Re: Follow up to RE: Tritium Absorption in Materials

["ruth_weiner" <ruth_weiner@email.msn.com>]

I'm not sure what is meant by "long periods of time" but I had no corrosion
problems in periods of weeks.  Of course, I was using glass containers.

Ruth Weiner
ruth_weiner@msn.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Don Jordan <ramservices@lsol.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Date: Thursday, February 08, 2001 8:50 AM
Subject: Re: Follow up to RE: Tritium Absorption in Materials


>Tritium apparently behaves somewhat more subtly than my chemist's
prejudices
>would have admitted,  The DOE Handbook, HDBK-1129-99, "Tritium Handling and
>Safe Storage" contains the following statements:
>
>"...[T]he energy provided by the radioactive decay of tritium provides the
>activation energy required so that some reactions occur with tritium that
>will not occur with deuterium or hydrogen.", [at 5].
>
>"Tritium in the form of T2O may be difficult to store for long periods due
>to its corrosive properties.  Classified experiments with T2O indicate that
>pure T2O is corrosive.  This corrosiveness is likely due to tritium oxide
>generating free radicals [OH*] from radiolytic decomposition of water....",
>[at 8].
>
>"In a severe case, storage of tritiated water ... in liquid form at
>concentrations as low as a few curies per milliliter has corroded through
>the weld area of stainless steel vessels after only a few days of
exposure."
>, [at 8].  The authors note, however, that in this particular case the
>extreme corrosiveness may have been due to chlorine contamination.
>
>Although few of us work with such dilute solutions as a "few curies per
>milliliter", it seems evident that tritium may not behave simply as fat
>hydrogen.
>
>
>Don Jordan
>RAM Services, Inc.
>ramservices@lsol.net
>Tel. 920-793-2259
>Fax 920-793-5886
>
>************************************************************************
>The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
>information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html


************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html