While damage to tritium exit signs is rare, it is most likely to occur when an exit sign is dropped during installation or smashed in the demolition of a building. If not damaged during demolition, TRITIUM EXIT SIGNS can be broken when they are illegally dumped in community landfills, so are other emergency lightings.
Tritium is naturally produced by the interaction of cosmic rays with the atmosphere. Tritium can also be produced by man-made processes, as is the case of tritium exit signs. Tritium decays by emitting a low- energy beta particle that cannot penetrate the outer layer of human skin. Therefore, the main hazard associated with tritium is internal exposure by inhalation. Internal contamination occurs when people swallow or breathe in radioactive materials, or when radioactive materials enter the body through an open wound or are absorbed through the skin. Some types of radioactive materials stay in the body and are deposited in different body organs. Other types are eliminated in blood, sweat, urine, and feces.
As with all ionizing radiation, exposure to tritium increases the risk of developing cancer. However, tritium exposure is likely to have a limited biological impact because it emits very weak radiation and leaves the body relatively quickly. Because of tritium’s short biological half-life, tritium must be ingested in rather large amounts to pose a significant health risk.