Tritium Lights are illuminated with a light source that consists of glass tubes, internally coated with phosphor and filled with tritium gas. Tritium gas (³H) is an isotope of hydrogen that emits low energy radiation in the form of low energy beta rays, or electrons. These electrons stimulate the phosphor coating causing the tubes to continuously emit light. For more information check out our technology page.

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Tritium Lights exist for over 50 years and have been used mainly in airplanes and military applications. Nowadays more and more the product is installed in buildings as exit signs. In the USA millions of Tritium Lights have been installed already. Now these products are available on the European market.

Tritium Lights are used as emergency escape signs in hotels, hospitals, schools, restaurants, workshops, cinemas, offices, jails, so in all situations where evacuation of people is needed when an emergency occurs. However, Tritium Lights can also be used in pools, on ships, in the petro-chemical industry, along highways and in tunnels. Not only in new buildings, but also in existing buildings the advantages of Tritium Lights are large.

Our Tritium Lights are available with a 10-year, 12-year, 15-year or 20-year effective life. For Europe the products have been standardized for 15 years. Replacement dates are clearly marked on each unit. The effective life of the sign is dependent upon the sign's ability to meet the minimum luminance requirement of the US National Fire Protection Associations and the British Standard. Because Tritium decays at a know rate, we are able to calculate the initial brightness in order to meet the minimum luminance requirement at different points in time. Therefore, the effective life of a Tritium Light is dependent upon the amount of Tritium (measured in Becquerel) that we put into the sealed sources that light our signs. As you would expect, a twenty-year sign requires more tritium gas than a ten-year sign.

Tritium Lights meet many standards like ANSI N540; NFPA Life Safety Code 101; 92/58 EEG Directive; BS-5499 part 2; NEN-EN 1838 (see downloads in Dutch) and NEN 6088 (see downloads in Dutch). Tritium Lights are UL-listed and approved by US-NRC and the Dutch Ministry of the Environment.

Tritium Lights have the lowest cost of ownership when compared to incandescent, compact fluorescent and LED exit signs over a 15-year period. See our advantages page for a comparison calculation.

Although tritium gas is a radioactive isotope, our products emit NO radiation. The gas is hermetically sealed into the glass tubes. The beta emissions from the tritium gas are completely contained within the tubes. There is absolutely no risk of radiation exposure from normal use of our product. Great care is taken in the construction of our signs to insure that they will stand up to extremely tough handling.

Keep in mind, for this to occur, the outer frame and inner protective housing would also have to be destroyed. In this scenario, the released tritium gas would rise and dilute rapidly in the air. If, however, somehow a person were trapped in a 3x3m room with a sign in which all of the tubes had broken, the radiation exposure would be similar to that received from a dental x-ray. These signs would not be generally licensed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the Dutch Ministry of the Environment if there were any chance that they posed a health risk to the public in a normal accident event. In fact, Tritium Lights have been used extensively throughout the world for more than 25 years without incident.

It is unlawful to abandon or dispose of Tritium Lights except by transfer to persons specifically licensed by Ministries (e.g. importer and dealers). They cannot be thrown in the trash. We will accept the return of any self-luminous signs as outlined in our return policy stated below. Otherwise, they must be sent back to a facility that is licensed to handle low level radioactive waste. This is stated on the Radioactive Label affixed to the back of each sign.

If a replacement sign is purchased, we agree to take back the expired sign at no charge. This applies on a one-for-one basis, i.e. purchase 6 new signs and return 6 signs at no charge. This policy applies for any type of self-luminous sign. If a replacement sign is not purchased, we will charge a fee to take back the expired sign.