The health impacts of a radioisotope are multifactorial. Just how dangerous is it? Tritium is a weak beta emitter with 70x less energy then the the naturally occuring and ubiquitous intracellular radioisotope Potassium 40 which undergoes 4600 radioactive decays per second in our bodies. The Fukushima water has been treated and the almost all radio-isotopes have been removed except for tritium.

So what are the politics and science behind the controversy? Greenpeace alleges that radionuclides released into the sea 'may damage DNA of humans and other organisms.' China states that 'the release is extremely irresponsible and will pose serious harm to the health and sagety of people in neighbouring countries and the international community.' The decision by the Japanese government to begin releasing 1.25 million tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant site over a 10 year period has caused a major stir not only amongst environmental NGO's but also regional countries with historic emnity to Japan. Note: This episode is a rerun from April 2021. She is an active researcher in fields of tissue banking and molecular pathology of thyroid and breast cancer, and the Director of the Chernobyl Tissue bank. Geraldine Thomas is a senior academic and Chair in Molecular Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine of Imperial College London. Still, we try to do our best this week with radiation expert Dr.

Thus, to the victims of anti-nuclear ideology, the 'science' behind tritium offers little comfort. The topic of tritium continues to be a focal point for nuclear opponents, who use anti-science claims to stoke fear among a public they know does not, by and large, understand complex topics of radiation biology.

Six degrees by mark lynas