mdsolar writes "The tritium leak into ground water at Vermont Yankee has now tested at 775,000 picocuries per liter, 37 times higher than the federal drinking water standard. 'Despite the much higher reading, an NRC spokeswoman said Thursday there was nothing to fear. "There's not currently, nor is there likely to be, an impact on public health or safety or the environment," the NRC's Diane Screnci said in an interview. She had maintained previously that the Environmental Protection Agency drinking water safety limit of 20,000 picocuries per liter had an abundance of caution built into it. ... The National Academy of Sciences said in 2005 that any exposure to ionizing radiation from an isotope like tritium elevates the risk of cancer, though it also said with small exposures, the risk would be low. ' At what level should the NRC shut down the troubled plant?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Tritium gas ( H3 ) is a radioactive form of ordinary Hydrogen gas ( H2 ).
High pressure Tritium gas is sealed inside these small borosilicate glass vials, and continuously emits low energy Beta radiation (electrons). These electrons impact a special phosphor coating on the inside of the tube, which in turn emits a visible GREEN glow.
Each Tritium Light Source is a laser sealed borosilicate glass vial which has been coated internally with phosphor. In one single process, the unit is sealed by a CO2 laser and injected with gaseous Tritium. The low energy electrons emitted by the Tritium, excite the phosphor and this creates a safe, low level light without filaments or heat dissipation and no risk of fire or explosion.
These low level light sources have unique properties, they are unaffected by water, oil and most corrosive materials. They will continuously glow, and will do so for 10 to 20 years. They are totally fail-safe and maintenance free.
They require no external power source or exposure to light in order to work.
Tritium Light Sources go through a labor intensive manufacturing process with quality control being a dominant consideration. They are 100% inspected for dimensions, brightness, temperature, thermal shock and Tritium leakage. Random sample testing is performed continually for discoloration, brightness decay, reduced pressure and vibration effects.
The glass tube is sealed in a hexagonal shaped clear acrylic housing which makes them virtually indestructible. Only a very small quantity of Tritium gas in sealed within the tube... and the low-level Beta radiation cannot penetrate the inner glass tube, nor the thick acrylic housing.
They are completely safe for all uses.
Should you actually manage to break the inner tube (by smashing the it with a hammer or similar impact), the tiny amount of Tritium gas will simply disperse and the unit will cease to function.?These have infinite variety practical uses... attach one to anything you want to find in the dark.
Attach one to your flashlight so you can locate it when the lights are out... your pet's collar in case he wanders off into the darkness... your keychain... mount them on the corners of walls to find your way in the darkness, etc., etc.
Some advanced experimenters extract the Tritium gas inside the tube and mix it with Deuterium gas.
They use this mixture inside homemade Fusor devices - a device that demonstrates nuclear fusion on a very small scale.
Most of us though, simply use these for what they are intended - providing reliable, visible light.
The light emitted by Tritium Light Sources can be seen up to about 20 feet away in total darkness. very unique, unusual & useful.
