Text: Tritium Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen which has one proton and two neutrons . It emits beta particles only and has a half-life of 12.3 years. The maximum beta energy is 18 keV, and the mean beta energy is 6 keV. A beta particle with energy of less than 70 keV will not penetrate the dead outer layer of the skin. Therefore, tritium is not an external radiation hazard , but when taken into the body it becomes an internal hazard . Tritium is produced in accelerator cooling water systems which are subjected to large proton or neutron fluxes such as those of the meson production targets of the TRIUMF 500 MeV facility. The tritium is produced by spallation reactions with oxygen, nitrogen and carbon nuclei present in the water systems and to a much lesser degree by radiative capture of neutrons by the deuterium nuclei in water. The tritium atom then combines with a hydrogen and oxygen atom to form the molecule HTO, often called tritiated water. Tritium does not contribute any significant part of the dose at TRIUMF, and most uptakes would be acute rather than chronic. Uptakes of tritium usually result from inhalation and skin absorption, but ingestion is also possible. The blood distributes tritiated water equally among all the body fluids, just as it does with normal water. All the soft tissues in the body will be irradiated by the decaying tritium and they constitute 90% of the body weight. As a result any tritium in the body will lead to a whole body equivalent dose .

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