Some Notes on Tritium

There's been plenty of talk in our comment strings the past few weeks of the discovery of elevated levels of Tritium, a byproduct of nuclear power generation, in groundwater in and around a number of nuclear power plants.

Recently, NEI issued a fact sheet on the incidents that provides some perspective and insight into the science involved:

For perspective, the amount of tritium in the groundwater at the nuclear power plant with the highest and most extensive levels of tritium is far less than the amount of tritium in a single 'exit' sign. Many industrial-grade exit signs contain 10 to 20 curies of tritium gas. By comparison, the average concentration of tritium in groundwater at nuclear plants is at or below the EPA standard for tritium in drinking water -- 0.02 microcuries per liter.

To read what other blogs are saying about the situation, click here.

Nobody welcomes an incident like this, and officials in the companies involved are taking the lead in communicating the facts to the public. In the case of Exelon, the company is doing it door-to-door in the neighborhoods involved. And that's how it should be.

For information on the situation from the NRC, click here.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Environment, Energy