Technical Report No. 34
SOME MEASUREMENTS OF THE TRITIUM CONTENT IN THE NATURAL WATERS OF SOUTHERN OAHU, HAWAII
Theodorus H. Hufen, Robert A. Duce, L. Stephen Lau
November 1969
ABSTRACT
An analysis was made of the tritium content of samples from various sources of surface and subsurface waters of the island of Oahu. Twenty rainwater samples collected from various rain gages located on the Koolau Range over a period of four months showed an activity between 16.3 and 28.2 tritium units. Samples from four streams in the Pearl Harbor area ranged from 14.5 to 21.3 tritium units, while samples from two springs and five wells in this same area all showed an activity below 5 tritium units. The instrumentation consisted of an electrolysis enrichment apparatus, a vacuum distillation unit and a liquid scintillation counter. A detailed description is given of the various parts of the electrolysis apparatus and the vacuum distillation unit. Both the enrichment and counting procedures are reviewed as well as the calibration of these systems.