Re: Facts on Tritium

[jatalbq@ix.netcom.com (Joseph A Tompkins )]

The incident at American Atomics (1979) was real.  However the 
potential health effects sound like they have been blown out of 
proportion.  American Atomics was a manufacturer of tritium filled 
radioluminescent light sources used in exit signs and watch 
illuminators.  Their waste streams included small quantities of water 
contaminated with tritium which they allowed to evaporate into the 
atmosphere.  In 1979 the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency found 
elevated levels of tritium in the environs of the plant.  The plant was 
shut down all tritium was shipped to the DOEs Mound Plant in Ohio, and 
recovered.  For further information contact Aubrey Godwin, Arizona 
Radiation Regulatory Agency, 602-255-4845.