Question

Q 10) in 2003, tritium (hydrogen-3) was detected in springwater samples near a nuclear remediation site at levels of 2100 Bq/L. Tritium is extremely rare in nature, and investigators concluded that a nuclear waste leak from the remediation site was responsible for the elevated levels. Tritium has a half-life of 12.5 yr.

Part A: do you anticipate alpha or beta decay from this sample? why?

Part B: how many decays per second were observed in a 100 mL sample in 2003?

Part C: if a 100 mL sample was stored in a sealed container until today (17 years later), what would it's current activity be (in Bq)?

Part D: if a sample from the same spring was taken today and found to have activity at a rate of 1500 Bq/L, what could you conclude about the success of failure of nuclear remediation efforts?

Answer 1