NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

E-mail: opa@nrc.gov 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. 09-011 January 16, 2009

NRC Requests Organizations to Report on 

Tritium Exit Signs in Their Possession 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has requested 61 organizations to check 

tritium exit signs in their possession against their records and to report any lost or missing 

signs to the agency. 

 The NRC’s action follows an inspection of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., conducted in 

December and discussed in a meeting with Wal-Mart officials this week. A year-long 

audit by Wal-Mart identified approximately 15,000 tritium exit signs lost, missing, or 

otherwise unaccounted for at its stores and warehouses nationwide. Wal-Mart, which 

kept the NRC informed of its audit, expects to submit a formal report to the agency in late 

January. 

 Tritium exit signs pose little or no threat to public health and safety and do not 

constitute a security risk. However, the NRC requires proper recordkeeping and disposal 

of all radioactive materials. Proper handling and recordkeeping are important, because a 

damaged or broken sign could cause minor radioactive contamination of the immediate 

vicinity, requiring a potentially expensive clean up. 

 “Wal-Mart’s inability to account for all the tritium exit signs the company 

purchased demonstrates that organizations may not be fully aware of the regulatory 

requirements for owning these signs,” said George Pangburn, deputy director of the 

NRC’s Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs. 

“The NRC wants to be certain that organizations are aware of their responsibility to 

properly account for tritium exit signs in their possession and to dispose of them properly 

at the end of their useful life.” 

 In a “demand for information” issued today, the NRC asked organizations 

possessing 500 or more tritium exit signs to report in writing to the NRC within 60 days 

the following information: 
• An explanation of how the organization ensures compliance with regulatory 

requirements applying to the possession, transfer and disposal of tritium exit signs 

the organization has acquired; 

• A confirmation of the total number of signs possessed, and whether this matches 

the number in the organization’s records; 

• The reasons for any discrepancies, and actions taken or planned to locate any 

missing signs; 

• Actions taken or planned to prevent future losses. 

The organizations receiving the demand for information were identified through 

the NRC’s General License Tracking System, which contains information filed by device 

manufacturers regarding initial distribution of the signs. The organizations include large 

retail store chains, churches, federal and state agencies, school districts and universities, 

among others. 

 The signs are considered “generally licensed devices,” because they are inherently 

safe enough to be handled or used by anyone with no radiation training or experience. 

Although purchasers – known as “general licensees” – do not need authorization from the 

NRC or a state regulatory agency to possess the signs, they are subject to certain 

regulatory requirements regarding handling, transfer or disposal of the signs. They are 

also subject to NRC or state inspection and enforcement action (including fines) for 

violating those requirements. 

 From 2001 through 2007, Wal-Mart purchased approximately 70,000 tritium exit 

signs to install in its stores and warehouses. Last year, after discovering some signs were 

missing, the company initiated an audit of all its facilities. The NRC and its Agreement 

States (the 35 states that regulate radioactive materials under agreements with the NRC) 

have been kept informed of Wal-Mart’s progress in its audit. The company is now in the 

final stages of removing tritium exit signs from its facilities and returning them to the 

manufacturers in accordance with NRC regulations for proper disposal. 

 The NRC reminded manufacturers and general licensees of the regulatory 

requirements for tritium exit signs in a Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS 2006-25) issued 

in December 2006. The requirements are also spelled out in NUREG-1556, Consolidated 

Guidance for Materials Licensees, Volume 16, Appendix L. More recently, the NRC 

posted a Fact Sheet on tritium exit signs on its Web site. 

 
Organizations Requested to Report on Tritium Exit Signs in Their Possession 

Air Cruisers Co., Wall, N.J. 

Alton Iron Works, Inc., Windsor, Conn. 

Alyeska Pripeline Service Company, 

Anchorage, Alaska 

AMC Theaters, Kansas City, Mo. 

American Airlines, Dallas, Texas 

AMR Corporation, Fort Worth, Texas 

Anchorage School District, Anchorage, 

Alaska 

Atlantic Aviation, Plano, Texas 

Avon Community Schools Corp., Avon, 

Ind. 

Bed, Bath & Beyond, Union, N.J. 

Boeing Co. Corporate Offices, Chicago, 

Ill. 

BP Exploration Alaska, Anchorage, 

Alaska 

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., New York, 

N.Y. 

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day 

Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah 

Defense General Supply Center, 

Richmond, Va. 

Department of the Air Force, USAF 

Radioisotope Committee, Bolling AFB, 

Washington, D.C. 

Department of the Army, Army Material 

Command, Ft. Belvoir, Va. 

Department of the Navy, Chief of Naval 

Operations, Navy Radiation Safety 

Committee, Washington, D.C. 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 

Veterans Health Administration, Little 

Rock, Ark. 

Dominion Virginia Power, Richmond, 

Va. 

Dupont, Wilmington, Del. 

Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, Ind. 

Essex County Correctional Facility and 

Sheriff’s headquarters, Middleton, Mass. 

Federal Corrections, Washington D.C. 

Federated Retail Holdings, Inc., St. 

Louis, Mo. 

Feldman Electric, New Cumberland, Pa. 

Franklin Electric Co., Bluffton, Ind. 

Giant Food, Landover, Md. 

Goodrich Corp., Charlotte, N.C. 

Helicopter Support Inc., Trumbull, 

Conn. 

Herb Stevens Labor & Industry 

Building, Trenton, N.J. 

Hilton Hotels Corp., Beverly Hills, 

Calif. 

Home Depot, Atlanta, Ga. 

Honeywell International, Inc., 

Morristown, N.J. 

Isolite Corp., Berwyn, Pa. 

MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc., St. 

Peters, Mo. 

Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt. 

Mount Holly Center, Lumberton, N.J. 

NASA, Washington, D.C. 

Nassau Electric, West Collingswood 

Heights, N.J. 

National Amusements Corp., Dedham, 

Mass. 

New Jersey Association of School 

Administration, Trenton, N.J. 

Northwest Airlines, Inc., Eagan, Minn. 

Outrigger Hotel, Honolulu, Hawaii 

Pacific Electric Sales Agency, Honolulu, 

Hawaii 
Organizations Requested to Report on Tritium Exit Signs in Their Possession 

Ridgewood Board of Education, 

Ridgewood, N.J. 

S.A.S. Technical Forwarding Dept., 

Newark, N.J. 

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 

D.C. 

State Farm Insurance, Bloomington, Ill. 

State of Alaska, Dept. of Health & 

Social Services, Radiological Health 

Program, Anchorage, Alaska 

Stusser Electric Co., Anchorage, Alaska 

Thomson, Indianapolis, Ind. 

U.S. Army Garrison – Rock Island 

Arsenal, Rock Island, Ill. 

U.S. Coast Guard, Washington D.C. 

U.S. General Services Administration, 

Washington, D.C. 

U.S. Military Academy, West Point, 

N.Y. 

U.S. Postal Service, Washington, D.C. 

United Airlines, Chicago, Ill. 

University of Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska 

Wallens Ridge Prison, Big Stone Gap, 

Va.