The Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) is a full-scale fusion fuel processing demonstration system housed in a 3000 m³ "test cell". There is interest in determining the effects of tritium released into such a facility. To determine these effects, the normal room ventilation was turned off and the test cell was isolated. Then, one curie of tritium gas (T---2) was instantaneously released into one corner of the test cell atmosphere. After five hours, normal room ventilation was restored. During the room isolation, release and reventillation, careful measurement of the airborne migration of tritium throughout the test cell was made using ion chambers and bubblers/scintillation. Tritium interaction with typical facility materials was studied with normal equipment and with five typical facility materials placed at two locations. Swipes of all materials were performed before the release and for a number of weeks following the release. Additionally, samples of the model materials were soaked in water which was subsequently assayed for tritium. The airborne migration of tritium was modeled with a computational fluid dynamics code, and the results compared with the experimental data.

For this type of release it was determined that measurable, but small and short-lived increases in some surface tritium concentrations could be observed. It was also found that the room air concentration quickly returned to background levels after ventilation was restored. It was determined that, aside from the period immediately following the tritium release, test cell activities were in no way impeded by the tritium release.