A new tritiated water measurement method with plastic scintillator pellets

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Nuclear Science

Background:

• Tritiated water measurement is crucial for environmental monitoring and nuclear safety.
• Conventional liquid scintillation counting generates hazardous organic waste.
• Existing methods may lack efficiency for certain applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a new, eco-friendly method for measuring tritiated water.
• To evaluate the performance of plastic scintillator pellets (PS-pellets) in tritiated water detection.
• To compare the efficiency and waste generation of the new method with conventional techniques.

Main Methods:

• A novel technique utilizing plastic scintillator pellets (PS-pellets) with a conventional liquid scintillation counter.
• PS-pellets (3 mm diameter and length) were packed into low potassium glass vials.
• Tritiated water samples (5–100 μl) were applied to the interstices of the pellets.

Main Results:

• The PS-pellet method achieved a counting efficiency of approximately 48% for a 5 μl sample, exceeding conventional liquid scintillator methods.
• The method demonstrated good linearity between count rate and activity.
• No liquid organic waste was generated, and the pellets could be reused, minimizing solid waste.

Conclusions:

• Plastic scintillator pellets offer an efficient and environmentally friendly alternative for tritiated water measurement.
• The developed method significantly reduces hazardous waste compared to traditional approaches.
• Further development is needed to adapt this technique for larger volumes and low-level environmental concentration measurements.