Lethal and mutagenic effects in microorganisms grown in $sup 3$H$sub 2$O. Final report

Results are summarized from studies of lethal and mutagenic effects in microorganisms grown in tritiated water. It was concluded that the effects of radiation alone are sufficient to explain the biological effects observed. Studies on the effect of tritium decays accumulated during growth of organisms in the presence of tritiated nucleic acid precursors showed that the mutation rates per decay for continuous growth and for storage conditions were identical and that tritium-labeled adenine and cytosine both caused a local mutagenic effect. A list of publications that give a complete account of the work is included. (CH