TRITIUM is a project that tries to reduce the amount of tritium, derived from nuclear energy, in water. At present, there is no monitor that allows measuring the amount of this radioactive isotope in water, in real time the latter being the most emitted isotope during the operation of nuclear power plants and its elimination from water is very problematic since it is chemically indistinguishable from non-radioactive water.
Tritrium's results include:
- Laboratory tests and studies for the construction of the tritium detector prototype
- The development of an ultrapure water production system from river water to perform simulations
- The construction of a tritium monitor in water that allows its measurement in real time
- Tests of the monitor in real operating conditions next to the drainage channel of the refrigeration reservoir of the Almaraz nuclear power plant in CĂ¡ceres.
The final prototype will be operational at its current location as a more integral part of the Extremadura Radiological Warning Network.