Small amount of tritium released at Technical Area 16

Contact: Kevin Roark, camerahead@lanl.gov, (505) 665-0582

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Jan. 31, 2001 -- An accidental release of tritium occurred at 9:15 a.m. (MST) today (Wednesday) at Los Alamos National Laboratory's Technical Area 16, site of the Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility (WETF), during a process for packaging containers. Tritium gas cylinders were undergoing this process at WETF when the valve fitting on one cylinder apparently failed and triggered personal and room monitors inside the facility.

The release was sufficiently small that it presented no danger to workers nearby or to the public. A preliminary assessment of the release indicates that approximately five curies of tritiated water vapor and approximately 1,000 Curies of tritium gas was released.

An initial calculation placed the maximum possible offsite dose at the nearest Laboratory boundary point at 0.02 millirem. The average yearly dose in Los Alamos is 360 millirem, due primarily to natural sources. The amount of material released is far below any federal regulatory reporting requirements, and is one five-hundredth of the allowable annual offsite exposure limits.

There was a worker present in the room where the release occurred. A initial assessment of the worker showed an exposure of less than one millirem. This represents less than one five-thousandth of the allowable annual worker exposure limit.

Other workers were present outside the facility and only two individuals showed any exposure, measured at 0.2 millirem and 0.05 millirem. The other workers showed no detectable exposure.

Tritium is a radioactive material with a relatively short half-life of 12.3 years. It emits low-energy beta radioactivity, so that even a sheet of paper can shield a person from exposure. Tritium's commercial applications include use as medical diagnostic tracers and for radio-therapeutic treatments. The most common use of tritium is in the self-illuminating exit signs found in most buildings.

Tritium can be present in the form of water vapor or as an elemental gas. Tritium is most readily absorbed in the body when it is in the form of water vapor. Tritium gas is not readily absorbed into the body.

At the Laboratory tritium is used in research on fusion energy, nuclear weapons and assuring the safety and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile.

WETF began operations in 1989 and is specifically designed and built to process tritium safely to protect workers, the public and the environment. The primary operations at WETF include repackaging, recycling, mixing and analyzing tritium gas. WETF is a 5,000 square-foot, one-level building constructed primarily of reinforced concrete. The facility has an extensive instrument and control system that provides operators with real-time data, alarms and systems controls.

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