Self radiolysis of tritiated water

The mechanism of water radiolysis implies several reactions and depends on many parameters such as the radiation characteristics (type of radiation, energy…), the temperature and the chemical composition of irradiate water. Thus it is very difficult to foresee, without experimental data, the overall effect of these parameters. If radiolysis of pure water under γ rays or α particles has been widely studied, it is not the case for self radiolysis of tritiated water (low energy β− particles radiation). In order to fill this lack of experimental knowledge and to understand the radiolysis of stored tritiated water produced in tritium plants, we studied the evolution of hydrogen and oxygen concentrations in the gaseous phase above chemically pure tritiated water. The simulation of pure water radiolysis has been carried out and the results are compared with experimental data.