Concentration, conditioning, storage and disposal of tritium-bearing waste

A review is given on the technical possibilities to remove tritium from the waste-streams of nuclear facilities, as reactors, reprocessing plants, laboratories etc. The methods for concentration, immobilization, storing and disposing are discussed. A review is given on the detection methods for tritium in several concentration ranges. Safety considerations are showing, that removal of tritium from waste streams is only necessary at certain types of reactors and reprocessing plants, to avoid punctual releases of high concentrations. A basic evaluation shows, that the natural tritium production is much higher than the total tritium of all nuclear reactors. (author)