How radioactive is tritium?
In the first sentence of its document UC states that “tritium cannot penetrate the skin” and in the second sentence states, “any risk from tritium comes from …absorbing it through the skin”. Tritium gas may not penetrate the skin (it is harmful if breathed), but tritiated water can be absorbed through the skin as well as breathed, and can be ingested when a child puts into his or her mouth leaves or soil containing tritiated water. Most serious of all is tritium organically bound in vegetation. The Lab converts most of its tritium into tritiated water. Tritiated water is 25,000 times more harmful than tritium gas. The tritium which becomes organically bound in vegetation is 250,000 times more harmful than tritium gas. The readings for tritiated water contamination in soil and vegetation in the eucalyptus grove between the National Tritium Labeling Facility (NTLF) and the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) have been more than 12 times higher than the legal limit for drinking water. (See e
