Review of tritium confinement and atmosphere detritiation system in hot cells complex

The tritium confinement strategy adopted during the past years in the ITER hot cell building is compared to the safety requirements given by the standard ISO-17873 “Nuclear facilities – criteria for the design and operation of ventilation systems for nuclear installations other than nuclear reactors”. In fact, this is the reference safety guideline recommended by French licensing authorities.Several features of the considered design of the hot cell building are not in agreement with these guidelines. Main discrepancies concern the zoning of the hot cell complex, the flow rates of ventilation, and the possibility to recycle the room atmosphere and to detritiate the effluent air. These aspects are discussed together with some proposed modifications of the design.