Low-level tritium research facility for the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies

The objective of the Low-level Tritium Research Facility for the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) is to investigate tritium-material interactions and how they differ with respect to protium and deuterium. The tritium laboratory will also be employed to study tritium retention, tritium imaging, and the effect of tritium on diagnostic devices. This report is a preliminary design document of the UTIAS Low-Level Tritium Research Facility including the fundamentals of tritium, a description of the facility, tritium laboratory requirements and the safety analysis of the laboratory. The facility is designed to handle a total elemental tritium inventory of 10 Ci, though it will initially commence operation with 1 Ci and later increased to the maximum value. In the event of an instantaneous emission of the total tritium inventory within the laboratory, the working personnel would be exposed to an airborne tritium concentration less than the maximum permissible. Moreover, with all the safety features included in this design the likelihood of such an accident is very remote. Thus, the tritium laboratory design is intrinsically safe