What are normal amounts of tritium released from nuclear power plants?
Nuclear power plants release varying amounts of tritium, depending on the amount of liquid waste discharged via normal and abnormal release discharge paths and the type of reactor. In the United States, there are two basic types of operating reactors, a pressurized water reactor (PWR) and a boiling water reactor (BWR). PWRs typically have higher tritium releases than BWRs. In 2003, the average PWR released about 700 curies of tritium in liquid effluents and the average BWR released about 30 curies of tritium in liquid effluents.
