Long-term Evaluation of the Biological Half-life of Tritium

Abstract

The body burdens of two tritium luminous dial painters have been followed since the fall of 1967. Urine collections began 6–10 months after termination of work involving occupational exposure to tritium. In both cases, an intermediate (Ti) and a long (Tl) half life component could be observed. One individual exhibited a Ti of 21 days and a Tl of 280 days, whereas the second worker showed a Ti of 33 days and a Tl of 2020 days. A surprisingly high seasonal dependence of tritium body water concentration was observed in one case. This resulted in an increase of tritium concentration in body water in winter as compared to the previous summer.