These criteria are important in siting low-level nuclear waste facilities and landfills, according to Liu. Before tritium enrichment begins, lab technician Hue-Hwa Hwang must distill the groundwater sample to remove impurities. Although Liu did not develop the testing method, he established the analytical procedures. They involve purifying the water sample, concentrating the tritium, and extracting the tritiated water into a scintillation cocktail. The tritium content in a sample is initially pretty low, so after distilling the water to remove clay minerals and organic matter, Hwang enriches or concentrates the tritium by electrolysis.
Electricity breaks down the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gases.
The electrolytic enrichment process takes about 5 days and increases the tritium concentration by about 20 times. Hong Wang then uses the lab's liquid scintillation counter to detect and register radioactive emissions from the tritiated water. Much of the major equipment in the new lab had to be customized. Liu designed the tritium enrichment system and led a team of in-house experts to construct the hardware and set up the instruments. Oscar Richter, craftsman in the Maintenance, Operations, and Design Unit, constructed the distillation unit and electrolysis icebox.