Previous measurements have demonstrated the wealth of information that tritium (T) can provide on environmentally relevant processes. We present modifications to sample preparation approaches that enable T measurement by proportional counting on small sample sizes equivalent to 120mg of water and demonstrate the accuracy of these methods on a suite of standardized water samples. We identify a current quantification limit of 92.2 TU which, combined with our small sample sizes, correlates to as little as 0.00133Bq of total T activity. This enhanced method should provide the analytical flexibility needed to address persistent knowledge gaps in our understanding of both natural and artificial T behavior in the environment.
Keywords: Low background; Organically bound tritium; Proportional counter.
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