Re: Tritium and plastic

[David W Lee <lee_david_w@lanl.gov>]

At 09:45 AM 27-01-97 -0600, you wrote:
>Wesley M. Dunn wrote:
>> 
>> Well, taking the LD 50/30 as approximately 450 rem (Whole Body Acute
>> Dose -- probably reasonable with THO with an effective 1/2 life of
>> about 10 days):
>> 
>> ALI (Oral; THO) = 80 mCi = 5 rem
>> 
>> LD 50/30 ~7 Ci (single intake)
>I have used 8 Ci (single intake) as a lethal dose (e.g. LD 50/30).  So
>we essentially agree.  Al Tschaeche  xat@inel.gov
>


Taking this thread a bit further, the specific activity of elemental tritium
can be calculated to be approximately 9,665 Ci/g which implies that 7 Ci
would weigh approximately 0.7 mg.  While this small mass of tritium could in
theory be contained within a small volume of HTO liquid, perhaps some
Radsafers would care to comment upon the difficulty (and probability) of
acquiring and maintaining 7 Ci of H-3 in ingestible form so that an
unwitting person might actually drink (take in) an LD 50/30 dose of H-3.
Thanks  REGARDS  David

David W. Lee
Radiation Protection Policy
& Programs Analysis Group (ESH-12)
Los Alamos National Laboratory
PO Box 1663, MS K483
Los Alamos, NM  87545
Ph:  (505) 667-8085
FAX: (505) 667-9726