Kinetic isotope effect approximation that reduced masses are approximately equal to the masses of the hydrogen, deuterium, or tritium was used. In addition, the vibrational motion was assumed to be approximated by a harmonic oscillator, so that formula_19 (X = H, D, or T). The subscript ""s"" refers to these "semi-classical" kinetic isotope effects, which disregard quantum tunneling. Tunneling contributions must be treated separately as a correction factor. For isotope effects involving elements other than hydrogen, many of these simplifications are not valid, and the magnitude of the isotope effect may depend strongly on some or all of the neglected factors. Thus, kinetic
Tritium 65 nuclear sites in the US. In one case, leaking water contained of tritium per litre, which is 375 times the EPA limit for drinking water. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission states that in normal operation in 2003, 56 pressurized water reactors released of tritium (maximum: 2,080 Ci; minimum: 0.1 Ci; average: 725 Ci) and 24 boiling water reactors released (maximum: 174 Ci; minimum: 0 Ci; average: 27.7 Ci), in liquid effluents. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, self-illuminating exit signs improperly disposed in municipal landfills have been recently found out to contaminate waterways. The legal limits for tritium