Experimental Trials of Methods for Metal Detritiation for JET

Several methods of decontamination, such as melting, heating with flame, isotopic exchange with gaseous hydrogen, replacement with hydrogen, and thermal desorption under moist gas, were tested on stainless steel, INCONEL^®, beryllium, copper, and aluminum bronze contaminated with tritium. The detritiation methods were assessed with respect to the fraction of the tritium inventory removed, the residual tritium concentration remaining, and the reduction in the rate of tritium outgassing. Potential applications of these decontamination methods include detritiation of the Joint European Torus (JET) vacuum vessel and the tritium plant prior to dismantling for decommissioning and subsequent processing of the intermediate-level waste this has generated.