I've seen a lot of interest in Tritium lights here on the CPF and have held my breath for sometime, but feel compelled to post a few things.
While I won't debate the safety issue directly (I'll leave that to someone else), I will relate a couple facts about Tritium lights just to ensure everyone is aware of them.
Fact # 1 - They leak; all Tritium lights outgas measurable levels of contamination. Even when enveloped in the finest glass or resin polymers money can buy, they still leak. Whether the resulting low level radiation is a hazard to you, or your family, is something you will have to decide for yourself. I do think it is important that you know and understand this fact, so that you can make an informed decision about ownership and usage. They leak.
Fact # 2 - In the US, Tritium is regulated by the NRC. Other than the very small Trijicon gun sights, all other Tritium lights require a license or permit to own or use. Violation of the NRC regulations can result in fines, but more importantly, may expose you to other legal liabilities. For instance, you could be held financially, or even criminally liable for any person or item contaminated by exposure to your light. Wipe tests on surfaces have detected the presence of Tritium even years after exposure.
How safe or dangerous is Tritium? I don't know. I have pursued this issue in depth in conjunction with past endeavors, and the only conclusion I've made from that research is that nobody really knows the answer to that question. Little dedicated medical research has been done on Tritium, and out of what has been done, the results are inconclusive.
Most people dismiss Tritium radiation as benign, based on it's low energy level. Statements like "it won't even penetrate a piece of paper" are often seen in reference to Tritium radiation. While very accurate and true, it does not take in to account what happens when Tritium enters the human body. Unlike other radioactive isotopes, Tritium does not concentrate in, or affect any single part of the body. Where other isotopes are bone seekers, or collect in other organs of the body that make it easy to determine the effects of exposure to a particular isotope, Tritium generally evenly distributes itself throughout the human body. This is one reason for a less than definitive answer to what the long term effects of Tritium expose can be.
Tritium is radioactive hydrogen. You cannot use a Geiger counter to detect Tritium radiation.
It also has a nasty habit of replacing the H in H2O resulting in essentially radioactive water (tritium oxide), which is a generally recognized contamination hazard. One piece of equipment I worked with in the past was an optical device with a 10 curie Tritium lamp. Typical sphere lamp, glass with phosphor coating inside, about 5/8" diameter; like a glowing marble. This device was used outside, so it also had a desiccant in it to collect moisture to keep the lenses from fogging up. Small desiccant cartridge was replaced every six months. Desiccant liquid scintillation test readings were typically in excess of 1,000,000 dpm (disintigrations per minute) after 6 months in the device with the tritium lamp. For reference, 100 dpm and below is what is still allowable for a device and be considered "clean" for the general public. Military items usually are considered "clean" for hand held use at 1000 dpm and below, and 10,000 dpm and below for other equipment.
The desiccant contamination levels were 1000 times the allowable levels. The maintenance people who changed the desiccant did it bare handed, without any knowledge of any potential contamination. Tritium is like invisible sticky glue; if you handle a contaminated item then shake hands with someone, their hand will also be contaminated. Get the idea?
Whether it's harmless or not, I won't debate, but it can be spread in measurable levels by simple physical contact.
(They do not change the desiccant that way anymore, and the devices are being upgraded to use an LED and battery in place of the Tritium lamp) (duh)
Is Tritium safe? Again, I don't have the answer, but if you own a Tritium lamp, chances are a wipe test will detect "some" level of contamination. If you want to check your glow ring or other Tritium lamp source, look for testing labs on the web that can do liquid scintillation testing. It's simple and easy to do, and should not be very expensive. You will get a bottle with some distilled water in it, and some dry filter paper. Wipe the dry filter paper all over the outside surface of the lamp and then drop into the water, seal the bottle and send back to lab. You should have results in a couple weeks.
I know I've opened the proverbial can of worms here, but my experience has shown that Tritium devices are self-contaminating, and thought I had to say something. Again, is it safe? I don't know............
While I won't debate the safety issue directly (I'll leave that to someone else), I will relate a couple facts about Tritium lights just to ensure everyone is aware of them.
Fact # 1 - They leak; all Tritium lights outgas measurable levels of contamination. Even when enveloped in the finest glass or resin polymers money can buy, they still leak. Whether the resulting low level radiation is a hazard to you, or your family, is something you will have to decide for yourself. I do think it is important that you know and understand this fact, so that you can make an informed decision about ownership and usage. They leak.
Fact # 2 - In the US, Tritium is regulated by the NRC. Other than the very small Trijicon gun sights, all other Tritium lights require a license or permit to own or use. Violation of the NRC regulations can result in fines, but more importantly, may expose you to other legal liabilities. For instance, you could be held financially, or even criminally liable for any person or item contaminated by exposure to your light. Wipe tests on surfaces have detected the presence of Tritium even years after exposure.
How safe or dangerous is Tritium? I don't know. I have pursued this issue in depth in conjunction with past endeavors, and the only conclusion I've made from that research is that nobody really knows the answer to that question. Little dedicated medical research has been done on Tritium, and out of what has been done, the results are inconclusive.
Most people dismiss Tritium radiation as benign, based on it's low energy level. Statements like "it won't even penetrate a piece of paper" are often seen in reference to Tritium radiation. While very accurate and true, it does not take in to account what happens when Tritium enters the human body. Unlike other radioactive isotopes, Tritium does not concentrate in, or affect any single part of the body. Where other isotopes are bone seekers, or collect in other organs of the body that make it easy to determine the effects of exposure to a particular isotope, Tritium generally evenly distributes itself throughout the human body. This is one reason for a less than definitive answer to what the long term effects of Tritium expose can be.
Tritium is radioactive hydrogen. You cannot use a Geiger counter to detect Tritium radiation.
It also has a nasty habit of replacing the H in H2O resulting in essentially radioactive water (tritium oxide), which is a generally recognized contamination hazard. One piece of equipment I worked with in the past was an optical device with a 10 curie Tritium lamp. Typical sphere lamp, glass with phosphor coating inside, about 5/8" diameter; like a glowing marble. This device was used outside, so it also had a desiccant in it to collect moisture to keep the lenses from fogging up. Small desiccant cartridge was replaced every six months. Desiccant liquid scintillation test readings were typically in excess of 1,000,000 dpm (disintigrations per minute) after 6 months in the device with the tritium lamp. For reference, 100 dpm and below is what is still allowable for a device and be considered "clean" for the general public. Military items usually are considered "clean" for hand held use at 1000 dpm and below, and 10,000 dpm and below for other equipment.
The desiccant contamination levels were 1000 times the allowable levels. The maintenance people who changed the desiccant did it bare handed, without any knowledge of any potential contamination. Tritium is like invisible sticky glue; if you handle a contaminated item then shake hands with someone, their hand will also be contaminated. Get the idea?
Whether it's harmless or not, I won't debate, but it can be spread in measurable levels by simple physical contact.
(They do not change the desiccant that way anymore, and the devices are being upgraded to use an LED and battery in place of the Tritium lamp) (duh)
Is Tritium safe? Again, I don't have the answer, but if you own a Tritium lamp, chances are a wipe test will detect "some" level of contamination. If you want to check your glow ring or other Tritium lamp source, look for testing labs on the web that can do liquid scintillation testing. It's simple and easy to do, and should not be very expensive. You will get a bottle with some distilled water in it, and some dry filter paper. Wipe the dry filter paper all over the outside surface of the lamp and then drop into the water, seal the bottle and send back to lab. You should have results in a couple weeks.
I know I've opened the proverbial can of worms here, but my experience has shown that Tritium devices are self-contaminating, and thought I had to say something. Again, is it safe? I don't know............
.
