One TRANSAT activity is focused on the assessment of the fusion and fission tritium sources and the development of tritium permeation barriers.
After the tritium source evaluation, the development of permeation barriers have been undertaken focused on components of heat exchangers. They permeation efficiency have been tested in tritium rig. Following the assessment of the treatment of the operational tritiated gases generated in fission and fusion, the performance of a membrane reactor for tritiated water decontamination has been established.
In TRANSAT, innovative methods for tritium inventory measurements are developed as new autoradiography technique based on SiPM detectors, Nuclear Reaction Analysis and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy. They have been successfully tested on tritiated samples.
Modelling tools of the assessment of tritium inventory/migration in reactors or processes are also studied. The comparison of KUTIM and EcosimPro codes has given positive results.
Some studies are aimed at improving knowledge of the environmental consequences of contamination by tritiated products mainly stainless steel and cement ‘inhalable’ particles. Tritiated particles were produced and characterized in term of their physical-chemical stability in biologic media. Different activities have then been undertaken. As an example, the study of the environmental impact of the released tritiated particle by-products using freshwater mesocosms can be mentionned. The biodegradation of particles in the presence of benthic grazers, picoplankton and picobenthos was assessed, as well as the impact on behavioral changes. The results highlighted drastic differences in the ecological niches potentially exposed to tritiated steel or cement particles. Another task concerns rodents that were exposed to tritiated steel particles by intratracheal instillation. The radioactivity was determined in organs and excreta. Specific equivalent and effective dose coefficients were evaluated. Such results are valuable in future revisions of ICRP biokinetic models and dose coefficients for tritium.
Waste management and decommissioning issues surrounding tritium are also tackled. Decommissioning plan for a facility containing NaK and T tritium getters has been proposed with a technical solution that will be implemented.The accuracy of standard measurement techniques for tritium in soft waste was addressed. Later on, the permeability to tritium of proposed waste drum container materials was looking at. A detailed tritium permeation experiment rig was proposed and commissioned.
The project logo, website, templates were developed for the TRANSAT visual identity. Different crucial actions were undertaken for the TRANSAT dissemination. The most important one was the second Tritium School organised in 2021 with 367 registered participants from different countries all over the world. 28 invited speakers presented the main topics being addressed in the TRANSAT project and are the cross-cutting activities related to tritium.
The efficient TRANSAT coordination has insured the managing of contractual and financial issues, the maintain of project management tool and the reporting to the European Commission. Among all the actions, the monitoring of the impact of COVID-19 on TRANSAT, the management of review meeting with external experts and the EU Project Officer, the organization of the consortium meetings and the organization of the TRANSAT ExCom to discuss project progress and outstanding issues must be underlined.
