Strontium-90

Name:
Strontium-90
Detailed information:
Radioactive strontium isotope.

Properties:

Half-life is 38 years. Radiation: β.

Derivation:

From the fission products of nuclear reactor fuels.

Available Forms:

A mixture containing strontium-90, yttrium-90, and strontium-89 chlorides in hydrochloric acid solution; also as the carbonate and titanate.

Hazard:

Highly toxic radioactive poison; present in fallout from nuclear explosions. Absorbed by growing plants; when ingested attacks bone marrow with possibly fatal results. It may be partially removed from milk by treatment with vermiculite.

Use:

Radiation source in industrial thickness gauges, elimination of static charge, treatment of eye diseases, in radio-autography to determine the uniformity of material distribution, in electronics for studying strontium oxide in vacuum tubes, activation of phosphors, source of ionizing radiation in luminous paint, cigarette density control, measuring silk density, atomic batteries, etc.