A Pembroke, Ont., company has been accused of allowing radioactive contamination to seep into area groundwater.

SRB Technologies' plant, located near a residential area, uses tritium to manufacture glow-in-the-dark signs.

In a report released on Tuesday by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, researchers found that levels of radioactive tritium in groundwater on plant property are up to 80 times the allowable limit for drinking water.

The federal nuclear regulator's report calls SRB's record on environmental protection "significantly below requirements."

The company's licence to use tritium runs out in December and it is scheduled to meet with the commission on Aug. 17 to discuss a renewal.

Tritium from the Pembroke factory was also found in well water farther away from the plant, but at levels allowable for drinking water. Pembroke is about 150 kilometres west of Ottawa.

The commission has proposed cutting the amount of radioactivity the company is allowed to discharge from its smokestacks, according to the Globe and Mail.

Commission spokesman Aurèle Gervais declined to answer a question from the paper regarding whether the previous emission standards had been too lax.

Tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, is a waste product produced by Canadian nuclear reactors. Exposure to it increases the risk of developing cancer.

Companies use tritium to make glow in the dark signs such as those posted above emergency exits.