Canadian tritium standards

[Gary Schroeder <schroede@mail.sep.bnl.gov>]

Paul Charp said:

>I recently received a letter from a Long Islander concerned about H-3 from 
>BNL.  The letter indicates that Canadian limits for H-3 in drinking water 
>are very low, on the order of less than 1000 pCi/L.  Does anyone in Radsafe 
>land know where I can obtain a copy of the Canadian regulations/values? 

Paul, there are some unscrupulous folks on Long Island engaged in an intense
effort to frighten citizens living near BNL.  The prime force behind this
campaign is a Dr. Jay Gould.  (Those of you who read the HP Newsletter will
have seen a recent review by Dade Moeller and Steve Merwin of Gould's
rabidly anti-nuclear book, "The Enemy Within".)  He's an associate of the
illustriuous Dr. Ernie Sternglass.  I don't know if your letter was from him
or from someone who has gotten a hold of his literature, but...

Gould began alleging months ago that the Canadian standards for tritium in
drinking water are much lower than in the US because "they recognize the
danger".  He has stated in local press articles and public meetings that the
Canadian drinking water limit is anywhere from 540 to 340 pCi/L,
significantly lower than the current US standard of 20,000 pCi/L.  When we
at BNL became aware of this, the Radiation Protection Bureau of Health
Canada was contacted.  A Ms. Dorothy Meyerhof, Chief of Environmental
Radiation Hazards Division for Health Canada stated that "this level has
never been proposed in Canada".

She also informed us that the current Canadian drinking water limit is
189,000 pCi/L.  This is based on an annual dose limit of 10 mrem/yr via the
drinking water pathway.  They assume a 2 L/day consumption rate under the
dose conversion factors published by the National Radiological Protection
Board of the United Kingdom.  Note that if they used a dose limit of 4 mrem,
as we do, that the limit would be 75,600 pCi/L, which is comparable to the
60,900 pCi/L value in the proposed (but unapproved) 40 CFR 141, National
Primary Drinking Water Standards for Radionuclides.

I would be happy to provide you with a copy of Ms. Meyerhof's letter.
===============
Gary L. Schroeder
Brookhaven National Laboratory
gs1@bnl.gov