Elemental Tritium Deposition and Conversion in the Terrestrial Environment

Deposition and conversion of elemental tritium in the terrestrial environment were investigated to allow assessment of the behaviour and potential impact of atmospheric tritium releases. Exposure of three taxonomically diverse plant species to elemental tritium resulted in negligible uptake by foliage. In controlled laboratory experiments tritium deposition to soils was found to depend significantly on soil water content, porosity and organic content. In the field, tritium deposition velocities ranged between 0.007 and 0.07 cm s⁻¹ during the summer and autumn, consistent with laboratory values, and were less than 0.0005 cm s⁻¹ during the winter.