Uptake of atmospheric tritium by market foods

Conference · Sun Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Fusion Technology; (United States)

OSTI ID:5013604

Inoue, Y; Tanaka-Miyamoto, K; Iwakura, T ^[1]

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1. Div. of Environmental Health, National Inst. of Radiological Sciences, 9-1, Anagawa-4-chome, Chiba-shi 260 (JP)

In this paper uptake of tritium by market foods from tritiated water vapor in the air is investigated using cereals and beans purchased in Deep River, Canada. The concentrations of tissue free water tritium (TFWT) and organically bound tritium (OBT) range from 12 to 79% and from 10 to 38% respectively, of that estimated for atmospheric water vapor of the sampling month. The specific activity ratios of OBT to TFWT were constant for cereals, but variable for beans. The elevated OBT was shown to be the result of isotopic exchange of labile hydrogen by the fact that washing the foods with tritium free-water reduced their tritium contents to levels characteristic of their production sites.

• OSTI ID: 5013604
• Report Number(s): CONF-910920--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Fusion Technology; (United States) Journal Volume: 21:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540130* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
540230 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CANADA
CLEANING
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
FLUIDS
FOOD
FOOD CHAINS
GASES
HEAVY WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
ISOTOPIC EXCHANGE
LIGHT NUCLEI
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIOISOTOPES
SAMPLING
TRITIUM
TRITIUM COMPOUNDS
VAPORS
WASHING
WATER
WATER VAPOR
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES