Re: Heavy water snow

Sbharris[atsign]ix.netcom.com writes:

> Indeed. The radiotoxicty of tritium is such that the lethal dose (from
> cancer) is about a milligram, inhaled.

The prompt lethal dose of tritium for human beings has not been
established, but it is certainly orders of magnitude higher than a
milligram.

Tritium decays through beta emission, with an average energy of 5.7
keV. The highest energy is 18.6 keV. The penetration depth of beta
particles emitted by tritium in water or soft tissue averages just
0.45 micrometres, and attains at most 5.2 micrometres. The biological
half-life of HTO in the human body is around eight days. Thus,
tritium is not a significant radiological poison. Chemically, tritium
is harmless.

> Roughly the same LD50 as nerve gas, though of course cancer
> kills you more slowly.

This sounds like the same mythology that holds plutonium to be the
"world's deadliest poison."

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.
.