The control of tritium in ETHEL

The operation of the European Tritium Handling Experimental Laboratory (ETHEL) will require the implementation of means and procedures for allowing tritium control within the facility. For that purpose, account must be taken of the particular characteristics of tritium, such as its high mobility, capacity to dissolve in materials, often limited precision when performing inventory measurements. This paper estimates the influence of these effects on the overall tritium balance in ETHEL. By employing available models for predicting tritium hold-up, it is estimated that three to four grams of tritium may potentially remain irreversibly fixed in various plant items of the standard laboratory infrastructure (exclusive of experimental circuits). On the other hand, the highest overall precision that may be attained with the present plant regarding inventory measurements is estimated to be of the order of few percent. On the basis of the above estimates, the allowable limits for the Material Unaccounted For (MUF) are discussed.