Re: Pumps contaminated with Tritium

[Franz Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 09:56 12.02.1999 -0600, you wrote:
>
>Do any of you have experience in decontaminating pumps(with oil in
>them)that are contaminated with H-3? These were used in an accelerator. 
>

I do not have experience, but would believe that they hardly can be
decontaminated. Tritium diffuses into all kind of materials (metals,
plastic etc.) and therefore the metal of the pump will be "internally"
contaminated. The original chemical form of the tritium seems to play
little role in this diffusion process. 

Probably you could remove the oil, "wash" the pump, fill it with clean oil
and then test, how much tritium is released and whether this complies with
your regulations.

Franz


Franz Schoenhofer
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Vienna
Austria
Tel.: +43-1-495 53 08
Fax.: same number
mobile phone: +43-664-338 0 333
e-mail: schoenho@via.at

Office:
Hofrat Dr. Franz Schönhofer
Federal Institute for Food Control and Research
Department of Radiochemistry
Kinderspitalg. 15
A-1095 Vienna
Austria
Tel.: +43-1-40 490 27820
e-mail: schoenhofer@baluf.via.at
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