrosive media throughout the various continuous or batch processes. The problems of corrosion in several installations are dealt with by various resources, methods, or techniques directly adapted to these installations. These are physicochemical analyses to ascertain the composition of the concentrated or diluted tritiated media (water, gas), characterization of surfaces of superalloys or stainless steels in the tritiated media, in-depth televisual examinations of the process itself, and examinations of components corroded in the manufacture of tritiated products or in dismantling.