Re: H-3 Exit Signs

[LIPTONW@detroitedison.com]

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I thought that one of the purposes of the health physics profession is to 
enable the use of radiation for the benefit of society, not to protect people 
from trivial risks.  Emergency exit signs which use tritium seem to pose a 
trivial risk, if any, and offer significant advantages in reliability and 
safety over the alternative of a rechargeable battery.  If you're concerned 
about a "hard hat type" breaking a tritium tube, you should be even more 
concerned about the potential for breaking a lead-acid battery.   
 
Bill Lipton 



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Received: 27 Mar 1996 18:57:23                    Sent: 27 Mar 1996 17:53:03
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Subject: Re: H-3 Exit Signs
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Jeff Mueller wrote:

>Has anyone out there had the joy of dealing with a significantly damaged
>(i.e., internal tubes smashed open by an overzealous hard-hat type) H-3 exit
>sign in a heavily trafficked area, such as a university library?
>
>We're trying to convince our Facilities Department that these signs could be
>more trouble than they are worth.


I believe in Australia we were saved from these things by a national
standard which ruled them out on the grounds that they had insufficient
luminance.  Australian Standard AS 2293.1-1987 [Emergency evacuation
lighting in buildings] specifies the required brightness.  If you call ANSI
they should be able to direct you to a US equivalent.


Michael Williamson
                                        ph +61 7 3365 4504
Radiation Protection Adviser            fax +61 7 3365 1577
Occupational Health & Safety Unit       m.williamson@mailbox.uq.edu.au
University of Queensland
Brisbane 4072
Australia





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