CHEMICAL STATE OF TRITIUM IN THE ATMOSPHERE
149
less than 1% of the maximum amountof tritium estimated to have been
released.
The production and release of methane in a system using oil diffusion pumps should also have produced other tritium-containing hydrocarbons such as ethane and propane. It is possible that a significant
number of the molecules would contain more than one tritium atom.
Continuing release of labeled molecules will void any attemptto estimate the number of atoms per molecule on the basis of an apparent
meanlifetime for tritiated methane in the atmosphere.’
REFERENCES
1, A, E, Bainbridge, H. E. Suess, and I. Friedman, Isotopic Composition of Atmospheric Hydrogen and Methane, Nature, 192: 648-649 (1961).
2, V. Faltings and P. Harteck, Der Tritiumgehalt der Atmosphare, Z. Naturjforsch., 5a: 438 (1950); see also V. Faltings and P. Harteck, The Helium-3
Problem of the Atmosphere, Nature, 166: 1109 (1950).
3. F.S. Rowland and E. L. Fireman, An Additional Measurement of the Tritium
Content of Atmospheric Hydrogen in 1949, J. Geophys. Res., 66: 4321 (1961).
4, A, V. Grosse, A. D. Kirschenbaum, J. L. Kulp, and W. S. Broecker, The
Natural Tritium Content of Atmospheric Hydrogen, Phys. Rev., 93: 250
(1954).
5. F, Begemann and I, Friedman, Tritium and Deuterium Content of Atmospheric Hydrogen, Z. Naturforsch., J4a: 1024-1031 (1959),
6. K. F, Bishop, H. J. Delafield, A. E. Eggleton, C. O. Peabody, and B. T. Taylor, The Tritium Content of Atmospheric Methane on Tritium in the Physical and Biological Sciences, Report STI/PUB/39, Vol. 1, pp. 55-63, International Atomic Energy Agency, 1962.
;
7, A, E, Martell, On the Inventory of Artificial Tritium and Its Occurrence in
Atmospheric Methane, J. Geophys. Res., 68: 3759-3769 (1963).
8. K, F. Bishop and B. T. Taylor, Growth of the Tritium Content of Atmospheric Molecular Hydrogen, Nature, 185: 26-27 (1960).
9. F. Begemann, Tritium Determinations in Atmospheric Gasesand Meteorites,
Final Report, Report AF 61(052)-465, Max-Planck-Institut fiir Chemie, November 1963.
10. E. S, Robinson, A. C. Briesmeister, B. B. McInteer, and R. M. Potter, Sep-
aration of Tritium from Hydrogen by Thermal Diffusion, in Radioisotopes in
Physical Sciences and Industry, Report STI/PUB/20, Vol. Il, pp. 431-438,
International Atomic Energy Agency, 1962.
11, R. Wolfgang, T. Pratt, and F. S..Rowland, Production of Labeled Organic
Material with Accelerated Tritium, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 78: 5132 (1956).
12, K, E. Wilzbach, Tritium-labeling by Exposure of Organic Compounds to
Tritium Gas, J. Am, Chem. Soc., 79: 1013 (1957).
13. C, E. Junge, Note on the Exchange Rate Between the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres, Tellus, 14: 242 (1962).