US source for Tritium markers..

mrorange

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I have a bunch of Traser glowrings and love them, but ordering them from overseas can be a little bit stress inducing though merkava has made it as painless as possible (Thanks!) This post is not meant to compete with his glowring(or newer "glow discs") business, but I thought I would post it as it may interest some. These appear to have holes drilled in the housing so you can screw them to walls, etc. I found these tritium markers at the following store:

https://www.labsafety.com/store/product_group.asp?dept_id=27293&cat_prefix=3WA

The price for the smallest one is only $12.80

Here is the text from the site:

Safety Markers
Revolutionary Self-Illuminating Markers Save Money

Amazing new markers are waterproof, explosion-proof, vandal resistant, require no batteries, no electricity, no maintenance and last up to 15 years. Put them wherever providing safe passage and protecting architectural integrity is a priority. Ideal for directional lighting in harsh environments.
Specifications: Sleek design. Easy installation. Light is powered by tritium gas enclosed in a high-impact polycarbonate housing. When markers reach their expiration date, return to manufacturer for recycling.

You'll have to click the link to see a picture, their site doesnt allow you to download or directly link to the pics.


Edited to add that I have no financial stake in this company, I just wanted to pass on the info....
 

ZENGHOST

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

Interesting...that's a pretty huge thing of tritium compared to a glowring. I wonder if it's all tritium.
 

Tomas

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

tritium.jpg

Here's the pic from the site ...
 

Reno

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

Guys, proceed with caution here...

I ordered a pair of markers, and was called within three days demanding an explanation for their use before they would authorize the purchase. I also had to have them sent to work, under the auspices they would be used to illuminate the doors to two lockboxes on the property for security purposes.

Just so you know, and have your story ready...
 

mrorange

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

Well crap. I apologize folks, I wasn't aware of there being ordering restrictions, it sure doesn't say anything on the website. I'm sorry if my post has caused problems for anyone.

Merkava, you've got my continued business.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

Quickbeam

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

Already tried this route through another US vendor - you have to use them in an industrial complex for permanent installation only and their location has to be registered with the NRC via the selling company.... Sales to individual consumers is prohibited.
 

Double_A

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

Bummer

I saw the markers in the Lab Safety catalog myself last week and was considering ordering them for my personal use.

Here is the problem, the government tightly regulates all radioactive "sources". when you see a magazine article saying how there are 10,000 missing radioactive sources in the US that the government cannot account for, terrorist misuse etc these markers and ones like them make up a significant percentage of that figure. Government does not want any radioactive source that exceeds a certain number of microcuries floating around.

Those of us that collect radioactive minerals, have seen some specimins stopped from being imported.

GregR
 

Reno

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

The vials are super easy to remove from those pieces as well. Ive got the medium vial in a plastic tube with a lanyard hole, for use as a reading light, it's that bright (after your eyes dark-adapt)...
 

mrorange

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

Well I feel like an idiot now for even posting this, I should have checked it out further first....
 

logicnerd411

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

[ QUOTE ]
mrorange said:
Well I feel like an idiot now for even posting this, I should have checked it out further first....

[/ QUOTE ]

No actually, any contribution to the forums is appreciated!

Dan
 

lemlux

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

I would imagine that many of us who receive flashlights at work addresses can come up with plausible justifications to buy these.

Heck, back in 1974 when I was a Division Controller of a Gould Electronics Instrument division in Oxnard, California I was granted a permit to carry concealed weapons. My accepted justification was that my job responsibilities included "protecting the company's assets". The fact that I was a bean counter, not a security person, didn't matter. The magic works in quotes did.
 

paulr

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

The issue isn't that you can make h-bombs with tritium but rather that it's a radioactive source and has to be disposed of properly etc. It's pretty safe in the sealed tubes but you don't want to break one and breathe the stuff. I'm not sure I'd want to mess with those things, especially the larger ones.
 

Double_A

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

A previous employer had one building with emergency Exit signs made from self illuminating tritium markers. Each segment of the letters in the word "EXIT" were made with 2 to 4" tritium tubes. We pulled them down and returned them. They were replaced with signs using strings of green leds, the hassle was just too much with tritium ones. I believe part of the issue was if you inhale gases tritium one of the disintigration daughter products is solid particulate and can lodge in the lungs, continuing to give off radiation from INSIDE the body till it decays! Just perfect condition for creating a cancerous growth in the lungs. Radioactive fallout outside the body is simply washed/scrubbed away in the shower, but what to you do when it's inside the body?

GregR
 

Marked

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

We get radiated every day specially with that huge H-bomb going off over there (pointing at the sun).
 

John N

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

Not seeing the details of this thread I ordered a couple of markers from Lab Safety.

I as well, got a call from Lab Safety. The didn't say anything about sales being prohibited to anyone, but did indicate they needed to track where they were going to the end of insuring proper disposal. I guess it wasn't clear where they were going to be used since I shipped them to my work address instead of my billing address. I get the impression they register the address and phone# with the nuclear regulatory commission.

I went ahead with the order, but I think I might not have if I had really read this thread. Oh well.

The interesting thing is they got someone from technical support involved. I say interesting since she was very knowledgable about Tritium and knew about it's use in watches, etc. Thumbs up for Lab Saftey.

-john
 

John N

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

[ QUOTE ]
Double_A said:
I believe part of the issue was if you inhale gases tritium one of the disintigration daughter products is solid particulate and can lodge in the lungs, continuing to give off radiation from INSIDE the body till it decays! Just perfect condition for creating a cancerous growth in the lungs.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is the heart of the matter.

-john
 

JJHitt

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

I wish someone could post an authorative source for just what the regulations actually are. The statement "Tritium is illegal in the US" doesn't really provide any information.

Is it prohibited and/or regulated to buy, sell, resell, manufacture, transport, distribute, store, dispose of, package, covet or fondle? If so, in what means and in what quanties?

This is one area where details are important.
 

James S

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Re: New, US source for Tritium markers..

Here is an authorative response from all the reading of the regulations that I've done.

tritium light sources containing below a certain amount of tritium in them are legal. These include watch face dots and gun sites. Larger tritium sources are legal for "non-frivilous" use, like airport runway markers and exit signs that must run without power forever. However, they must be registered with the government and they may come to inspect them and you have to be responsible for their proper disposal. You can't just throw them out. So you have to register them. A glow ring falls under the frivilous category and contains too much tritium to be legal under the gun site amendment.

You can only have the bigger ones if you have a real use for them and are willing to pay for their disposal as dangerous waste.

Discuss the logic or lack of logic of that all you want, but thats whats on the books right now. If you try to order from a source that imports them or sells them in the US they will have to verify your storage and disposal facilities and you'll have to do a lot of paperwork and may be denied the license to have them. certainly if you say on the form that you're putting one on your keychain they will not OK it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

EDIT: more info, The reason nobody has posted a single link to a government page that describes the whole thing is that there isn't just one. There are literally a hundred different regulations that may or may not come into play and they have been updated and amended and some have been superceeded and so it's hard to find the exact specifics anyway summed up as it is all legal at this particular moment. If you want to read all those pages try and hit the http://www.nrc.gov/ site, here is a Starting Link about watch face dots.
 
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