Where Are Self Luminous Exit Signs Recycled?

Death and Resurection of Self Luminous Exit Signs

Once your ten, fifteen or twenty year self luminous exit sign has reached it's operational lifespan, the once-bright green tritium tubes will quickly lose their luminosity. At this point it is illegal to continue using the sign, as it will produce less than the required minimum foot-candles of light.

You will then contact the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and attain an RGA number which will allow the sign to be tracked on its journey to a safe nuclear waste disposal broker. This process can take a long time as there are thousands of SL customers in North America, but only one place that recycles them.

Why Does My Self Luminous Exit Sign Take So Long to Recycle?

During the Cold War years from 1945-1989, there were several nuclear waste disposal sites in the United States. At this time the demand for weapons grade plugonium and tritium - both integral parts of nuclear warheads - was very high.

See Our 10 Year Self Luminous Exit Signs

After the Cold War, the nuclear demand went down and environmental awareness went up, leading the newly formed Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consolidate all nuclear sites to one location in South Carolina.

Because of this, queues are extremely long for self powered exit sign disposal. This often aggravates our customers, so SLES has forged close relations with this South Carolina facility to get orders bumped to the head of the line. Still, this process can take between 2 weeks and 2 months to process a batch of signs

To get your SL signs recycled, contact us or call 800-379-1129.

Savanna River Site

In the 1950's the Savanna River Site was a top-secret facility that produced a 3rd of the nation's plutonium and tritium. Most of this went to nuclear warheads, while leftover tritium was used in self illuminating exit signs and other radioluminescent products.

See Our 20 Year Self Luminous Exit Signs

All other nuclear sites in the country have since closed and SRS is currently the only radioactive waste disposal broker left. This site was chosen mainly for security purposes, fearing the threat of terrorist infiltration that could lead to a 'dirty bomb' attack on one of our major cities.