United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20555

Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234

Internet:opa@nrc.gov

No. 97-135 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Wednesday, September 17, 1997)

NRC CONSIDERS CHANGES TO REGULATIONS

ON WATCHES AND CLOCKS CONTAINING RADIOACTIVE TRITIUM

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering amending its regulations to simplify

the licensing process for timepieces containing tritium. It would permit timepieces containing

gaseous tritium to be licensed under the same regulatory requirements as those containing tritium

paint.

The proposed revisions are in response to a petition for rulemaking submitted by

mb-microtec, Inc, of North Tonawanda, New York.

Tritium, a self-luminescent radioactive material, is used in watches and clocks to make

their hands, numbers or other parts visible in the dark. It may be either in the form of a gas--

contained in tiny sealed tubes--or in paint. The planned revisions would not change the level of

radiation protection provided to users and wearers of tritium-illuminated timepieces.

Currently timepieces containing tritium paint may be licensed under a section of the

regulations that contains specific prototype testing requirements. License applications that meet

those tests, and that do not exceed limits on the total amount of tritium permitted per timepiece,

can meet NRC licensing requirements. However, some of the tests, such as a bending test

designed to show that paint will not crack off, are probably not suitable for gaseous tritium.

Therefore applicants for a license to manufacture watches and clocks containing gaseous tritium

cannot apply under this section of the regulations and must apply for an NRC license under a

separate section of the regulations that requires submittal of much more detailed information

(such as engineering drawings containing the overall dimensions, minimum and maximum

dimensions of each model or series, and description of construction materials).

The proposed rule would remove from the regulations the specific requirements for

prototype testing but would continue to contain requirements for overall product performance.

Where appropriate, the NRC staff, as part of its review of license applications, will impose

testing requirements for watch hands and dials through license conditions for all timepieces

containing tritium.
The NRC has concluded that the manufacture and initial distribution of products

containing gaseous tritium light sources and the release of gaseous tritium in the event of

breakage of the glass vial do not result in significant radiation exposures. In fact, these

exposures are a small fraction of the average exposure from natural background radiation in the

United States. Therefore, by adopting the proposed rule, the cost savings would be maximized

without any measurable adverse effect on public health and safety.

Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the proposed changes to the

Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention:

Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff, within 75 days after publication of a Federal Register

notice. This notice is expected to be published shortly.

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