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Re: AW: Missing Exit Signs
Franz,
I am familiar with the story of someone dying from
inhaling tritium gas. Was is due to the radiation, or
due to aphixation, i.e., lack of oxygen?
The latter thought would certainly tighten my vocal
cords.
--- Franz Schoenhofer <franz.schoenhofer@CHELLO.AT>
wrote:
>
>
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu
> [mailto:owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu]Im Auftrag
> von Bernard L.
> Cohen
> Gesendet: Donnerstag, 11. März 2004 22:22
> An: Carol Marcus
> Cc: jjcohen; Williamson, Matthew/Medical Physics;
> Radsafe
> Betreff: Re: Missing Exit Signs
>
>
> There was an example of this at Oak Ridge
> National Lab in 1950 or
> 1951 when Tom Blewitt inhaled so much tritium that
> his voice went high
> -- he became a soprano. The medics told him to tank
> up on beer and he
> did so. It was a pleasant experience for him and
> there were no
> repercussions.
>
>
------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Bernard,
>
> This is a nice story - but it is nothing but a
> story.
>
> The tone pitch of a voice depends among many other
> factors on the acoustic
> features of the medium through which it is
> transported. A few decades ago I
> experienced this myself when I inhaled helium and
> spoke - it was not really
> soprano, but resembled more "Donald Duck".
>
> So, if Tom Blewitt's voice went high, it was not
> because of the radioactive
> properties of the gas he inhaled, but because of the
> cited properties of
> hydrogen. If he had inhaled pure tritium-gas, he
> should have been worried,
> because it is known from literature, that at least
> one person died from an
> overexposure to tritium-gas.
>
> I add, that the helium effect lasted for a few (tens
> of) seconds, because
> after exhalation normal air was breathed again.
>
> The "remedy" beer is correct for tritium intakes and
> officially
> acknowledged.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Franz
>
>
>
>
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=====
+++++++++++++++++++
""A fanatic is one who cannot change his mind and won't change the subject." Winston Churchill
-- John
John Jacobus, MS
Certified Health Physicist
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