Low-level measurements of tritium in water

Using a liquid scintillation counter, an experimental procedure for measuring low-level activity concentrations of tritium in environmental water has been developed by our laboratory, using the electrolytic tritium enrichment. Additionally, some quality tests were applied in order to assure the goodness of the method. Well-known water samples collected in the Tagus River (West of Spain) and the Danube River (Bulgaria), both affected by nuclear plant releases, were analysed and results were compared to previous data. The analytical procedure was applied to drinking water samples from the public water supply of Seville and mineral waters from different springs in Spain in order to characterize its origin. Due to the very low levels of tritium in the analysed samples, some results were reported as lower than the minimum detectable activity concentration (MDA). However, the count rate of these measurements was over the background count rate of LS counter in all the cases. For that reason, an exhaustive discussion about the meaning of the MDA, using an experimental essay, was made in order to establish a rigorous criterion that leads to a reliable value in the case of low-level measurements.