Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by panny 1121 days ago
This is a great point. The mantra "dilution is the solution to pollution" can be undone by bioaccumulation in fish at the top of their food chains.
1 comments

Tritium cannot bio-accumulate, because it is just hydrogen. In all chemical reactions tritium behaves identically with regular hydrogen.
Sorry for the confusion, but I am not saying

>Tritium cannot bio-accumulate

I'm simply agreeing that if it is possible, then the justification for release is invalidated. If you would like to argue your point with the commenter I replied to, you are welcome to do that.

> In all chemical reactions tritium behaves identically with regular hydrogen.

False. For example there is a an increases the strength of water's hydrogen–oxygen bonds. Tritium acts similarly to Protium, however it has chemical differences (ignoring the radioactivity).

Even Deuterium has enough chemical difference to be poisonous in large quantities, even though it is not radioactive. Wikipedia: “When a large fraction of water (> 50%) in higher organisms is replaced by heavy water, the result is cell dysfunction and death.”

I was refering to organically bound tritium (to food). This one takes longer to evacuate and can decay inside the body.