Eleven atmospheric moisture samples were obtained during the fourth quarter of 2001; one from Blackfoot, two from Rexburg, and four each from Idaho Falls and Atomic City.  Atmospheric moisture is collected by pulling air through a column of silica gel to absorb water vapor.  The water is then extracted from the silica gel by heat distillation.  The resulting atmospheric moisture samples are then analyzed for tritium using liquid scintillation.

All sample results but one, collected from Rexburg in October, exceeded their respective 2s values.  All were well below the Derived Concentration Guide (DCG) value of 1 x 10^-7 µCi/mL (3.7 x 10^-3 Bq/mL) for tritium in air.  Tritium results for all atmospheric moisture samples are listed in Appendix C, Table C-4.

Back