[kenned3]

This sort of perpetuates the same myth about Plutonium being dangerous covered in the article.

If you have the right plutonium isotope, in the correct shape and compress it just right.. it is a very dangerous metal.

if you have a small piece of it, it is rather harmless given it is an alpha emitter and can be stopped via single sheet of paper.

Tritium falls under the same category.

If you have a nuclear device, and put tritium in it, the tritium participates in the reaction and effectively "boosts" the yield.

If you have some Tritium, it is a weak beta emitter and you will either exhale it out (Tritium gas) or urinate it if it is in liquid form.

Like all radioactive material it does increase your chances of cancer, but you would need a fair amount of it.

Given Tritium is an isotope of Hydrogen, it isn't "like water" it IS water..but radioactive.

water - H2O Heavy water - D2O Super heavy water - T2O

[Gordonjcp]

> if you have a small piece of it, it is rather harmless given it is an alpha emitter and can be stopped via single sheet of paper.

Thing with alpha emitters is, if you get it on you the outer layers of skin will stop it before it does much damage. If you get it *in* you, where there's living tissue way closer to the surface like in your mouth or your lungs, it'll give you an absolute rip-roaring tumour.

[kennend3]

Most adults stopped putting strange things in their mouths a long time ago.

But agree, Alpha emitters are a problem if taken internally, which is why i stated breathing/drinking tritium increases cancer risks.

there is not a clear line between "alpha exposure" and "rip-roarding tumour"... See "nuclear medicine", "radioactive tracers" etc for examples of where alpha emitters are intentionally given to patients.

[ClumsyPilot]

The most important decontamination procedure is a shower.

I think case with plutonium is helped by the fact that we do not normally eat lumps of metal.