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Uncertainty assessment of environmental tritium measurements in water

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Abstract

The method most widely used nowadays to measure environmental tritium levels in water is electrolytic enrichment followed by liquid scintillation spectrometry. Although these techniques have been in use for many years, there is a gap in systematic analysis of the sources of uncertainty associated with this particular application. The paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the individual uncertainty components of the entire analytical process, starting from sample preparation to radioactivity measurement. Examples of the complete uncertainty budget for typical tritium levels in the analysed water samples are included. The relative importance of individual uncertainty components is given and possible ways of improving the overall quality of analyses are discussed.

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Notes

  1. The use of product names is for identification purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our colleague Randolf Auer from the IAEA Isotope Hydrology Laboratory for fruitful discussions and improvements related to the part on sample weighing and electrolysis, as well as Claude Taylor and Walter Krause for suggestions for improving the manuscript. The work of one co-author (K. Rozanski) was partially supported by the Polish State Committee for Scientific Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Isotope Hydrology Laboratory, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O. Box 100, 1400 , Vienna, Austria

    Manfred Gröning

  2. Faculty of Physics and Nuclear Techniques, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30, 059, Krakow, Poland

    Kazimierz Rozanski

Authors
  1. Manfred Gröning
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  2. Kazimierz Rozanski
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Correspondence to Manfred Gröning.

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Gröning, M., Rozanski, K. Uncertainty assessment of environmental tritium measurements in water. Accred Qual Assur 8, 359–366 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-003-0631-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-003-0631-y

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