Tritiums health hazards: why we should be concerned

Dr Ian Fairlie Consultant on Radiation in the Environment London United Kingdom

Tritium releases from reactor types

TBq per GW(e) yr
Heavy Water Reactor Pressurised Water Reactor Boiling Water Reactor

670 20 2

data source: UNSCEAR (2000)

Tritium Release Limits

(combined liquid and gaseous)

TBq/year

COUNTRY Canada Belgium Germany

Nuclear Power Station Darlington Doel All sites

TBq /year 846,000 100 70 30 8

Netherlands Borssele UK Sizewell

Key Problem

official dose per Bq for tritium is very low therefore the estimated tritium doses are usually tiny but the huge tritium releases mean if tritiums dose estimates are wrong, the health consequences could be serious

Tritium doses from inhalation

8th Meeting of the IAEA (EMRAS) Tritium & C-14 Working Group May 30 - June 1, 2007 - Bucharest, Romania (http://www.nipne.ro/emras/)

(EU RODOS Model) in mSv

Tritium doses from ingestion

8th Meeting of the IAEA (EMRAS) Tritium & C-14 Working Group May 30 - June 1, 2007 - Bucharest, Romania (http://www.nipne.ro/emras/)

(EU RODOS Model) in mSv

Estimated tritium levels in cows milk

8th Meeting of the IAEA (EMRAS) Tritium & C-14 Working Group May 30 - June 1, 2007 - Bucharest, Romania (http://www.nipne.ro/emras/)

(EU RODOS Model) HTO Bq/kg

Estimated tritium levels in cows milk

8th Meeting of the IAEA (EMRAS) Tritium & C-14 Working Group May 30 - June 1, 2007 - Bucharest, Romania (http://www.nipne.ro/emras/)

(EU RODOS Model) OBT Bq/kg

from Osborne RV (2002) Tritium in the Canadian Environment: Levels and Health Effects. Report RSP 0153-1. Prepared for the CNSC.

Tritium concentrations in air near Canadian reactors Bq/m3

Tritium concentrations in food near Canadian reactors - Bq/l

from Osborne RV (2002) Tritium in the Canadian Environment: Levels and Health Effects. Report RSP 0153-1. Prepared for the CNSC.

Estimated annual tritium intakes near a Canadian nuclear power station

after Osborne, 2002; annual intake values from Health Canada (1994)

Tritium source Intake per Tritium Bq/year annum concentration Water in food Air Inhalation Water in drinks Skin absorption OBT in food TOTAL 425 litres 8,400 m3 550 litres 60% of inhalation 75 kg ~2,000 Bq/L 10 Bq/m3 100 Bq/L 10 Bq/m3 ~700 Bq/kg 850,000 84,000 55,000 33,000 ~53,000 ~1,000,000

Controversy over Tritiums Doses

tritiums dose coefficient is the smallest (by far) of all radionuclides often described as a weak emitter, but 2-3 times more hazardous than most gamma/beta emitters major misconceptions present 3 main problems

Reports discussing the Controversy Over Tritium Doses

1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

AGIR HPA Report (2007) Review of Risks from Tritium Melintescu A, Galeriu D and Takeda H (2007) Reassessment Of Tritium Dose Coefficients For The General Public. Radiat Protect Dosim June 2007, pp. 15 Fairlie I (2007) RBE and wR values of Auger emitters and low-range beta emitters with particular reference to tritium. Journal of Radiol Prot. Vol 27 pp 157-168 US EPA draft White Paper. Modifying EPA Radiation Risk Models Based on BEIR VII. August 1 2006 Makhijani A, Smith B, and Thorne MC (2006) Science for the Vulnerable: Setting Radiation and Multiple Exposure Environmental Health Standards to Protect Those Most at Risk. See chapter 7 on tritium. http://www.ieer.org/campaign/report.pdf

Whats Wrong?
1.

Wrong radiation weighting factor (wR) Wrong metabolic/dosimetric models Refusal to acknowledge its hazards

2.

3.

1. Radiation weighting (wR) is Wrong

An important issue UK (AGIR) says wR x 2 US EPA says wR x 2.5 but ICRP says it wont change (because of French obsession with fusion research ITER at Cadarache)

from Fairlie I (2007) RBE and wR values of Auger emitters and low-range beta emitters with particular reference to tritium. Journal of Radiological Protection. Vol 27 pp 157-168

Observed RBE values

Distribution of RBEs for HTO/gamma

4 3.5 3

RBE

2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Experiment

2. Tritium Models are Poor

No recognition of tritium levels building up to high levels from chronic exposures No consideration of heterogenous distribution of tritium, especially OBT OBT badly modelled: experimental animal and human data ignored

3. Unusual Tritium Properties unrecognised

Extreme mobility in environment (as H2O) Rapid uptake in biota, ie humans 60% of atoms in humans are H atoms High atomic exchangeability Ability to bind with organic materials 5% in metabolic reactions each day Short-range beta particle, so damage depends on location in cell, eg near DNA?

Overall Result: Tritiums dose coefficient should be increased x 20

1. 2. 3.

Weighting Factor = x 2.5 Correct Models =x4 Hazardous Nature = x 2

Therefore need to increase tritium doses by 2.5 x 4 x 2 = 20

Precautionary Principle
Ie

- err on the side of caution Do not use scientific uncertainty as excuse for inactivity where there is some evidence of harm act to reduce or avoid it or warn about it

Main Conclusions
high tritium concentrations in air moisture, food, water near NPPs therefore high tritium exposures to nearby residents likely cancers, leukemias (but hard to pick up)

Main Recommendations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Use Precautionary Principle Set up permanent health committees on tritium with NGO reps Further epidemiology studies Advise local people Tighten tritium limits

Health Recommendations

protect the vulnerable and most exposed pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children (under 4) should not live within 10 km people within 5 km should not consume food from their gardens, beehives, orchards, and wild foods growing nearby

Globe and Mail: June 12 2007

Useful References

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (2001) Tritium in the Canadian Environment: Levels and Health Effects. Report RSP-0153-1. Prepared for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission under CNSC contract no. 87055-01-0184 by Ranasara Consultants and Richard Osborne. CERRIE (2004) Report of the UK Governments Committee Examining the Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters. www.cerrie.org Energy Washington Week (2007) EPA Tritium Risk Plan May Force Tighter Nuclear Plant Controls, Vol. 4, No. 25, 20 June 2007. Fairlie I (2007) RBE and wR values of Auger emitters and low-range beta emitters with particular reference to tritium. Journal of Radiological Protection. Vol 27 pp 157-168. (2007) http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0952-4746/27/2/003/ Greenpeace Canada. (2007) Tritium Hazard Report: Pollution and Radiation Risk from Canadian Nuclear Facilities. http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/canada/en/documents-and-links/publications/tritium-hazard-report-pollu.pdf Health Canada (1994) Human Health Risk Assessment for Priority Substances. Ottawa, Canada: Ministry of Supply and Services Canada. http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0952-4746/27/2/003/ Hey E (1995) The Precautionary Principle. Where Does It Come From And Where Might It Lead In The Case Of Radioactive Releases To The Environment. In Proceedings of an International Atomic Energy Agency Symposium on The Environmental Impact of Radioactive Releases. Vienna, May 1995. IAEA-SM-339/195. Kirchner G (1990) A New Hazard Index for the Determination of Risk Potentials of Radioactive Waste. J of Environmental Radioactivity, 11, pp 71-95. Makhijani A, Smith B, and Thorne MC (2006) Science for the Vulnerable: Setting Radiation and Multiple Exposure Environmental Health Standards to Protect Those Most at Risk. See chapter 7 on tritium. http://www.ieer.org/campaign/report.pdf OECD/NEA (1980) Radiological Significance and Management of Tritium, Carbon-14, Krypton-85, and Iodine-129 Arising from the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Nuclear Energy Agency of OECD, Paris. Ontario Drinking Water Advisory Council (2009) Report and Advice on the Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standard for Tritium. http://www.odwac.gov.on.ca/reports/minister_reports.htm Ontario Governments Select Committee on Ontario Hydro Affairs: Hearings on The Safety of Ontario's Nuclear Reactors. Tuesday, July 10, 1979. http://www.ccnr.org/tritium_2.html#scoha Osborne RV (1966) Absorption of tritiated water vapour by people. Health Phys 12:1527-1537 Osborne RV (2002) Tritium in the Canadian Environment: Levels and Health Effects. Report RSP-0153-1. Prepared for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Paunescu N, Cotarlea M, Galeriu D, Margineanu R and Mocanu N (1999) Evaluation of environmental tritium levels in pre-operational period of Cernavoda CANDU Nuclear Power Plant. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Volume 239, Number 3. March 1999. pages 465-470. Porter Commission (1980) The Report of the Royal Commission on Electric Power Planning. Volume 6. Environmental and Health Implications of Electric Energy in Ontario. p 85. Ontario Government, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica S.A. CNA Cernavoda. (2005) Raport di Mediu. Song MJ, Son SH and Jang CH (1995) Tritium Inventory Prediction in a Candu Plant. Water Management Vol 15 No 8 pp 593-598.. UNSCEAR (2000) Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. New York NY USA. Varlam C et al (2005) The use of tritiated wastewater from NPP Cernavoda to estimate maximum soluble pollutants on the Danube - Black Sea channel. Fusion Science and Technology, vol. 48, no 1., pp. 716-719. Workman WJ, Trivedi A and Cornett RJ (1998) Tritium Concentrations inside the Homes of Occupationally Exposed Workers: Dosimetric Implications. Health Physics Vol 75 No 1, pp 56-59.