Tritium Is Leaking From U.S. Nuclear Power Plants
MyWay has a lengthy article on a recent study that shows that Tritium has leaked from 48 of 65 U.S. commercial nuclear power sites. “For example, cesium-137 turned up with tritium at the Fort Calhoun nuclear unit near Omaha, Neb., in 2007. Strontium-90 was discovered with tritium two years earlier at the Indian Point nuclear power complex, where two reactors operate 25 miles north of New York City.”
Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen, which allows it to readily bind to hydroxyl radicals, forming tritiated water (HTO), and to carbon atoms. Since tritium is a low energy beta emitter, it is not dangerous externally (its beta particles are unable to penetrate the skin), but it is a radiation hazard when inhaled, ingested via food or water, or absorbed through the skin.[14][15][16][17] HTO has a short biological half life in the human body of seven to 14 days, which both reduces the total effects of single-incident ingestion and precludes long-term bioaccumulation of HTO from the environment.
Any exposure to radiation, the article says, boosts cancer risks. Our aging nuclear power plants, most built in the 60s and 70s, are of old technology and presenting an increasing risk to our environment.
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