Luminox Watch

[baldingwonder]

I know this is a kind of trivial question, but I just finished A School at NNPTC, and my BM instructor told me I might consider getting a new watch when I go to prototype.  Luminox watches have a bit of tritium in the paint used on the hands and hour indicators, and my instructor said that the paint might emit too much radiation and cause my watch to be confiscated.  Anyone have a definite answer on whether or not I should go ahead and get a different watch?

[GLW]

I know this is a kind of trivial question, but I just finished A School at NNPTC, and my BM instructor told me I might consider getting a new watch when I go to prototype.  Luminox watches have a bit of tritium in the paint used on the hands and hour indicators, and my instructor said that the paint might emit too much radiation and cause my watch to be confiscated.  Anyone have a definite answer on whether or not I should go ahead and get a different watch?

Why tempt fate or an overzealous health physics concern?

Buy a different watch without the emissions concerns.

If someone on these boards says it's no problem and it gets confiscated no one who confiscated it will give it back because somebody on nukeworker.com advised you it was no problem.

[DLGN25]

How does tritium decay?  If you know that then you have answered your question.  By the way, the tritium is encased in a capsule.

[Higgs]

^^^ There is an NLO here at my plant that wears one..., I'm not saying you should use that to make your decision, but it goes along with what DLGN said about thinking about the decay mechanism of tritium.

GLW's advice is also good.

Justin

[Frank Cable]

Don't get one because they're garbage.  If you're set on tritium brightness get a Ball watch.

[Higgs]

Don't get one because they're garbage.  If you're set on tritium brightness get a Ball watch.

I read it as he already has one.

Justin

[SloGlo]

Don't get one because they're garbage.  If you're set on tritium brightness get a Ball watch.

those ball watches look pretty cool.  Like those automatics, h3 is a nice bonus.

[Marlin]

   Just a point for reference, there are EXIT signs with 10 to 20 curies of tritium in them and you can't see any readings with a frisker. I removed a 55 gallon barrel full of these signs from a building that regularly monitored for tritium and there were no elevated readings.

[MMdad]

Does this answer your question?

While tritium has several different experimentally determined values of its half-life, the National Institute of Standards and Technology lists 4,500±8 days (approximately 12.32 years).[1] It decays into helium-3 by beta decay and it releases 18.6 keV of energy in the process. The electron's kinetic energy varies, with an average of 5.7 keV, while the remaining energy is carried off by the nearly undetectable electron antineutrino. Beta particles from tritium can penetrate only about 6.0 mm of air, and they are incapable of passing through the dead outermost layer of human skin.[2] The unusually low energy released in the tritium beta decay makes the decay (along with that of rhenium-187) an appropriate laboratory for absolute neutrino mass measurements (the most recent experiment being KATRIN).

Tritium is potentially dangerous if inhaled or ingested. It can combine with oxygen to form tritiated water molecules, and those can be absorbed through pores in the skin.

The low energy of tritium's radiation makes it difficult to detect tritium-labeled compounds except by using liquid scintillation counting.

[thenukeman]

The beta radiation is too low to  be picked up by a frisker.  You have to have a liquid scintillation counter to check for loose contamination.   I would not worry about it. I would wear it.  The 18 Kev beta will not be picked up by a frisker. It does not release any gamma radiation and the beta can not be detected by frisker so why worry??
You also have a dial face that would shield all of the beta radiation.  I would say  that navy nuke is not up to speed.  That is putting it nicely!!!

[thenukeman]

I agree anything of value you should not take into a RCA. The Luminox watch, keys, cell phone etc. However the tritium in the Luminox watch makes it the same as the keys and cell phone in my opinion. The radiation from the tritium  can not be detected by a frisker. 

[Fadge]

In prototype now in NY. People here have them. Just don't wear it into the RC.

[GLW]

In prototype now in NY. People here have them. Just don't wear it into the RC.

Well, that only took two months to get the best answer,...

[MrHazmat]

I still have my Dad's old Army radium  dial watch, you want to borrow it?? I took it to work  back in the 70's  and if I can remember it was 4 or 5 mRem on the face and 1 mRem through the back. Chem-Nuclear did not see the humor in me wearing it???

[spentfuel]

H3 is a low energy beta emitter and cant even penetrate the crystal on the watch.

Its no concern wearing it in an RCA/RCZ cause it can not be detected.  As info some of them contain H3 in a gas.

sf

[DLGN25]

Well, that only took two months to get the best answer,...

And it makes one wonder what else is not being taught these days...

Perhaps the difference between heavy water and lite water is the calorie count... 

[sweetnessman06]

The beta radiation is too low to  be picked up by a frisker.  You have to have a liquid scintillation counter to check for loose contamination.   I would not worry about it. I would wear it.  The 18 Kev beta will not be picked up by a frisker. It does not release any gamma radiation and the beta can not be detected by frisker so why worry??
You also have a dial face that would shield all of the beta radiation.  I would say  that navy nuke is not up to speed.  That is putting it nicely!!!

I've frisked my watch at about 300 cpm >bkg, not much, but enough to set off the alarm

[spentfuel]

I've frisked my watch at about 300 cpm >bkg, not much, but enough to set off the alarm

Your watch does not contain H3 it is likely Pm-147 which has a Beta max energy of 224 kev and has some associated gamma and x-rays also.

sf