Interpretation of Levels of Strontium-90 in Human Bone

Abstract

The results of analysis of human bone for strontium-90 in 1962-4 reflect the increase of contamination of food following the massive testing of nuclear weapons in 1961-2. Maximum concentrations within any one year continue to occur in infants around 1 year old, and this maximum is reached at about 4 months of age. The individual values in infants vary widely, but the general levels in the wetter areas, Wales and Scotland, are slightly higher than in the Midlands and Southeast England. In children and adolescents values are lower and much less variable between individuals and domicile. In contrast with adults, many of whose bones-for example, vertebrae-show substantially higher concentrations than others, there is little variation within the skeleton in children and even adolescents. It is thus not unrealistic in juveniles to take the concentrations of strontium-90 observed in one bone as representative of the whole skeleton, and thus to derive body burdens according to age and year. With further data on observed contamination of diet it is calculated that the fractional loss of the strontium-90 body burden each year is about 0.5 until the age of 8, falling to 0.1-0.2 in adolescence. It is further calculated that the fractional retention of dietary strontium-90 is about 0.07 each year throughout childhood and adolescence. © 1966, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.