A powerful neutron source, the European Spallation Source (ESS), is currently under construction in Lund, Sweden (~90 000 inhabitants). Levels of tritium (3H) in urine were estimated in members of the public in Lund and employees at the ESS using liquid scintillation counting, to obtain baseline levels before the start of operation of the ESS. These were compared with levels in other occupationally exposed radiation workers. Both the spallation reaction in the ESS tungsten target and the activation of various materials by the protons produced by the 5 MW linear accelerator will generate tritium, which will be released into the atmosphere mainly as tritiated water (HTO). Urinary HTO activity concentrations were determined in a total of 55 individuals belonging to four different categories: ESS employees, neighbours of the ESS, members of the general public in Lund and exposed workers from other facilities. The participants were asked to provide information on their beverage intake the day before urine sampling. The urine samples were filtered on activated charcoal and distilled before analysis. The effect of sample preparation on the isotope fractionation of urine samples was investigated by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) of 2H/1H, which showed no influence. IRMS was also used to investigate if the ratio between the stable hydrogen isotopes (2H/1H) could provide useful data of the origin, and hence the tritium concentration, of various types of drinking water. Urinary HTO activity concentrations determined using liquid scintillation counting (LSC) were found to be below the minimum detectable activity (MDA) of 2.1 Bq⋅L-1 for most of the participants. Five of the workers actively handling organic tritiated material were found to have activity concentrations between 3.5 and 11 Bq⋅L-1, which were higher than the average value in local tap water of 1.5 ± 0.6 Bq⋅L-1. The results will be used to evaluate the radiological impact on the population from future releases of tritium resulting from the operation of the ESS.

中文翻译：

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在操作欧洲散裂源之前，瑞典隆德的普通大众和职业暴露工人的尿中的t。

目前，瑞典隆德（约9万居民）正在建设一种强大的中子源，即欧洲散裂源（ESS）。在隆德的公众人士和ESS的员工中，使用液体闪烁计数估算尿液中的H（3H）水平，以在ESS手术开始前获得基线水平。将这些与其他职业暴露的辐射工作者的水平进行了比较。ESS钨靶中的散裂反应和5 MW线性加速器产生的质子对各种材料的激活都会产生tri，which将以mainly化水（HTO）的形式释放到大气中。确定了总共55个人的尿液HTO活性浓度，这些个人属于以下四个不同类别：ESS员工，ESS的邻居，隆德的公众成员以及其他设施的工人。要求参与者在尿液采样的前一天提供有关其饮料摄入量的信息。在分析之前，将尿液样品用活性炭过滤并蒸馏。通过2H / 1H的同位素比质谱（IRMS）研究了样品制备对尿液样品同位素分级的影响，但未显示影响。还使用IRMS来研究稳定氢同位素（2H / 1H）之间的比率是否可以提供各种类型饮用水的来源以及hence浓度的有用数据。对于大多数参与者，发现使用液体闪烁计数（LSC）测定的尿液HTO活性浓度低于2.1 Bq·L-1的最低可检测活性（MDA）。发现积极处理有机tri化材料的五名工人的活动浓度在3.5至11Bq⋅L-1之间，高于当地自来水的平均值1.5±0.6Bq⋅L-1。结果将用于评估由于ESS的运行而导致的未来future释放对人口的放射学影响。