Health effects triggered by tritium: how do we get public understanding based on scientifically supported evidence?

Hideki Matsumoto; Yoshiya Shimada; Asako J Nakamura; Noriko Usami; Mitsuaki Ojima; Shizuko Kakinuma; Mikio Shimada; Masaaki Sunaoshi; Ryoichi Hirayama; Hiroshi Tauchi

doi:10.1093/jrr/rrab029

Health effects triggered by tritium: how do we get public understanding based on scientifically supported evidence?

J Radiat Res. 2021 Jul 10;62(4):557-563. doi: 10.1093/jrr/rrab029.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental Radiology and Health Physics, University of Fukui School of Medical Sciences, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui 910-1193, Japan.
² Institute for Environmental Sciences, Rokkasho-mura, Kamikita-gun, Aomori 039-3212, Japan.
³ Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Ibaraki University, 2-1-1 Bunkyo, Mito, Ibaraki 310-8512, Japan.
⁴ Photon Factory, Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan.
⁵ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Oita 870-1201, Japan.
⁶ Department of Radiation Effects Research, National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
⁷ Laboratory for Advanced Nuclear Energy, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, Oookayaka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan.
⁸ Department of Charged Particle Therapy Research, National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), Chiba 263-8555, Japan.

Abstract

The Commission for 'Corresponding to Radiation Disaster of the Japanese Radiation Research Society' formulated a description of potential health effects triggered by tritium. This was in response to the issue of discharging water containing tritium filtered by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), generated and stored in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station after the accident. In this review article, the contents of the description, originally provided in Japanese, which gives clear and detailed explanation about potential health effects triggered by tritium based on reliable scientific evidence in an understandable way for the public, were summarized. Then, additional information about biochemical or environmental behavior of organically bound tritium (OBT) were summarized in order to help scientists who communicate with general public.

Keywords: health effects; radiation risk; tritiated water (HTO); tritium.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Carcinogenesis / pathology
Evidence-Based Medicine*
Humans
Public Health*
Radiation Exposure
Radiation, Ionizing
Tritium / adverse effects*

Substances

Tritium

Grants and funding

JP19HP2003/JSPS