Tritium Research Activities in KAERI

Korea has twenty nuclear power plants and a nuclear research reactor in operation. Out of the twenty plants, four are CANDU reactors at the Wolsong Nuclear Power Site. In the CANDU reactors, deuterium (heavy water) is used as a moderator and as the primary heat transport from the nuclear fuel. The nuclear research reactor, HANARO, in KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) uses heavy water as a neutron reflector. Tritium is formed by a neutron capture from the deuterium. If left to accumulate, tritium oxide would become a hazard to the operating staff and public. The primary purpose of a Tritium Removal Facility (TRF) is to reduce tritium concentration in a heavy water moderator. Operation of a TRF commenced at the Wolsong Nuclear Power Site on July 26th, 2007. Korea shared in the construction of the ITER fuel cycle plant with the EU, Japan, and US, and is responsible for the supply of an SDS (Tritium Storage and Delivery System). KAERI has been developing tritium technologies related to the Wolsong TRF, HANARO, and nuclear fusion fuel systems. We thus present details on the recent development status of the tritium systems.