【Technical Introduction】
In response to the decision of discharging ALPS-treated water on August 24, 2023 from Japan Fukushima NPP, the impact of long-term ALPS-treated water discharge on marine ecology and human ingestion should rely on scientific measures and data collection for relevant assessments. For this purpose, NARI installed Taiwan's first tritium analysis laboratory in May 2022 and officially started for operation in August. Tissue-free water tritium (TFWT) in living organisms can be obtained by freeze-vacuum drying technology. Organically bound tritium (OBT) is obtained by burning the dried biological sample slowly in a close system with rich oxygen and high temperature. After purification, the content of TFWT and OBT are quantified with a low-background liquid scintillation counter in the end.


Figure 1. Tritium Analysis Laboratory of NARI



Figure 2. TFWT and OBT analysis process


Figure 3. Testing samples﹘Saury


Figure 4. Testing samples﹘Ecological samples collected from the coastal of Taiwan

【Project Planning/Technical Application】
In addition to providing external related testing and analysis services, the tritium analysis laboratory in NARI has another important mission: establishing the ecological radiation background baseline of Taiwan's surrounding oceanic areas as a reference database for assessing the impact of the release of ALPS-treated water.
 
【Future layout】
Japan starts to discharge tritium containing treated water into the ocean and will continue it over the next 40 years. In order to provide long-term monitoring of the impact of ALPS-treated water discharge on marine ecology and human food intake, NARI will continue extending the detection capacity and improve tritium analysis technology to satisfy future monitoring needs from relevant ministries and ensure the safety of people's diet.

【Contact information】
Name: Ping-Ji Huang
Tel: 03-4711400 extension 7972
E-mail: pjhuang@nari.org.tw