ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE DETRITIATION OF LOW-LEVEL AQUEOUS RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Management of aqueous tritium-containing waste is viewed as a relevant challenge for many countries of the world. At present time, nuclear reactors designed for various purposes and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants are considered as key man-made sources of tritium waste. Tritium can be removed from water streams solely via physicochemical methods providing the separation of hydrogen isotopes. Two methods are considered as most promising in this respect, namely, water rectification under vacuum and chemical isotope exchange between hydrogen and water. The paper evaluates engineering and environmental aspects associated with the proposed methods providing light and heavy water detritiation.

Keywords: radioactive waste, tritium-containing water waste, detritiation, vacuum rectification of water, isotope exchange in the water-hydrogen system.

Magomedbekov E. P., Rastunova I. L. Issues Associated with the Detritiation of Low-Level Aqueous Radioactive Waste. Radioactive Waste, 2022, no. 2 (19), pp. 17—24. DOI: 10.25283/2587-9707-2022-2-17-24. (In Russian).