Tritium in [15O]water, its identification and removal.
The present investigation was undertaken to identify the long-lived radionuclide and its chemical forms existing in [15O]water which was synthesized from 15O produced by the nuclear reaction 14N(d,n)15O, and to develop a method for its removal to facilitate radioactive waste disposal. The long-lived nuclide was identified as tritium based on a comparison of its physical half-life and the energy spectrum of beta-rays with those of tritium. The major chemical form of tritium in the target gas was estimated to be molecular hydrogen. The tritium radioactivity was completely removed without a serious loss occurring to the yield of [15O]water by passing the irradiated target gas over a heated palladium catalyst followed by a calcium chloride column before the final synthesis of the [15O]water. This provided a practical way of removing tritium from the [15O]water.
Sasaki
T
T
Positron Medical Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Japan. sasaki@pet.tmig.or.jp
Ishii
S
S
Tomiyoshi
K
K
Ido
T
T
Miyauchi
J
J
Senda
M
M
D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D007700:Kinetics; D010104:Oxygen Radioisotopes; D014316:Tritium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*
D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D010104:Oxygen Radioisotopes; D014867:Water; D014316:Tritium