Estimation of Tritium Annual Flux From Concrete Rubble Buried in the E-Area Slit Trenches

A growing amount of concrete containing tritium is being generated as a result of ongoing demolition and destruction activities on the SRS. To assist in determining how much radioactive low level waste (such as the tritiated concrete) can be safely disposed, performance assessments are conducted. In the past, these calculations assumed that all the tritium associated with buried concrete existed on the exterior concrete surfaces. Although this is a conservative assumption with respect to the groundwater pathway, it is not accurate. The objective of this study was to more accurately model tritium release from concrete rubble. Particular attention was directed at incorporating tritium diffusion from the concrete rubble into the surrounding groundwater