Page 21 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Tritium
Tritium (hydrogen-3) is a natural radioisotope
of hydrogen, with a half-life of about 12 years.
It is produced as cosmic rays bombard hydrogen atoms inside water vapour molecules in the upper atmosphere.
Tritium is washed out of the atmosphere and then continues on in the water cycle (i.e. through plants, soil, rocks and rivers to the oceans).
Atmospheric nuclear tests greatly increase the amount of tritium in the air, which can also be detected in the water cycle. This has allowed scientists to follow the slow movement of underground waters.
Tritium is used to make nuclear weapons – hydrogen bombs.
radioisotope: a shortened version of the phrase radioactive isotope.
radiotracer: a radioactive isotope that is added to a stable, nonradioactive material in order to trace how it moves and its concentration.
Tracers detect leaky pipes
Radioactive tracers can be fed into water or gas pipes and a Geiger counter used to detect places where the amount of activity is high. This will be where the tracer is leaking into the surroundings and becoming concentrated.
By using this technique, long stretches of ground do not have to be dug up unnecessarily.
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