Nuclear Waste Heading to Michigan
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, working on remediation of the Niagara Falls Storage Site in Lewiston, New York, estimates that 25 semitrucks per week, into January 2025, will transport elevated radioactive wastes along public roads and highways to the Wayne Disposal facility just off Interstate 94 in Van Buren Township.
This is unacceptable to the people of Michigan.
After initial review it was discovered that the materials that will be dumped in Michigan close to the Great Lakes originated in Hanford, Washington. They were shipped to the State of New for processing. The company that moved it then declared they couldn't work with it so it was abandoned in New York.
The materials began to be a public health problem as they ate through their containment vessels and poisoned the soil below. The groundwater then began to move it towards the Niagara River.
The decision to bring it to Michigan, which has the lowest waste disposal fees in the nation because they have few safeguards, laws and practice very little science, if at all, when dealing with these materials.
This book presents basic information about the problem. The question is, why are these materials being deposited in heavily populated areas with large flows of groundwater?
Nuclear Waste Heading to Michigan From New York State
General Information
August 20, 2024
Contents
Item 1 – Description of Work from Detroit Free Press
Item 2 - General Map of Destination Point
Item 3 - Satellite Image of Destination Point
Item 4 - Wayne Disposal – General Information from Dun & Bradstreet on Recipient of Nuclear Waste
Item 5 – Information about Wayne Disposal
Item 6 – Name, Address, Website, Phone Number of Belleville Facility
Item 7 - Van Buren Charter Township Emergency Response Capability
Item 8 – Size of Van Buren Charter Township
Item 9 – Market Capitalization of Republic Services
Item 11 – Republic Services Main Offices
Item 12 – Origin of Nuclear Materials Bound for Van Buren Charter Township
Item 13 – Contact Information for US Army Corps of Engineers – Buffalo, NY
Item 14 – Three Videos from US Army Corps of Engineers about the Movement of Nuclear Waste From Western New York to Southeast Michigan
Item 15 – Population of Youngstown, New York near the Origin Point
Item 16 – Population in a 30 kilometer radius around Youngstown, New York
Item 17 – Population in a 30 kilometer radius around 49350 N Interstate 94 Service Dr, Van Buren Twp, MI 48111
Item 18 – Reports Created by Enviro-Fix Solutions, LLC
Item 19 – Information about Enviro-Fix Solutions, LLC
Item 20 – Information about ECC of Burlingame, CA
Item 21 – Additional About ECC
Item 22 – Map of ECC Offices
Item 23 – Perma-Fix Environmental Services
Item 24 – A Brief Look at the Extent of What PermaFix is involved in :
Item 1 – Description of Work from Detroit Free Press
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, working on remediation of the Niagara Falls Storage Site in Lewiston, New York, estimates that 25 semitrucks per week, into January 2025, will transport the elevated radioactive wastes along public roads and highways to the Wayne Disposal facility just off Interstate 94 in Van Buren Township.
Item 2 - General Map of Destination Point
Item 3 - Satellite Image of Destination Point
Item 4 - Wayne Disposal – General Information from Dun & Bradstreet on Recipient of Nuclear Waste
“Company Description:
Key Principal: JEFFREY R FEELER See more contacts
Industry: Remediation and Other Waste Management Services , Waste Management and Remediation Services , Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, Recycling, waste materials”
Item 5 – Information about Wayne Disposal
From Belleville Independent :
“On July 20, Van Buren Township received an email from Alex Hurley of US Ecology answering questions posed by VBT Director of Planning and Economic Development Dan Power on behalf of the Environmental Commission which was planning to meet that day.
Concerning the change in ownership, Hurley told Power that effective May 2, 2022, Republic Services became the parent company of US Ecology, which includes Wayne Disposal, Incl, both located on the I-94 North Service Drive in VBT.
According to a Republic Services news released, the purchase price of $48 per share in cash represents a total value of $2.2 billion.
US Ecology is a provider of treatment, recycling, and disposal of hazardous, non-hazardous, and specialty waste.
Republic Services, which owns the Carleton Farms landfill in Sumpter Township, is the second-largest waste disposal company in the country. Waste Management, which owns Woodland Meadows landfill in Van Buren Township, is the largest waste disposal company in the nation.
In 2014, the Environmental Quality Company transferred ownership of WDI to US Ecology.”
Item 6 – Name, Address, Website, Phone Number of Belleville Facility
Name : Belleville Facility
Address : 49350 N Interstate 94 Service Drive, Belleville, MI 48111
Website : Republicservices.com
Phone : 800-592-5489
Item 7 - Van Buren Charter Township Emergency Response Capability
“The department currently has 4 Fire Engines, 1 Heavy Rescue, 1 Ladder Tower, 1 Emergency Medical Services Vehicle, 2 Utility Vehicles, and 4 Administrative/ Support Vehicles.”
Item 8 – Size of Van Buren Charter Township
36.06 Square Miles
Item 9 – Market Capitalization of Republic Services
“Market capitalization of Republic Services (RSG)
Market cap: $64.37 Billion
“As of August 2024 Republic Services has a market cap of $64.37 Billion. This makes Republic Services the world's 295th most valuable company by market cap according to our data. The market capitalization, commonly called market cap, is the total market value of a publicly traded company's outstanding shares and is commonly used to measure how much a company is worth.”
Item 10 – Unique Increase in Market Capitalization over the last 4 years
Item 10 – Unique Increase in Market Capitalization over the last 4 years
Item 11 – Republic Services Main Offices
Republic Services
18500 N Allied Way
Phoenix AZ 85054
Item 12 – Origin of Nuclear Materials Bound for Van Buren Charter Township
Apparently the materials are coming in from Western New York – Please note :
“The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers held several public meetings in Western New York to discuss the clean-up process and transport of the radioactive material to the landfill on I-94 and Belleville Road.”
The materials are originating from the Niagara Falls Storage Site
From US Army Corps of Engineers :
“
Beginning in 1944 the Niagara Falls Storage Site (NFSS) was used by the Manhattan Engineer District (MED) to store radioactive residues and wastes from uranium ore processing. Radioactive wastes and residues continued to be brought to the site for storage until 1952. In 1982 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began cleanup and consolidation of the radioactive wastes and residues in an earthen containment cell constructed on the property, which was completed in 1986.
Project Status
The 191-acre federally owned Niagara Falls Storage Site (NFSS) includes a 10-acre engineered Interim Waste Containment Structure (IWCS), which contains radioactive residues, contaminated rubble and debris from the demolition of buildings, and contaminated soil from the NFSS and NFSS vicinity properties (VPs). While implementing FUSRAP, the Corps of Engineers serves as the site caretaker, performing NFSS site operations, maintenance, security, and environmental surveillance activities.
The site is divided into three operable units (OUs): the IWCS OU applies to all the material within the IWCS; the Balance of Plant OU includes all of the material at the NFSS not in the IWCS (soils, buildings and building foundations, utilities, roads, and roadbeds); and the Groundwater OU refers to contaminated groundwater. The status for the OUs is outlined below.
Interim Waste Containment Structure Operable Unit
Based on analysis of the extensive data compiled for over 30 years, the IWCS, which was engineered and constructed by the U.S. Department of Energy in the mid-1980s, is performing as designed and remains protective of human health and the environment.
During 2015, the Corps of Engineers released a feasibility study and proposed plan for the IWCS OU. The proposed plan identified Alternative 4: excavation, partial treatment, and off-site disposal of the entire contents of the IWCS as the preferred alternative. Responses to comments received on the proposed plan were included in the record of decision. A video of the public meeting, the meeting transcript, and the comments received regarding the proposed plan are available in the Public Presentations/Posters/Transcripts section of this webpage.
During 2019, the Corps of Engineers completed the decision making for the most significant source of contamination at the site, the IWCS, with a record of decision to completely remove the entire IWCS, process the contaminated materials, and ship the materials out of state for permanent disposal. The 2019 record of decision is available in the Reports section below.
During September 2021, the Corps of Engineers awarded a $35M architect-engineer contract to prepare detailed plans and designs and provide construction management services for the complete removal of the IWCS.
Balance of Plant Operable Unit and Groundwater Operable Units
The record of decision for the NFSS Balance of Plant and Groundwater OUs is available at the link provided in the Reports section below. A fact sheet regarding the record of decision is available at the link in the Fact Sheet/FAQs section below.
The selected remedy outlined in the record of decision for both OUs is Alternative 2, Complete Removal. The major components of the selected remedy include: removal and off-site disposal of radiological- and/or chemically contaminated soil, road bedding, and Building 401 foundation/utilities; removal and off-site disposal of impacted foundations and underlying soil, including Building 430 and 431/432, and Building 433; and, removal and off-site disposal of a chlorinated volatile organic compound soil and groundwater plume and placement of clay backfill into the excavation. FUSRAP-related material that is removed will be transported off-site for disposal at an appropriately permitted disposal facility.
Based on input received during the public comment period, the Corps of Engineers’ selected remedy for the Balance of Plant and Groundwater OUs was changed from the preferred alternative outlined in the proposed plan, which was Alternative 3, Removal with Building Decontamination. The main differences between the alternatives are the remedial strategies for building foundations (other than Building 401) and the chlorinated volatile organic compound plume. Contaminated concrete will be excavated under Alternative 2 and would have been scarified to remove contamination and left in place under Alternative 3. Clay soil be used to backfill the chlorinated volatile organic compound excavation area to ensure the protectiveness of the remedy.
A contract to remediate the Balance of Plant and Groundwater OUs is currently scheduled for award in 2023. After complete removal of the IWCS, the soils beneath the IWCS will be investigated and remediated, as necessary, using the remediation goals outlined in the record of decision for the Balance of Plant and Groundwater OUs.
Following completion of remedial activities, the site would be suitable for industrial use (i.e., protective of construction, industrial, and maintenance workers, as well as adolescent and adult trespassers). Five-year reviews will be conducted to ensure protectiveness of the remedy.
The administrative record file, which contains the documents supporting the decision-making process for the site, is available electronically at the link below.
Vicinity Properties
During the 1980s the DOE began cleanup and consolidation of the radioactive wastes and residues that were on NFSS and its VPs. The DOE found that VP C and VP H did not require remedial action. Remedial action performed on VPs A, B, C Prime (C’), D, F, H Prime (H’), L, M, N/N Prime (N/N’) North, N/N’ South, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, W was completed in 1986. The DOE closed those VPs; certified they were in compliance with DOE decontamination criteria and standards at the time, which were developed to protect human health, safety, and the environment; and released the VPs for unrestricted use.
The Corps of Engineers is responsible for environmental investigations and response at open NFSS VPs. Four parcels, VP-E, E-Prime, H-Prime, and G, are located north of NFSS on a private parcel owned by CWM Chemical Services, LLC. These open VPs were impacted by MED/AEC. Three of these parcels, VP-E, E-Prime, and G were not accessible for investigation by the DOE. The Corps will investigate these VPs once the areas are accessible for investigation and sufficient funding is available. The Corps is currently preparing a remedial investigation report for VP H-Prime, and performing a site inspection of VP X, which is owned by the Town of Lewiston.”
Item 13 – Contact Information for US Army Corps of Engineers – Buffalo, NY
Contact
FUSRAP Office
1-800-833-6390 *4
fusrap@usace.army.mil
478 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
Item 14 – Three Videos from US Army Corps of Engineers about the Movement of Nuclear Waste From Western New York to Southeast Michigan
*Please Note : They appear to have been working on the plan for the cleanup since the year 2016.
At Least One Presentation was provided at :
Town of Lewiston Senior Center, 4361 Lower River Road, Youngstown, New York, 14171.
Niagara Falls Storage Site – 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdDypo8bioU
Community Updates: Niagara Falls Storage Site Cleanup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsXfsRX8Kuw
Niagara Falls Storage Site Interim Waste Containment Stuctrure Operable Unit Proposed Plan Public Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eiFiMA5BiE
Item 15 – Population of Youngstown, New York near the Origin Point
1,825 (One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Five)
Item 16 – Population in a 30 kilometer radius around Youngstown, New York
80,712 (Eighty Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twelve)
Item 17 – Population in a 30 kilometer radius around 49350 N Interstate 94 Service Dr, Van Buren Twp, MI 48111
1,678,318 (One Million, Six Hundred and Seventy-Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighteen)
Item 18 – Reports Created by Enviro-Fix Solutions, LLC
Enviro-Fix Solutions, LLC
1240 Bayshore Highway, Suite 311
Burlingame, California 94010
Phone: 650-347-1555 / Fax: 650-347-8789
Item 19 – Information about Enviro-Fix Solutions, LLC
“Enviro-Fix is a joint venture between ECC of Burlingame, CA and Perma-Fix to provide remediation and waste management services for the USACE clean-up mission.”
Item 20 – Information about ECC of Burlingame, CA
Environmental Chemical Corp
1240 Bayshore Hwy, Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 347-1555
“ECC delivers design-build, construction, environmental remediation, disaster recovery, energy, munitions response, and international development solutions to complex challenges facing Government and commercial organizations worldwide. We turn our clients` visions into realities through listening, applying the expertise of our people, and acting in our clients` best interests. ECC is an employee-owned business founded in 1985. Our mission is to provide high quality, comprehensive, and competitive design-build, construction, environmental remediation, disaster response, energy, munitions response, and international development services to our clients. ECC consistently ranks in Engineering News Record’s (ENR) Top 400 Contractors and Top 200 Environmental Firms lists. In 2021, ECC ranked #9 in the Top 400 Contractors Hazardous Waste subcategory, #35 in the Contractors Working Abroad list, and #44 on the New Contracts list.”
Item 21 – Additional About ECC
“As a top construction and remediation contractor, ECC has demonstrated the technical and managerial breadth and expertise to complete a variety of large-scale, concurrent projects worldwide. Together with our clients, we’re constructing state-of-the-art facilities for our military, rebuilding war-torn regions, building capacity in underdeveloped nations, remediating the environment, and revitalizing communities after natural disasters.
We are not limited to any one technology and creatively apply both established and cutting-edge solutions to serve our customers. We value human health and safety, and attain high client satisfaction through on-time performance.
ECC is organized to be nimble through decentralized management and empowered project teams. This facilitates better command, control, communication, and decision-making by holding project and programs managers accountable to make the hard choices.
Awards, commendations, and high industry ratings attest to our continuing success in serving the U.S. Departments of Defense, Interior, State, and Transportation, plus other public and private customers worldwide. In relations founded on trust by delivering that to which we commit, ECC is often on the leading edge of innovative contracting opportunities pursued by our clients.
Our Mission and Core Values
History
A History of Vision, Integrity, and Results
ECC was founded in 1985 with a mission to support environmental programs for Federal government agencies. Our services included emergency response and hazardous waste treatment removal, and transportation and disposal (T&D) services.
Truly a success story, ECC has strengthened in size, experience, and capabilities to a highly competitive Federal contractor, consistently ranking in Engineering News Record’s (ENR) Top 400 Contractors and Top 200 Environmental Firms lists. In 2021, ECC ranked #9 in the Top 400 Contractors Hazardous Waste subcategory, #35 in the Contractors Working Abroad list, and #44 on the New Contracts list. ECC also ranked #28 on ENR’s 2020 Top 200 Environmental Firms and #6 in the hazardous waste subcategory, #8 in the construct/remediation subcategory, and #9 in the State/local subcategory.
ECC is an employee-owned company that competes against some of the world’s largest engineering, construction and environmental companies. We execute programs valued from $100,000 to $1 billion from office and project locations around the globe.
Significant achievements that have driven our growth and success include:
1998-2000: Growing rapidly, ECC was awarded several significant US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) contracts with the Louisville, Mobile, Nashville, and Sacramento Districts. ECC executed our first performance-based $50 million Site-Specific Environmental Remediation Contract at the Wayne Industrial Storage Site for USACE Kansas City, which went on to win the 8th Annual Design Excellence Award. ECC was also awarded our first $50 million worldwide unexploded ordnance response contract (NURC) for the US Navy.
2001-2004: ECC executed our first US Department of Energy (DOE) contract, the 2-year, $50 million Columbus Closure Project to remediate highly contaminated radioactive soil and groundwater. The project resulted in Nuclear Regulatory Commission de-licensing and DOE’s first free release closure. ECC’s win of the $4 billion joint total acquisition value Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) Worldwide Environmental Restoration and Construction Contract led to more than $1.4 billion in design-build projects in the Middle East across multiple contracts.
2005-2009: Following Hurricane Katrina, ECC executed more than $450 million in disaster recovery services under a $1 billion emergency-response contract for the USACE. Partnering with the community, ECC awarded 92 percent of the subcontracted dollars to local small businesses, which contributed to the receipt of four awards for small business subcontracting. ECC was also awarded the first of several future Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Star designations: OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program Star Among Stars designation at MMR, MA. ECC would go on to receive a VPP site at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado; as well as VPP designated geographic areas covering multiple projects in Guam and San Antonio. ECC also established our highly successful Design-Build Center of Excellence.
2010-2015: ECC continued to move forward into the future of design-build, alternative energy, and international development solutions. At the Medical Education Training Complex at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, ECC completed the award-winning LEED Gold $133 million Buildings 3 & 4 project. ECC also provided wind turbine, photovoltaic, and other sustainable solutions across the US, Pacific, and Europe. Our operations in Southwest Asia also gained momentum with key contract awards from the US Navy, Air Force, USACE, USAID, and Department of State, as ECC strengthened our operations in the Pacific with the US Navy, particularly in Guam. We also created the Robotics Center of Excellence, which helped propel us into the forefront of robotics technology within our munitions response program.
2015-2020 and beyond: ECC continued to be a trusted partner to our clients, while making great strides in our disaster recovery, fuels, environmental, construction, and energy capabilities and experience. We have exceled in providing disaster recovery services for our clients--from back-to-back wildfire response and recovery missions in California and Oregon to hurricane recovery services at Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, to post-earthquake life support and construction services at NAWS China Lake. In addition, our work throughout Europe, Africa, and the Pacific continues to expand and strengthen. For example, ECC delivered sustainable water security for health and productivity under a $58 million contract to provide water treatment for the City of Yaoundé, Republic of Cameroon.”
Item 22 – Map of ECC Offices
https://www.ecc.net/about-us/#Map
They are spread around the world and have no offices in the State of Michigan nor the State of New York
ECC is an Employee Owned Company
ECC CORPORATE
700 Airport Blvd., Suite 250
Burlingame, CA 94010
Tel: +1 (650) 347-1555
ECC EDISON
1090 King Georges Post Road
Suite 104
Edison, NJ 08837
Tel: +1 (908) 595-1777
ECC GERMANY
Richard-Wagner-Strasse 1
D-67655 Kaiserslautern
Germany
Tel: +49-151-402-66543
ECC ABINGDON
1304 Governors Court
Suites 101 & 102
Abingdon, MD 21009
Tel: +1 (410) 671-2970
ECC HAWAII/PACIFIC RIM
2969 Mapunapuna Place, Suite 220
Honolulu, HI 96819
Tel: +1 (808) 486-3707
ECC GUAM
888 N. Marine Corps Drive
Suite 218
Tamuning, GU 96913
Tel: +1 (671) 647-3221
ECC BOSTON
43 Broad Street
Suite A301
Hudson, MA 01749
Tel: +1 (508) 229-2270
ECC SAN ANTONIO
Colonnade Center
9830 Colonnade Blvd, Ste 240
San Antonio, TX 78230
Tel: +1 (210) 641-1415
ECC ITALY SRL
Via IV Novembre, 6c,
35010 Limena (PD)
Italy
Tel: +39 0444 1463044
ECC DENVER
1746 Cole Blvd.
Bldg. 21, Ste. 350
Lakewood, CO 80401
Tel: +1 (303) 298-7607
ECC CHESAPEAKE
501 Independence Parkway
Suite 315
Chesapeake, VA 23320
Tel: +1 (757) 496-5622
ECC FAIRFORD-UK
RAF Fairford, building 1095,
Fairford
Gloucestershire
United Kingdom GL7 4DQ
ECC PORT HOPE
115 Toronto Road
Port Hope, Ontario L1A 3S4, Canada
ECC UKRAINE
Kyiv, Pecherskyi District
Mendeleev Street 12
Office 94/1
Item 23 – Perma-Fix Environmental Services
“Perma Fix Environmental Services (NASDAQ: PESI) is owned by 22.66% institutional shareholders, 27.81% Perma Fix Environmental Services insiders, and 49.53% retail investors. Christopher Paul Leichtweis is the largest individual Perma Fix Environmental Services shareholder, owning 747,112.00 shares representing 5.44% of the company.”
“Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. is a nuclear services company and leading provider of nuclear waste management services. The Company's nuclear waste services include management and treatment of radioactive and mixed waste for hospitals, research labs and institutions, federal agencies, including the Department of Energy ("DOE"), the Department of Defense ("DoD"), and the commercial nuclear industry. The Company's nuclear services group provides project management, waste management, environmental restoration, decontamination and decommissioning, new build construction, and radiological protection, safety and industrial hygiene capability to our clients. The Company operates four nuclear waste treatment facilities and provides nuclear services at DOE, DoD, and commercial facilities, nationwide.”
Company Contact
Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc.
8302 Dunwoody Place
Suite 250
Atlanta, GA 30350
T: 770-587-9898
Item 24 – A Brief Look at the Extent of What PermaFix is involved in :
“• Sixteen large and active sites in the US with area equal to Rhode Island and Delaware combined”
Item 25 – Quotes from ‘Niagara Falls Storage Site Interim Waste Containment Stuctrure Operable Unit Proposed Plan Public Me’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eiFiMA5BiE
“I hope that you find all of our presentations informative and that our proposal and the supporting rationale earns your trust and confidence. That’s what we’re after.”
“I extend a special welcome to several officials who are joining us tonight. Chief, uh, Leo from the Tuscarora Nation is. {Applause} It was an honor to meet you sir, uh, for the first time. Mr. Rob Moriali from the Lewiston Council. {Applause} And I also would like to thank your hosts here at the Senior Center. Made it very cozy on this cold evening. So, thank you. {One person applauded}
The Buffalo District serves the people and the watersheds of the Lower Great Lakes from Messina, New York in the East to the Indiana State Line in the West and we’ve done so since 1857.
We’ve got many projects within this area of responsibility but this one is close to home. Many of our nearly 300 employees from the Buffalo District live in this community. And we care about serving all of our fellow citizens and safeguarding them.
As we investigate and remediate sites like these our number one priority is protection of human health and the environment.”
Item 25 – Routes from Youngstown, New York to the Republic Services Landfill in Van Buren Charter Township by road
Here are three commercial roadway routes available :
Through Canada : Youngstown, New York 14174
1. Get on I-190 N in Lewiston from Niagara Scenic Pkwy S - 12 min (8.8 mi)
2. Take Queen Elizabeth Wy, ON-403 W, ON-401 W and I-94 W to Belleville Rd in Van Buren Charter Township. Take exit 190 from I-94 W - 4 hr 9 min (263 mi)
3. Take N Interstate 94 Service Dr to your destination - 5 min (1.7 mi)
4. 49350 N Interstate 94 Service Dr, Belleville, MI 48111
This route goes through :
a. St. Catherines, Ontario, Population 136,803 (One hundred and thirty-six thousand and eight hundred and three)
b. Along the southwestern coast of Lake Ontario for 22.7 miles
c. Hamilton, Ontario, Population 569,533 (Five hundred and sixty-nine thousand and five hundred and thirty-three)
d. Brantford, Ontario, Population 104,690 (One hundred and four thousand and six hundred and ninety)
e. Woodstock, Ontario, Population 46,705 (Forty Six thousand and seven hundred and five)
f. London, Ontario, Population 422,320 (Four hundred and twenty-two thousand and three hundred and twenty)
g. Windsor, Ontario, Population 229,660 (Two hundred and twenty-nine thousand and six hundred and sixty
h. Detroit, Michigan, Population 639,110 (Six hundred and thirty-nine thousand and one hundred and ten)
i. Passing by then approximately another 450,000 to 525,000 other citizens along the way of the I-94 Corridor
Through Northern Ohio with one leg along Lake Erie Coastline, Youngstown, New York 14174
1. Get on I-190 S in Lewiston from Niagara Scenic Pkwy S and NY 104 W/Lewiston Rd, 12 min (9.2 mi)
2. Continue on I-190 S. Take LaSalle Expy, River Rd and I-190 S to NY-5 W/Buffalo Skyway in Buffalo. Take exit 7 from I-190 S, 34 min (26.7 mi)
3. Get on I-90 W in Ripley from US-20 W/Southwestern Blvd and NY-5 W, 1 hr 27 min (69.1 mi)
4. Continue on I-90 W. Take OH-2 W, I-75 N and I-275 N to Belleville Rd in Van Buren Charter Township. Take exit 190 from I-94 W, 4 hr 15 min (279 mi)
5. Take N Interstate 94 Service Dr to your destination, 5 min (1.7 mi)
6. 49350 N Interstate 94 Service Dr, Belleville, MI 48111
This route goes through :
a. Niagara Falls, NY, Population 48,670 (Forty-eight thousand and six hundred and seventy)
b. Buffalo, NY, Population 278,350 (Two hundred and seventy-eight thousand and three hundred and fifty
c. By Erie, Pennsylvania, Population 94,830 (Ninety-four thousand and eight hundred and thirty)
d. Cleveland, Ohio, Population 372,606 (Three hundred and sixty-two thousand and six hundred and six)
e. Sandusky, Ohio, Population 25,121 (Twenty-five thousand and one hundred and twenty one)
f. Toledo, Ohio, Population 268,516 (Two hundred and sixty-eight thousand and five hundred and sixteen)
g. Southeastern Michigan to Destination, approximate population to destination, 450,000 (Conservative), (Four hundred and fifty thousand)
Through Northern Ohio along a major industrial corridor using a toll road :
1. Youngstown, New York 14174
2. Get on I-190 S in Lewiston from Niagara Scenic Pkwy S and NY 104 W/Lewiston Rd 12 min (9.2 mi)
3. Follow I-190 S, I-90 W and I-75 N to Belleville Rd in Van Buren Charter Township. Take exit 190 from I-94 W, 5 hr 34 min (374 mi)
4. Take N Interstate 94 Service Dr to your destination, 5 min (1.7 mi)
5. 49350 N Interstate 94 Service Dr, Belleville, MI 48111
This route goes through :
a. Niagara Falls, NY, Population 48,670 (Forty-eight thousand and six hundred and seventy)
b. Buffalo, NY, Population 278,350 (Two hundred and seventy-eight thousand and three hundred and fifty
c. By Erie, Pennsylvania, Population 94,830 (Ninety-four thousand and eight hundred and thirty)
d. Cleveland, Ohio, Population 372,606 (Three hundred and sixty-two thousand and six hundred and six)
e. Toledo, Ohio, Population 268,516 (Two hundred and sixty-eight thousand and five hundred and sixteen)
f. Southeastern Michigan to Destination, approximate population to destination, 450,000 (Conservative), (Four hundred and fifty thousand)
Item 26 – Niagara Falls Storage Site Image
Located in Lewiston, New York State, USA
US Energy Department Offices listed as being at :
US Energy Department
1397 Pletcher Road
Youngstown, NY 14174
Item 27 – Regarding Radioactive Materials in Nuclear Waste (not comprehensive)
There are several different kinds of chemicals and minerals contained within radioactive waste.
Though some liquid waste is turned into a solid making cakes or encasing some of it in glass, eventually, the container will become radioactive.
In most cases eventually the radioactive material will destroy the container. The containers corrode and look like they have been chewed through.
Let’s take a look at some of the common materials that are considered radioactive waste :
Radioactive Nitrates
From the United States Environmental Protection Agency :
Ionizing radiation has sufficient energy to affect the atoms in living cells and thereby damage their genetic material (DNA). Fortunately, the cells in our bodies are extremely efficient at repairing this damage. However, if the damage is not repaired correctly, a cell may die or eventually become cancerous. Related information in Spanish (Información relacionada en español).
Exposure to very high levels of radiation, such as being close to an atomic blast, can cause acute health effects such as skin burns and acute radiation syndrome (“radiation sickness"). It can also result in long-term health effects such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Exposure to low levels of radiation encountered in the environment does not cause immediate health effects, but is a minor contributor to our overall cancer risk.
Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more information about possible health effects of radiation exposure and contamination.
On this page:
Acute radiation syndrome from large exposures
Radiation exposure and cancer risk
Limiting cancer risk from radiation in the environment
Exposure pathways
Sensitive populations
Acute Radiation Syndrome from Large Exposures
A very high level of radiation exposure delivered over a short period of time can cause symptoms such as nausea and vomiting within hours and can sometimes result in death over the following days or weeks. This is known as acute radiation syndrome, commonly known as “radiation sickness.”
It takes a very high radiation exposure to cause acute radiation syndrome—more than 0.75 gray (75 rad) in a short time span (minutes to hours). This level of radiation would be like getting the radiation from 18,000 chest x-rays distributed over your entire body in this short period. Acute radiation syndrome is rare, and comes from extreme events like a nuclear explosion or accidental handling or rupture of a highly radioactive source.
View CDC Fact Sheet: Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS).
Learn about protecting yourself from radiation.
Learn about radiation sources and doses.
Radiation Exposure and Cancer Risk
Exposure to low-levels of radiation does not cause immediate health effects, but can cause a small increase in the risk of cancer over a lifetime. There are studies that keep track of groups of people who have been exposed to radiation, including atomic bomb survivors and radiation industry workers. These studies show that radiation exposure increases the chance of getting cancer, and the risk increases as the dose increases: the higher the dose, the greater the risk. Conversely, cancer risk from radiation exposure declines as the dose falls: the lower the dose, the lower the risk.
Radiation doses are commonly expressed in millisieverts (international units) or rem (U.S. units). A dose can be determined from a one-time radiation exposure, or from accumulated exposures over time. About 99 percent of individuals would not get cancer as a result of a one-time uniform whole-body exposure of 100 millisieverts (10 rem) or lower.1 At this dose, it would be extremely difficult to identify an excess in cancers caused by radiation when about 40 percent of men and women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetime.
Risks that are low for an individual could still result in unacceptable numbers of additional cancers in a large population over time. For example, in a population of one million people, an average one-percent increase in lifetime cancer risk for individuals could result in 10,000 additional cancers. The EPA sets regulatory limits and recommends emergency response guidelines well below 100 millisieverts (10 rem) to protect the U.S. population, including sensitive groups such as children, from increased cancer risks from accumulated radiation dose over a lifetime.
Radiation Thermometer
See radiation doses in perspective with the interactive Radiation Thermometer from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Thermometer
Source: CDC
Calculate your radiation dose.
Learn about radiation sources and doses.
Learn more about cancer risk in the U.S. at the National Cancer Institute.
Learn more about how EPA estimates cancer risk in, EPA Radiogenic Cancer Risk Models and Projections for the U.S. Population, also known as the Blue Book.
Limiting Cancer Risk from Radiation in the Environment
EPA bases its regulatory limits and nonregulatory guidelines for public exposure to low level ionizing radiation on the linear no-threshold (LNT) model. The LNT model assumes that the risk of cancer due to a low-dose exposure is proportional to dose, with no threshold. In other words, cutting the dose in half cuts the risk in half.
The use of the LNT model for radiation protection purposes has been repeatedly recommended by authoritative scientific advisory bodies, including the National Academy of Sciences and the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. There is evidence to support LNT from laboratory data and from studies of cancer in people exposed to radiation. 2,3,4,5
Exposure Pathways
Understanding the type of radiation received, the way a person is exposed (external vs. internal), and for how long a person is exposed are all important in estimating health effects.
The risk from exposure to a particular radionuclide depends on:
The energy of the radiation it emits.
The type of radiation (alpha, beta, gamma, x-rays).
Its activity (how often it emits radiation).
Whether exposure is external or internal:
External exposure is when the radioactive source is outside of your body. X-rays and gamma rays can pass through your body, depositing energy as they go.
Internal exposure is when radioactive material gets inside the body by eating, drinking, breathing or injection (from certain medical procedures). Radionuclides may pose a serious health threat if significant quantities are inhaled or ingested.
The rate at which the body metabolizes and eliminates the radionuclide following ingestion or inhalation.
Where the radionuclide concentrates in the body and how long it stays there.
Learn more about alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays and x-rays.
Sensitive Populations
Children and fetuses are especially sensitive to radiation exposure. The cells in children and fetuses divide rapidly, providing more opportunity for radiation to disrupt the process and cause cell damage. EPA considers differences in sensitivity due to age and sex when revising radiation protection standards.
1 National Research Council, 2006. Health Risks from Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation: BEIR VII Phase 2. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press (p. 7).
2 Brenner, David J. et al., 2003 “Cancer risks attributable to low doses of ionizing radiation: assessing what we really know.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100, no. 24, (pp. 13761-13766).
3 National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, 2018. Implications of Recent Epidemiologic Studies for the Linear Nonthreshold Model and Radiation Protection, NCRP Commentary 27. Bethesda, Maryland: National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements.
4 Shore, R.E. et al., 2018. “Implications of recent epidemiologic studies for the linear nonthreshold model and radiation protection.” Journal of Radiological Protection, no 38,(pp. 1217-1233)
5 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2011. “EPA Radiogenic Cancer Risk Models and Projections for the U.S. Population.”
Uranium
Ingesting water-soluble uranium compounds will result in kidney effects at lower doses than following exposure to insoluble uranium compounds. Workers who inhaled uranium hexafluoride have experienced respiratory irritation and accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
From the Centers for Disease Control :
Public Health Statement for Uranium
Spanish: Uranio
CAS#: 7440-61-1
This Public Health Statement is the summary chapter from the Toxicological Profile for Uranium. It is one in a series of Public Health Statements about hazardous substances and their health effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQsTM, is also available. This information is important because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-800-232-4636.
Overview
We define a public health statement and show how it can help you learn about uranium.
Introduction
A public health statement summarizes information about a hazardous substance. The information is taken from a toxicological profile developed by ATSDR's Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences (DTHHS). A toxicological profile is a thorough review of a hazardous substance.
This toxicological profile examines uranium. This public health statement summarizes the DTHHS findings on uranium, describes the effects of exposure to it, and describes what you can do tolimit that exposure.
Uranium at hazardous waste sites
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites in the nation. U.S. EPA then includes these sites on the National Priorities List (NPL) and targets them for federal clean-up activities. U.S. EPA has found uranium in at least 67 of the 1,699 current or former NPL sites.
The total number of NPL sites evaluated for uranium is not known. But the possibility remains that as more sites are evaluated, the number of sites at which uranium is found may increase. This information is important; these future sites may be sources of exposure, and exposure to uranium may be harmful.
Why a uranium release can be harmful
When a contaminant is released from a large area such as an industrial plant or from a container such as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment. But such a release does not always lead to exposure. You normally are exposed to a contaminant when you come in contact with it. That contact—and therefore that exposure—can occur when you breathe, eat, or drink the contaminant, or when it touches your skin. However, since uranium is radioactive, you can also be exposed to its radiation if you are near it.
Even if you are exposed to uranium, you might not be harmed. Whether you are harmed will depend on such factors as the dose (how much), the duration (how long), and how you happen to contact it. Harm might also depend on whether you have been exposed to any other chemicals or radioactive materials, as well as your age, sex, diet, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health.
A Closer Look at Uranium
Overview
This section describes uranium in detail and how you can be exposed to it.
What is uranium?
Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element. Natural uranium is a mixture of three isotopes: 234U, 235U, and 238U. The most common isotope is 238U; it makes up about 99% of natural uranium by mass.
All three isotopes behave the same chemically, but they have different radioactive properties.
The half-lives of uranium isotopes (the amount of time needed for half of the isotope to give off its radiation and change into a different element) are very long. The least radioactive isotope is 238U with a half-life of 4.5 billion years.
Depleted uranium is a mixture of the same three uranium isotopes, except that it has very little 234U and 235U. It is less radioactive than natural uranium.
Enriched uranium is another mixture of isotopes that has more 234U and 235U than natural uranium. Enriched uranium is more radioactive than natural uranium.
How is uranium used?
Uranium is almost as hard as steel and much denser than lead. Natural uranium is used to make enriched uranium; depleted uranium is the leftover product.
Enriched uranium is used to make fuel for nuclear power plants.
Depleted uranium is used as a counterbalance on helicopter rotors and airplane control surfaces, as a shield to protect against ionizing radiation, as a component of munitions to help them penetrate enemy armored vehicles, and as armor in some parts of military vehicles.
Where is uranium found?
Uranium can be released into the environment through wind and water erosion and volcanic eruptions.
Industries involved in mining, milling, and processing of uranium can also release it into the environment. Inactive uranium industries may continue to release uranium into the environment.
Possible Sources
Outcome
Air: In the air, uranium exists as dust.
The very small particles of uranium found in dust can fall onto water, plants, and land. Rain increases the amount of uranium in air that can settle to the ground.
Water: Uranium can be found in drinking water; higher levels tend to be from wells drilled in uranium-rich rock formations.
Uranium in surface water can be transported large distances. Some of the uranium in water will stick to sediment and other particles in the water.
Soil: Uranium is naturally present in nearly all rocks and soils.
Uranium deposited on land can mix into soil, wash into surface water, or stick to plant roots.
Food: Human daily intake has been estimated to range from 0.9 to 1.5 micrograms of uranium per day (μg/day).
Uranium can stick to plant roots. Unwashed potatoes, radishes, and other root vegetables are a primary source of uranium in the diet.
How Can You Be Exposed to Uranium?
Primary uranium exposure sources
For most people, food and drinking water are the main sources of uranium exposure.
Root crops such as potatoes, parsnips, turnips, and sweet potatoes contribute the highest amounts of uranium to the diet. The amount of uranium in these foods is directly related to the amount of uranium in the soil in which they are grown.
Other uranium exposure sources
People who work with materials and products that contain uranium may be exposed at work. This includes workers who mine, mill, or process uranium or make items that contain uranium. People who work with phosphate fertilizers may also be exposed to higher levels of uranium.
People who live near uranium mining, processing, and manufacturing facilities could be exposed to more uranium than the general population.
People may also be exposed if they live near areas where depleted uranium weapons are used.
Secondary uranium exposure sources
In most areas of the United States, low levels of uranium are found in the drinking water. Higher levels may be found in areas with elevated levels of naturally occurring uranium in rocks and soil.
How Uranium Can Affect Your Health
Overview
This section looks at how uranium enters your body and potential uranium health effects found in human and animal studies.
How uranium enters your body
Uranium can enter your body from the air, water, food, or from dermal contact.
Possible Sources
Possible Exposure Pathway
Air
Only about 0.76-5% of the uranium a person breathes will get into the bloodstream through the respiratory tract (nose, mouth, throat, lungs). Some uranium compounds are slowly cleared from the lungs.
Food and water
Only about 0.1-6% of the uranium a person ingests will get into the bloodstream through the gastrointestinal tract (mouth, stomach, intestines). Uranium compounds that dissolve in water enter the bloodstream more easily than uranium compounds poorly soluble in water.
Dermal contact
A very small amount of uranium can be absorbed through the skin; water-soluble uranium compounds are the most easily absorbed.
How uranium leaves your body
Most of the inhaled and ingested uranium is not absorbed and leaves the body in the feces. Absorbed uranium leaves your body in the urine. Some inhaled uranium can stay in the lungs for a long time.
Uranium that is absorbed is deposited throughout the body; the highest levels are found in the bones, liver, and kidneys. Sixty-six percent of the uranium in the body is found in your bones. It can remain in the bones for a long time; the half-life of uranium in bones is 70-200 days (this is the amount of time that it takes for half of the uranium to leave the bones). Most of the uranium that is not in bones leaves the body in 1-2 weeks.
Introduction to uranium health effects
Natural and depleted uranium have the identical chemical effect on your body.
The health effects of natural and depleted uranium are due to chemical effects and not to radiation.
Main uranium health effects
Uranium's main target is the kidneys. Kidney damage has been seen in humans and animals after inhaling or ingesting uranium compounds. However, kidney damage has not been consistently found in soldiers who have had uranium metal fragments in their bodies for several years. Ingesting water-soluble uranium compounds will result in kidney effects at lower doses than following exposure to insoluble uranium compounds.
Workers who inhaled uranium hexafluoride have experienced respiratory irritation and accumulation of fluid in the lungs. However, these effects were attributed to the irritant hydrofluoric acid rather than the uranium.
Inhaled insoluble uranium compounds can also damage the respiratory tract.
Other uranium health effects
No health effects, other than kidney damage, have been consistently found in humans after inhaling or ingesting uranium compounds or in soldiers with uranium metal fragments in their bodies.
Rats ingesting uranium over a long time had neurobehavioral changes and changes in the levels of certain chemicals in the brain.
Uranium has been shown to decrease fertility in some studies of rats and mice; other studies have not found this effect.
Very soluble uranium compounds on the skin caused skin irritation and mild skin damage in animals.
Uranium and cancer
Neither the National Toxicology Program (NTP), International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), nor the EPA have classified natural uranium or depleted uranium with respect to carcinogenicity.
Children and Uranium
Overview
This section discusses potential health effects of uranium exposure in humans from when they are first conceived to 18 years of age, and how you might protect against such effects.
Exposure effects for children generally
No data describe the effects of exposure to uranium on children or young animals. Although we think that children would likely show the same health effects as adults, we do not know whether children are more susceptible than adults to uranium effects.
What about birth defects?
We do not know whether uranium can harm an unborn child. No scientifically strong human study that has shown birth defects due to uranium exposure has been identified.
Some studies in animals exposed to high levels of uranium during pregnancy, which caused toxicity in the mothers, have resulted in early deaths and birth defects in the young. It is not clear if this can happen in the absence of effects on the mother. Other studies have not found birth defects.
In some rat studies, enriched uranium exposure during pregnancy caused changes in brain function in the offspring. Similar studies found changes in the ovaries of the female offspring.
One study reported that giving a high amount of uranium to newborn rats altered the tooth formation.
How Can You Lower Your Exposure to Uranium?
Food
Avoid eating root vegetables grown in soils with high levels of uranium. Consider washing fruits and vegetables grown in that soil and discard the outside portion of root vegetables.
Drinking water
Consider having your water tested if you suspect that your drinking water might have elevated levels of uranium. If elevated levels are found, consider using bottled water.
If you live near a hazardous waste site
If you live near a hazardous waste site with high amounts of uranium that are not controlled, do not let your children play outside in the dirt. Children put dirt in their mouths, and uranium is in this dirt. Also, make sure your children wash their hands often, especially before eating.
Medical Tests to Determine Uranium Exposure
Overview
Natural uranium is in your normal diet, so there will always be some level of uranium in all parts of your body. If in addition you are exposed to depleted uranium, it adds to the total uranium level in your body. We identify medical tests that can detect whether uranium is in your body, and we recommend safe toxic-substance practices.
Uranium can be measured in blood and urine
Uranium can be measured in blood, urine, hair, and body tissues. Normally, urinary sampling is the preferred method for assessing uranium exposure. The amount of radiation from uranium in your body can also be measured.
Most tests are for total uranium; however, expensive tests are available to estimate the amounts of both natural and depleted uranium that are present.
What the uranium exposure tests might show
Most uranium leaves the body within a few days. High amounts in your urine might show that you have been exposed to high amounts of uranium within the last week or so.
Federal Government Recommendations to Protect Human Health
Overview
One way the federal government promotes public health is by regulating toxic substances or recommending ways to handle or to avoid toxic substances.
The federal government regulates toxic substances
Regulations are enforceable by law. The U.S. EPA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are some federal agencies that have adopted toxic substances regulations.
The federal government recommends safe toxic substance practices
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have made recommendations about toxic substances. Unlike enforceable regulations, these recommendations are advisory only.
Toxic substance regulations
Regulations and recommendations can be expressed as "not-to-exceed" levels, that is, levels of a toxic substance in air, water, soil, or food that do not exceed a critical value usually based on levels that affect animals; levels are then adjusted to help protect humans. Sometimes, these not-to-exceed levels differ among federal organizations. Different organizations use different exposure times (an 8-hour workday or a 24-hour day), different animal studies, or emphasize some factors over others, depending on their mission.
Check for regulation updates
Recommendations and regulations are also updated periodically as more information becomes available. For the most current information, check with the federal agency or organization that issued the regulation or recommendation.
Some regulations and recommendations for uranium include:
Federal Organization
Regulation or Recommendation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The U.S. EPA has established a maximum contaminant level of 0.03 mg/L and set a maximum contaminant level goal of no uranium in drinking water.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
OSHA set a legal limit for worker exposure to uranium in workplace air of 0.05 mg uranium/m3 for soluble uranium and 0.25 mg uranium/m3 for insoluble uranium averaged over an 8-hour work day.
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
NIOSH recommends that worker exposure to uranium in workplace air not exceed an exposure limit of 0.05 mg uranium/m3 for soluble uranium and 0.2 mg uranium/m3 for insoluble uranium averaged for up to a 10-hour work day. NIOSH also recommends that exposure to soluble uranium not exceed 0.6 mg U/m3 for more than 15 minutes.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC)
The USNRC has established derived air concentrations of 0.0005, 0.0003, and 0.00002 microcuries/m3, averaged for a working year of 2,000 hours for workers exposed to a form of uranium that is excreted at fast, medium, and slow rates, respectively.
Additional Information
Overview
Where to find more information about uranium.
Whom to contact first
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your community or state health or environmental quality department, or contact ATSDR at the address and phone number below.
Additional information from ATSDR
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses that result from exposure to hazardous substances.
References
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2013. Toxicological Profile for Uranium. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
Where can I get more information?
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
For more information, contact:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences
4770 Buford Highway
Chamblee, GA 30341-3717
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO 888-232-6348 (TTY)
Email: Contact CDC-INFO
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.
Technetium-99
Technetium-99m (99mTc) is an FDA-approved radionuclide agent for diagnostic imaging across various human organs, encompassing critical areas such as the brain, lungs, heart, and more. Following systemic administration, 99mTc is localized to its target tissue or organ. The duration and amount of radioactivity in the target tissue or organ provide insight into tissue function and potential disease status. A patient-centered approach is central to effective utilization, emphasizing collaborative efforts among healthcare professionals from diverse disciplines, including nuclear medicine specialists, radiologists, nurses, technologists, and clinicians. Coordination with the primary team is vital, particularly in scenarios like myocardial perfusion testing in patients with coronary artery disease, where continuous cardiac monitoring and access to emergency care are imperative for patient safety.
Technetium (chemical symbol Tc) is a silver-gray, radioactive metal. It occurs naturally in very small amounts in the earth's crust, but is primarily man-made. Technetium-99 is produced during nuclear reactor operation, and is a byproduct of nuclear weapons explosions. Technetium-99 can be found as a component of nuclear waste.
Technetium in the Environment
Air, sea water, soils, plants and animals contain very low concentrations of Tc-99. Because of its long half-life, Tc-99 remains in the environment for an extended period of time.
Organic matter in soils and sediments slow the transport of Tc-99. In the presence of oxygen, plants readily take up technetium compounds from the soils. Some plants such as brown algae in seawater are able to concentrate Tc-99. Sea animals can also concentrate Technetium-99 in their bodies.
Technetium Sources
Tiny amounts of Tc-99 are part of the environment and are found in food and water. Higher amounts may be found close to contaminated facilities such as federal weapons facilities or nuclear fuel cycle facilities.
Exposure to technetium from the environment is unlikely. Most human exposure to technetium comes from the intentional use of Tc-99m in nuclear medicine.
Technetium and Health
Technetium-99 can pose a health risk when it enters the body. Once in the human body, Tc-99 concentrates in the thyroid gland and the gastrointestinal tract. However, the body constantly gets rid of Tc-99 in feces. As with any other radioactive material, there is an increased chance that cancer or other adverse health effects can result from exposure to radiation.
Iodine-129
From the National Institutes of Health
Radioactive iodine can also be unhealthy for your thyroid gland. If too much radioactive iodine enters your body, the radioactive iodine will destroy your thyroid gland so that the gland will stop making hormones. Too much radioactive iodine in your body can also cause thyroid nodules or cancer.
1PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT
This public health statement tells you about iodine and the effects of exposure.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites in the nation. These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and are the sites targeted for long-term federal cleanup activities. Iodine has been found in at least 8 sites. Radioactive iodine has been found at 9 sites, including iodine-129 (129I) in at least 3 sites, and iodine-131 (131I) in at least 6 sites of the 1,636 current or former NPL sites. However, the total number of NPL sites evaluated for iodine is not known. As more sites are evaluated, the sites at which iodine is found may increase. This information is important because exposure to iodine may harm you and because these sites may be sources of exposure.
When a substance is released from a large area, such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment. This release does not always lead to exposure. You are exposed to a substance only when you come in contact with it. You may be exposed by breathing, eating, or drinking the substance, or by skin contact. External exposure to radiation may occur from natural or man-made sources. Naturally occurring sources of radiation are cosmic radiation from space or radioactive materials in soil or building materials. Man-made sources of radioactive materials are found in consumer products, industrial equipment, atom bomb fallout, and to a smaller extent from hospital waste and nuclear reactors.
If you are exposed to either radioactive or stable iodine, many factors determine whether you’ll be harmed. These factors include the dose (how much), the duration (how long), and how you come in contact with it. You must also consider the other chemicals you’re exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health.
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1.1. WHAT IS IODINE?
Iodine is a naturally occurring element that is essential for the good health of people and animals. Iodine is found in small amounts in sea water and in certain rocks and sediments. Iodine occurs in many different forms that can be blue, brown, yellow, red, white, or colorless. Most forms of iodine easily dissolve in water or alcohol. Iodine has many uses. Its most important use is as a disinfectant for cleaning surfaces and storage containers. Iodine is also used in skin soaps and bandages, and for purifying water. Iodine is used in medicines. Iodine is added to food, such as table salt, to ensure that all people in the United States have enough iodine in their bodies to form essential thyroid hormones. Iodine is put into animal feeds for the same reason. Iodine is used in the chemical industry for making inks and coloring agents, chemicals used in photography, and in making batteries, fuels, and lubricants. Radioactive iodine also occurs naturally. Radioactive iodine is used in medical tests and to treat certain diseases, such as over-activity or cancer of the thyroid gland.
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1.2. WHAT HAPPENS TO IODINE WHEN IT ENTERS THE ENVIRONMENT?
The oceans are the most important source of natural iodine in the air, water, and soil. Iodine in the oceans enters the air from sea spray or as iodine gases. Once in the air, iodine can combine with water or with particles in the air and can enter the soil and surface water, or land on vegetation when these particles fall to the ground or when it rains. Iodine can remain in soil for a long time because it combines with organic material in the soil. It can also be taken up by plants that grow in the soil. Cows or other animals that eat these plants will take up the iodine in the plants. Iodine that enters surface water can reenter the air as iodine gases. Iodine can enter the air when coal or fuel oil is burned for energy; however, the amount of iodine that enters the air from these activities is very small compared to the amount that comes from the oceans.
Radioactive iodine also forms naturally from chemical reactions high in the atmosphere. Most radioactive forms of iodine change very quickly (seconds to days) to stable elements that are not radioactive. However, one form, 129I, changes very slowly (millions of years), and its levels build up in the environment. Small amounts of radioactive iodine, including 129I and 131I, can also enter the air from nuclear power plants, which form radioiodine from uranium and plutonium. Larger amounts of radioactive iodine have been released to the air from accidents at nuclear power plants and from explosions of nuclear bombs.
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1.3. HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO IODINE?
Iodine is a natural and necessary part of the food that you eat and the water that you drink. In the United States, most table salt contains iodine. Iodine is put into table salt to make sure that everyone has enough iodine in their bodies to form essential thyroid hormones. In the past, people in some areas of the United States did not get enough iodine in their diets. Iodine is in some breads because it is added to flour to condition bread dough for baking. Iodine is also in cow and goat milk. Iodine gets into milk when cows or goats eat iodine that is in their food and water. Iodine can also get into milk when iodine is used to clean milking machines and milk storage containers, and to clean the animals’ udders at dairy farms and dairies. Iodine is in ocean fish, shellfish, and certain plants that grow in the ocean (kelp). This is because there is iodine in sea water, and some sea plants and animals concentrate iodine in their tissues. Iodine can also be in the air. Iodine is in sea spray and mist, which are tiny drops of sea water. Iodine is in cleansers and medicines that are used to clean and bandage skin wounds (tincture of iodine). You can be exposed to these if they are placed on your skin. Some medicines have iodine in them. Iodine is used to treat water to make it safe for drinking. You can buy iodine water purifying tablets that you add directly to water. You can also buy water treatment cartridges for your home that have iodine in them. Some iodine will get into the water that you drink if you use these tablets or cartridges.
People are almost never exposed to radioactive iodine, unless they work in a place where radioactive iodine is used or if they are given radioactive iodine by their doctors. Radioactive iodine is used in certain medical tests and treatments. You might have these tests if your doctor needs to look for problems in your thyroid gland or if your doctor needs to treat you for a problem with your thyroid gland. In the past, people were exposed to radioactive iodine released from nuclear bomb tests, after accidental explosions and fires at nuclear power plants, or from facilities that processed or used nuclear fuel for power plants.
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1.4. HOW CAN IODINE ENTER AND LEAVE MY BODY?
Most of the iodine that enters your body comes from the food that you eat. A smaller amount comes from the water that you drink. Iodine will enter your body if it is in the air that you breathe. Some forms of iodine can enter your body when placed on the skin. Iodine can also be injected into your blood by your doctor for special medical tests or treatments. Iodine that enters your body quickly goes into your thyroid gland, a small important organ in your neck. Iodine is used in the thyroid gland to make hormones that are needed for growth and health. Almost all of the iodine in your body is in your thyroid gland. Iodine that does not go into your thyroid gland leaves the body in your urine in a few weeks to months. Small amounts of iodine can also leave your body in sweat or in breast milk. Iodine that leaves your body each day is usually replaced by the iodine that you eat in your food, so that the amount of iodine in your body is just enough to keep you healthy.
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1.5. HOW CAN IODINE AFFECT MY HEALTH?
Iodine is needed for your thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones. You and your thyroid gland are healthy when there is just enough iodine in your body, about 10–15 milligrams, so that just the right amount of thyroid hormones are produced. This amount would look like much less than a pinch of table salt if placed in your hand. This amount of iodine is in most people when they eat the foods that people normally eat in the United States. Your thyroid gland can become unhealthy if more or less than this amount of iodine is in your body. An unhealthy thyroid gland can affect your entire body. If the thyroid gland cannot make enough hormone, then you would have to be given thyroid hormone in pills. If your thyroid gland makes too much hormone, then you would have to be given drugs to make your thyroid make less hormone. Radioactive iodine can also be unhealthy for your thyroid gland. If too much radioactive iodine enters your body, the radioactive iodine will destroy your thyroid gland so that the gland will stop making hormones. Too much radioactive iodine in your body can also cause thyroid nodules or cancer.
To protect the public from the harmful effects of toxic chemicals and to find ways to treat people who have been harmed, scientists use many tests.
One way to see if a chemical will harm people is to learn how the chemical is absorbed, used, and released by the body. In the case of a radioactive chemical, it is also important to gather information concerning the radiation dose and the dose rate to the body. For some chemicals, animal testing may be necessary. Animal testing may also be used to identify health effects such as cancer or birth defects. Without laboratory animals, scientists would lose a basic method to get information needed to make wise decisions to protect public health. Scientists have the responsibility to treat research animals with care and compassion. Laws today protect the welfare of research animals, and scientists must comply with strict animal care guidelines.
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1.6. HOW CAN IODINE AFFECT CHILDREN?
This section discusses potential health effects from exposures during the period from conception to maturity at 18 years of age in humans.
Babies and children need iodine to form thyroid hormones, which are important for growth and health. If infants and children do not have enough iodine in their bodies, their thyroid glands will not produce enough thyroid hormone and they will not grow normally. If they have too much iodine in their bodies, they may develop an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), which may not produce enough thyroid hormone for normal growth. We also need just the right amount of iodine from our mothers before we are born. Too much iodine from the mother can cause a baby’s thyroid gland to be so large that it makes breathing difficult or impossible. Not enough iodine from the mother can cause a baby to not produce enough thyroid hormone, which can affect growth and mental development of the baby. Radioactive iodine in food can be more harmful to babies and children than to adults. When radioactive iodine is in the air, it can get onto the grass and water that the cows eat and drink. Infants and children drink a lot more milk than most adults. If there is radioactive iodine in the milk that a child or infant drinks, more iodine will enter the thyroid gland of the child than of an adult who drinks less milk. In addition, because the thyroid gland of a child or infant is smaller than that of an adult, a child’s thyroid gland will receive a higher radiation dose than the an adult. Children are more sensitive to the harmful toxic effects of iodine and radioactive iodine than adults because their thyroid glands are still growing and the thyroid gland tissues are more easily harmed by radioactive iodine, and because children need a healthy thyroid gland for normal growth.
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1.7. HOW CAN FAMILIES REDUCE THE RISK OF EXPOSURE TO IODINE?
We all are exposed to iodine in the food that we eat and in the water that we drink. Iodine is needed for your good health. We do not want to prevent exposure to iodine, but we do want to try to prevent exposure to too much iodine. This is not likely to happen from eating a normal diet in the United States or from drinking water or breathing air. It could happen if you were careless about storing soaps or cleansers or medicines that have iodine in them. For example, a child could swallow medicines that contain iodine. People are rarely exposed to radioactive iodine, unless they work in a place where radioactive iodine is used or if they are given radioactive iodine by their doctors for certain medical tests or treatments.
If your doctor finds that you have been exposed to significant amounts of iodine, ask whether your children might also be exposed. Your doctor might need to ask your state health department to investigate.
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1.8. IS THERE A MEDICAL TEST TO DETERMINE WHETHER I HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO IODINE?
Most physicians do not test for iodine in their offices, but can collect samples and send them to special laboratories. They can also feel the thyroid for lumps that may have been caused by disease or past exposure to radioactive iodine, but the results do not tell the cause. Every person’s body contains a small amount of iodine, but normally not radioactive iodine (such as 131I). Iodine can be measured in the blood, urine, and saliva. The amount is normally measured by its mass (in grams). If the iodine is radioactive, it can be measured by its mass or by its radiation emissions. These emissions are used to tell the amount of radioactive iodine (in curies or becquerels) and the radiation dose it gives to your body (in sieverts or rem).
Radiation detectors can measure radioactive iodine inside your body using the radiation coming from the thyroid gland in your neck. This is useful only if you recently inhaled or ingested some, or if your physician recently gave you some for medical purposes. Your body quickly eliminates iodine and radioactive iodine, so tests should be done shortly after exposure.
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1.9. WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS HAS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MADE TO PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH?
The federal government develops regulations and recommendations to protect public health. Regulations can be enforced by law. Federal agencies that develop regulations for toxic substances include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC).
Recommendations provide valuable guidelines to protect public health but cannot be enforced by law. Federal organizations that develop recommendations for toxic substances include the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the FDA.
Regulations and recommendations can be expressed in not-to-exceed levels in air, water, soil, or food that are usually based on levels that affect animals; then they are adjusted to help protect people. Sometimes these not-to-exceed levels differ among federal organizations because of different exposure times (an 8-hour workday or a 24-hour day), the use of different animal studies, or other factors.
Recommendations and regulations are also periodically updated as more information becomes available. For the most current information, check with the federal agency or organization that provides it. Some regulations and recommendations for iodine include the following:
The National Research Council has established a Recommended Dietary Allowance for iodine of 150 micrograms per day (µg/day), with additional allowances of 25 µg/day during pregnancy and 50 µg/day during nursing. The EPA has established regulations that limit releases of certain forms of radioactive iodine to the environment and require that industries report releases of certain forms of radioactive iodine. NIOSH has established recommendations for limits of worker exposures to iodine and radioactive iodine. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements (NRCP) and the International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) have established recommended limits for worker exposures to radioactive iodine and for releases of radioactive iodine to the environment.
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1.10. WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?
If you have any more questions or concerns, please contact your community or state health or environmental quality department, your regional Nuclear Regulatory Commission office, or contact ATSDR at the address and phone number below.
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.
Toxicological profiles are also available on-line at www.atsdr.cdc.gov and on CD-ROM. You may request a copy of the ATSDR ToxProfiles CD-ROM by calling the information and technical assistance toll-free number at 1-888-42ATSDR (1-888-422-8737), by email at vog.cdc@cirdsta, or by writing to:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology
1600 Clifton Road NE
Mailstop F-32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Fax: 1-770-488-4178
For-profit organizations may request a copy of final profiles from the following:
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Phone: 1-800-553-6847 or 1-703-605-6000
Web site: http://www.ntis.gov/
Tritium
Tritium release could be a significant hazard only for personnel close to the accident site. Once tritium is inside the body, it behaves just like water and is distributed rapidly and uniformly throughout the entire volume of body water, where it may deliver a radiation dose to the soft tissues of the entire body.
From the National Institutes of Health
Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen and is a by-product of energy production in Canadian Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactors. The release of this radioisotope into the environment is carefully managed at CANDU facilities in order to minimize radiation exposure to the public. However, under some circumstances, small accidental releases to the environment can occur. The radiation doses to humans and non-human biota from these releases are low and orders of magnitude less than doses received from naturally occurring radioisotopes or from manmade activities, such as medical imaging and air travel. There is however a renewed interest in the biological consequences of low dose tritium exposures and a new limit for tritium levels in Ontario drinking water has been proposed. The Ontario Drinking Water Advisory Council (ODWAC) issued a formal report in May 2009 in response to a request by the Minister of the Environment, concluding that the Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standard for tritium should be revised from the current 7,000 Bq/L level to a new, lower 20 Bq/L level. In response to this recommendation, an international scientific symposium was held at McMaster University to address the issues surrounding this change in direction and the validity of a new policy. Scientists, regulators, government officials, and industrial stakeholders were present to discuss the potential health risks associated with low level radiation exposure from tritium. The regulatory, economic, and social implications of the new proposed limit were also considered.
The new recommendation assumed a linear-no-threshold model to calculate carcinogenic risk associated with tritium exposure, and considered tritium as a non-threshold chemical carcinogen. Both of these assumptions are highly controversial given that recent research suggests that low dose exposures have thresholds below which there are no observable detrimental effects. Furthermore, mutagenic and carcinogenic risk calculated from tritium exposure at 20 Bq/L would be orders of magnitude less than that from exposure to natural background sources of radiation. The new proposed standard would set the radiation dose limit for drinking water to 0.0003 mSv/year, which is equivalent to approximately three times the dose from naturally occurring tritium in drinking water. This new standard is incongruent with national and international standards for safe levels of radiation exposure, currently set at 1 mSv/year for the general public. Scientific research from leading authorities on the carcinogenic health effects of tritium exposure supports the notion that the current standard of 7,000 Bq/L (annual dose of 0.1 mSv) is a safe standard for human health.
Policy-making for the purpose of regulating tritium levels in drinking water is a dynamic multi-stage process that is influenced by more than science alone. Ethics, economics, and public perception also play important roles in policy development; however, these factors sometimes undermine the scientific evidence that should form the basis of informed decision making. Consequently, implementing a new standard without a scientific basis may lead the public to perceive that risks from tritium have been historically underestimated. It was concluded that the new recommendation is not supported by any new scientific insight regarding negative consequences of low dose effects, and may be contrary to new data on the potential benefits of low dose effects. Given the lack of cost versus benefit analysis, this type of dramatic policy change could have detrimental effects to society from an ethical, economical, and public perception perspective.
From the Journal of Radiation Research :
Abstract
The Commission for ‘Corresponding to Radiation Disaster of the Japanese Radiation Research Society’ formulated a description of potential health effects triggered by tritium. This was in response to the issue of discharging water containing tritium filtered by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), generated and stored in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station after the accident. In this review article, the contents of the description, originally provided in Japanese, which gives clear and detailed explanation about potential health effects triggered by tritium based on reliable scientific evidence in an understandable way for the public, were summarized. Then, additional information about biochemical or environmental behavior of organically bound tritium (OBT) were summarized in order to help scientists who communicate with general public.
INTRODUCTION
The Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was struck by a huge earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. After the accident, the general public in Japan took a lively interest in the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)-filtered water containing tritium that was generated and stored in the Station, due to their concern about the health effects that may be triggered by tritium. Many reports about the health effects of incorporated tritium have been published [1]; however, these reports are mostly specialized for professional readership, and not intended for the general public. Here, the Commission for ‘Corresponding to Radiation Disaster of the Japanese Radiation Research Society’ drew up a description about health effects that may be triggered by tritium based on reliable scientific evidence and in a manner that can be easily understood by the general public, in a nod to the issue of discharging ALPS-decontaminated water containing tritium, generated and stored in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. In this review article, the contents of the description, which was originally prepared in Japanese (https://www.jrrs.org/assets/file/tritium_20191111.pdf), were translated and summarized, then additional information about biological or environmental behavior of organically bound tritium (OBT) were provided. The description gives a clear and detailed explanation about potential health effects triggered by tritium based on reliable scientific evidence in a way that is understandable to the public:
(i) What is tritium? (in terms of chemical substance)
(ii) What is tritium? (in terms of radioactive substance)
(iii) What happens in a human body after exposure to ionizing radiation?
(iv) Exposure pathways (inhalation, absorption and ingestion) and metabolism of tritium
(v) Health effects triggered by tritium.
Then, additional information that may help scientists are provided as follows:
(vi) Behavior of OBT in the environment
(vii) Academic perspectives.
The purpose of this document translated into English is not only for the sake of scientific understanding by the general public worldwide, but also to help scientists who face any scientific communication with public outreach and education concerning the health effects of radiation. Thus, we believe that the present review will be helpful to both scientists and the general public.
What is tritium? (in terms of chemical substance)
Tritium is a rare, naturally occurring radioactive isotope of hydrogen. It was discovered by M. Oliphant (1901–2000) in 1934 [2]. In nature, the overwhelming majority of hydrogen atoms (over 99.9%) contain only a proton in their nucleus (1H). Deuterium (2H), another isotope of hydrogen that contains a proton and a neutron in the atomic nucleus makes up 0.0115%. The rest is tritium (3H), containing one proton and two neutrons in the atomic nucleus (Fig. 1). Hydrogen-1 and deuterium are stable isotopes of hydrogenic atoms, while tritium is radioactive.
Hydrogen-1 and its isotopes.
Fig. 1.Hydrogen-1 and its isotopes.
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Tritium undergoes β− decay by emitting radiation in the form of low energy β-rays. It is naturally generated by the reactions of high energy neutrons and protons from cosmic rays in space with oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere. The number of tritium atoms generated naturally is 0.2 to 1/sec/cm2 in the earth’s surface area [3], i.e. the total number of tritium atoms generated for 1 sec is 1 to 5 × 1018, with the earth’s surface area being 5 × 1014 m2. Therefore, the total number of tritium atoms generated per year is 3.2 × 1025 to 1.6 × 1026, corresponding to 5.7 × 1016 to 2.9 × 1017 Bq (the becquerel being the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second). The concentration of tritium in the atmosphere is estimated to be about 13 mBq/m3 although it may vary with latitude [4].
Tritium is also artificially generated by nuclear fission reaction as a by-product of nuclear weapons tests and nuclear power stations. In these situations, tritium is either discharged to the sea or the atmosphere. A large amount of tritium in the atmosphere has its origin from nuclear weapons tests, especially hydrogen bomb tests between 1945 and 1984. The sum of radioactivity of tritium generated by nuclear weapons tests is estimated to be up to 1.9 × 1020 Bq [5].
Tritium generated naturally and artificially reacts immediately with oxygen in the atmosphere, and the reaction products are brought into atmospheric/hydrological circulation as tritiated water (HTO) (Fig. 2).
Molecules of water and tritiated water.
Fig. 2.Molecules of water and tritiated water.
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What is tritium? (in terms of radioactive substance)
The physical half-life of tritium is 12.3 years [6], and the radioactivity of tritium per 1 g in weight is 3.6 × 1014 Bq. As stated above, tritium undergoes β− decay by emitting β-rays (electrons) with a maximum energy of 18.6 keV (5.7 keV on average). By comparison, carbon-14 (14C), which is frequently used in archaeological age determinations of animal and plant fossils, undergoes β− decay by emitting β-rays with 156 keV at a maximum. Phosphorus-32 (32P), which is frequently used in biochemical experiments, undergoes β− decay with emitting β-rays with 1,711 keV at a maximum. Thus, the energy of β-rays from tritium is quite low (Fig. 3), so that the range of the emitted rays is extremely short, 0.56 μm on average and 6 μm at a maximum, indicating that β-rays from external tritium will not likely traverse a nucleus (approximately 10 μm in diameter) of an animal cell. Therefore, in exposure to β-rays from tritium, we must consider an internal exposure due to inhalation, absorption and ingestion of tritium-containing chemicals such as HTO, rather than external exposure.
Energy of β-rays from tritium, carbon-14 and phosphorus-32.
Fig. 3.Energy of β-rays from tritium, carbon-14 and phosphorus-32.
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What happens in a human body after exposure to ionizing radiation?
Health effects in humans triggered by ionizing radiation are classified into two groups: deterministic and stochastic effects.
The deterministic effects are health effects that displayed symptoms due to the killing of tissue stem cells in those exposed to ionizing radiation at more than threshold doses for tissue reactions. The threshold dose for tissue reactions is defined as a dose to induce tissue injury at the level of 1% incidence [7]. Typical early effects resulting in symptoms appearing over several weeks after exposure to ionizing radiation, are acomia and permanent infertility, as well as skin lesions and hematopoietic disorders. Cataracts are a typical late effect with symptoms arising after a long latent period extending to decades after exposure to ionizing radiation. The threshold doses for acomia, permanent infertility and cataracts are 3, 2.5–6, and 0.5 Gy delivered to the whole body, respectively. When pregnant women are exposed to ionizing radiation, embryonic death and malformation are the deterministic effects, which are provoked in fetuses. The threshold doses for both are 0.1 Gy as whole body exposure dose (0.1 Sv, here, the sievert [Sv] is a unit of radiation dose used for radiation protection to assess the health risk on humans), which is the minimal threshold dose among the various deterministic effects. On the other hand, the stochastic effects are health effects displayed stochastically by accumulating DNA mutations in cells of the tissues exposed to ionizing radiation. Typical stochastic effects are solid cancer and leukemia. Therefore, health effects provoked by ionizing radiation at below 0.1 Gy as a whole body exposure dose (0.1 Sv) are only the stochastic effects. There is still no evidence, however, for the stochastic effects provoked by whole body exposure to ionizing radiation of less than 0.1 Gy (0.1 Sv).
Ionizing radiation interacts with molecular components of the living organisms, such as DNA, proteins and lipids, and changes their functions. In particular, the chemical changes in DNA, which encodes genetic information, is important when considering the biological effects of ionizing radiation. It can induce DNA damage, such as strand breaks and structural alterations. When DNA damage is left unrepaired or incorrectly repaired, mutations and genome instabilities can be induced, which may be a cause of cancer. However, the DNA damage repair systems existing in human cells are consistently repairing DNA lesions induced either endogenously by metabolism or exogenously by environmental factors such as ionizing radiation. Two repair systems function mainly for DNA double strand breaks, which if not repaired can also result in cell death. One is non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair, which joins together broken ends of DNA, and the other is homologous recombination (HR) repair, which reconstructs DNA using undamaged DNA strands as a template. Some DNA sequences can be lost when DNA double strand breaks are repaired by the NHEJ pathway. In the human genome, however, the coding regions for proteins are only 2% of DNA, in other words, the loss of some sequences in the genomic DNA rarely leads to biological change. So it is generally regarded that biological changes are hardly induced, even if some DNA sequences are lost by the NHEJ pathway. In the HR pathway, DNA double strand breaks are repaired without loss of genetic information. However, the phase of cell cycles in which HR can function is restricted to specific phases (S and G2); in these phases, HR uses the undamaged sister chromatid DNA as a template to repair the damaged strand. Therefore, the HR pathway is available only in cells that are actively dividing [8]. As many protein molecules associated with these DNA repair systems possess individual functions, such as DNA damage recognition, signal transduction to other proteins and joining broken ends of DNA, it is elucidated that their cellular content and localization are changing by the minute in cells after exposure to ionizing radiation [9, 10].
Exposure pathways (inhalation, absorption and ingestion) and metabolism of tritium
We have to follow the internal exposure to comprehend the health effects triggered by tritium. The exposure pathways of tritium are conceivable as follows;
(i) Inhalation of HTO in the atmosphere through the nose and mouth
(ii) Absorption of HTO through skin
(iii) Ingestion of HTO (or tritium-containing organic compounds) in food and drink.
HTO that get incorporated into the body penetrates into the circulatory pathway of body fluids and is finally ejected from the body. The biological half-life of tritium is about 10 days because HTO incorporated into the body is ejected relatively quickly, similar to H2O [1]. To understand the effects of internal exposures by tritium, however, it is important to realize that a part of tritium atoms (5–6% of HTO absorbed into the body) exists as a component of the body due to exchange with hydrogen atoms in organic compounds such as proteins and carbohydrates in the body, the so-called OBT. OBT, especially tritium bound to carbon atoms in organic compounds remains longer in the body, because such OBT is difficult to exchange for other atoms in organic compounds. Thus, the biological half-life of OBT is about 40 days for a short-term component and about one year for a long-term component. Thus, as described above, most of the HTO absorbed into the body (94–95%) will be ejected relatively quickly. Exposure pathway (inhalation, absorption and ingestion) and metabolism of HTO incorporated into the body is drawn in Fig. 4, according to UNSCEAR [1] and ICRP [11].
Metabolism of tritiated water in the human body [1, 11].
Fig. 4.Metabolism of tritiated water in the human body [1, 11].
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Health effects triggered by tritium
The latest committed effective dose coefficient of tritium incorporated into the body via the oral route in adults is 1.9 × 10−8 mSv/Bq for the soluble form, and that of the biogenic form is 5.1 × 10−8 mSv/Bq [12]. Age-dependent coefficient values for the general public, which are described in ICRP [11], are summarized in Table 1. These values are about 1/300th of that of cesium-137 (137Cs) (1.3 × 10−5 mSv/Bq), suggesting that health effects triggered by tritium are extensively low compared with 137Cs under the same uptake amount of Bq (Table 1).
Table 1Open in new tabCommitted effective dose coefficient [11] of tritiated water, cesium-134, cesium-137 and iodine-131 (mSv/Bq)
Tritiated water Cesium-134 Cesium-137 Iodine-131
Baby (3 months) 6.4 × 10−8 2.6 × 10−5 2.1 × 10−5 4.8 × 10−5
Child (1 year) 4.8 × 10−8 1.6 × 10−5 1.2 × 10−5 1.8 × 10−5
Child (5 years) 3.1 × 10−8 1.3 × 10−5 9.6 × 10−6 1.0 × 10−5
Child (10 years) 2.3 × 10−8 1.4 × 10−5 1.0 × 10−5 5.2 × 10−5
Child (15 years) 1.8 × 10−8 1.9 × 10−5 1.3 × 10−5 3.4 × 10−5
Adult 1.8 × 10−8 1.9 × 10−5 1.3 × 10−5 2.2 × 10−5
Effects triggered by tritium on individual death
Brue et al. analyzed a half lethal dose within 30 days (LD50/30) in CF1 female mice who were administered with HTO intraperitoneally at 1.3 × 108 to 8.4 × 109 Bq. As a result, the LD50/30 was 9 Gy, corresponding to 3.7 × 107 Bq/g body weight [13]. According to subsequent reports, LD50/30 was 8 Gy in CF1 female mice, corresponding to 3.3 × 107 Bq/g body weight [14], and LD50/30 was 13 Gy in (C57BL/6 N × C3H/He) F1 female mice, corresponding to 4.7 × 107 Bq/g body weight [15]. Therefore, it is conceivable that the LD50/30 in mice administered intraperitoneally HTO is around 10 Gy corresponding to about 4.0 × 107 Bq/g body weight.
There have been two radiation exposure accident reports in human, due to long-term ingestion of tritium, which occurred at two watch factories in Europe in the 1960s. At that time, luminous paints containing tritium were commonly used to draw the face of a watch. In one case, a factory worker ingested tritium integrated into luminous paints over 7.4 years. His exposure dose was estimated at 3–6 Sv based on the content of tritium in the urine. He developed isochromic anemia, and subsequently died of pancytopenia [16]. In the second case, a factory worker who ingested tritium integrated into luminous paints over three years, with an estimated accumulated dose of 10–20 Sv, died of pancytopenia after following a similar disease course [15]. It should be noted that these two people were also exposed to radioisotopes other than tritium over a long period [17].
Effects triggered by tritium on carcinogenesis
There are currently no data on cancer risk of tritium for humans. However, several findings were obtained in experiments using mice. In one experiment approximately 550 F1 female mice (C57BL/6 N × C3H/He) ingested HTO continuously at various concentrations for their entire lifetime, their average lifespan, population bearing cancer, and types of cancers were analyzed [18, 19]. The exposure mean dose-rate (mGy/day) was estimated from the content of tritium in some organs harvested after more than seven days from the onset of the experiment since the concentrations of tritium in the body achieved equilibrium in seven days.
Half of the control mice developed cancer, but an obvious increase in cancer induction was found in mice that ingested HTO at the concentration more than 10 mGy/day. These data suggested that a dose below 3.6 mG/day, had no observable effect on cancer incidence. Furthermore, the types of cancers ad the frequency of their development in mice that ingested HTO at concentrations lower than 3.6 mGy/day was similar to those in the control mice (Fig. 5) [18]. The average lifespan of mice that ingested HTO at less than 3.6 mGy/day, corresponding to 1.4 × 108 Bq/liter of HTO for the entire lifetime, differed little from that of the control mice (Fig. 6). The average lifespan of mice that ingested HTO at more than 10 mGy/day shortened with increasing HTO concentrations. The authors further analyzed the relationship of life-shortening and incidence of thymic lymphoma with dose rate. They proposed two types of threshold dose rates, one is ‘essential dose-rate threshold’ of 2 mGy/day for life-shortening and that of 12 mGy/day for thymic lymphoma, and the second is ‘practical tail threshold’ of 0.2 mGy/day for life-shortening and that of 0.9 mGy/day for carcinogenesis (Fig. 6, Table 2) [19]. Collectively, it is conceivable that the practical threshold of exposure mean dose-rate for carcinogenesis induced by HTO range from 0.9 and 12 mGy/day. This means that an incidence of cancer in mice ingesting 3.5 × 108 Bq/liter of HTO for their entire lifetime is almost the same to that of the control mice. It should be noted that these findings are from experiments on mice, and the findings in humans are still unclear.
The types of cancers developing in mice ingested HTO [18].
Fig. 5.The types of cancers developing in mice ingested HTO [18].
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Incidence of thymic lymphoma and lifespan shortening in mice ingested at different dose-rate of HTO [19].
Fig. 6.Incidence of thymic lymphoma and lifespan shortening in mice ingested at different dose-rate of HTO [19].
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Table 2Open in new tabPopulation bearing cancer and average lifespan in mice ingested at different dose-rate of HTO [19]
Dose Rate (mGy/Day) 0 0.2 0.9 3.6 10 24 48 96 240
Population Bearing Cancer (%) 52 49 78 46 83 70 70 84 76
Average Lifespan (Day) 808 790 758 804 622 481 414 259 165
Effects triggered by tritium on the cerebral nervous system
Gao et al. analyzed the cerebral nervous system in fetal Wistar rats exposed at 46, 92 and 273 mGy in the uterus of female rats ingesting HTO on the thirteenth day of pregnancy. The weight of brains in infant rats at the age of 45 or 46 days was significantly decreased in the group exposed at 273 mGy. Disabilities in learning and recollection with decreasing a cellular density of spindle nerve cells in the hippocampus were found in infant rats exposed at 92 mGy [20].
Cognitive function deficit was found in infant C57BL/6 J mice exposed to 100 or 300 mGy in the uterus of animals administrated HTO into the peritoneal cavity [21].
Behavior of organically bound tritium in environment
Because some people are concerned about biological accumulation of OBT in the environment, we briefly summarize the behavior of OBT in the ecosystem. Scientific data about the environmental behavior of OBT are still limited, however, it is clear that biological accumulation is not the case for tritium including OBT. Here, we introduce the summary of published review articles about OBT the in biosphere [22].
OBT in the environment can be classified into the exchangeable OBT (E-OBT) and non-exchangeable OBT (NE-OBT). In grass plants, it is estimated that about 65–70% of OBT is NE-OBT and the rest is E-OBT. The E-OBT in living organisms easily equilibrates with the tissue free water tritium (TFWT) and can be exceeded into surrounding environment. In contrast, the NE-OBT persists for a long time in plants, microbes in soil and in fish. Therefore, NE-OBT in living organism may reflect the historical (from several months to several years) concentration of tritium in the environment. As such, there has been report that tritium concentration in algae or fish are higher than the surrounding water at the study site [22]. It should be noted that the OBT in lichens or timbers may be a good indicator of historical concentration of tritium in the environment for a longer period (several years) although the methodology for the analysis of those environmental tritium is not precisely established.
OBT in the environment may be transferred into the food chain, including that of humans. Many reports suggest that around 70% of OBT could be sequestered in a manner that is difficult to exchange with TFWT or the surrounding environment [22]. They function as reservoirs of OBT in the terrestrial biosphere, although the residence time is shorter than physical radioactive decay of tritium (12.3 y). These observations indicate that over half of OBT is kept recycled in the food chain when a large amount of tritium is introduced from any artificial source such as atomic weapons. Thus, keeping tritium concentration in the terrestrial environment low where radiation risks are negligible is important for maintaining human health.
Academic perspectives
We summarized here the latest knowledge about biological effects of tritium, both the inorganic- and organic-bound chemical structure. We believe that the present review would be a great help to scientists who are engaged in public education on the health effects of tritium. One should recognize the relationship between the dose of tritium exposure and the resulting risk based on scientific evidence. However, the biological effects of low dose or low-dose rate radiation remain controversial regardless of the types of radiations. Thus, we need uniquely sensitive experimental systems to evaluate the biological effects triggered by tritium, because the biological effects of HTO are mainly due to low dose/low-dose rate exposure. Unfortunately, there are few such systems available at present. In addition, as most of the scientific evidence of the biological effects triggered by tritium was obtained using model animals, the possibility exists that we may not be able to accurately extrapolate the risk to humans. We hope strongly that the examination and elucidation of the health effects triggered by exposure to low dose/low-dose rate ionizing radiation will continuous into the future in order to secure public health.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to Dr. Edouard I. Azzam (Rutgers New Jersey Medical School) and Dr. Tom Hei (Colombia University) for their proofreading of the article and giving many generous comments. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP19HP2003.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
There are no conflicts of interest.
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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Carbon tetrachloride
Human symptoms of acute (short-term) inhalation and oral exposures to carbon tetrachloride include headache, weakness, lethargy, nausea, and vomiting. Acute exposures to higher levels and chronic (long-term) inhalation or oral exposure to carbon tetrachloride produces liver and kidney damage in humans.
Carbon tetrachloride
56-23-5
Hazard Summary
Carbon tetrachloride may be found in both ambient outdoor and indoor air. The primary effects of carbon
tetrachloride in humans are on the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system (CNS). Human symptoms of
acute (short-term) inhalation and oral exposures to carbon tetrachloride include headache, weakness,
lethargy, nausea, and vomiting. Acute exposures to higher levels and chronic (long-term) inhalation or oral
exposure to carbon tetrachloride produces liver and kidney damage in humans. Human data on the
carcinogenic effects of carbon tetrachloride are limited. Studies in animals have shown that ingestion of
carbon tetrachloride increases the risk of liver cancer. EPA has classified carbon tetrachloride as a Group
B2, probable human carcinogen.
Please Note: The main sources of information for this fact sheet are EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
(9), which contains information on oral chronic toxicity of carbon tetrachloride and the RfD, and the carcinogenic
effects of carbon tetrachloride including the unit cancer risk for inhalation exposure, and the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR's) Toxicological Profile for Carbon tetrachloride (1).
Uses
Carbon tetrachloride was produced in large quantities to make refrigerants and propellants for aerosol
cans, as a solvent for oils, fats, lacquers, varnishes, rubber waxes, and resins, and as a grain fumigant and
a dry cleaning agent. Consumer and fumigant uses have been discontinued and only industrial uses
remain. (1)
Sources and Potential Exposure
Individuals may be exposed to carbon tetrachloride in the air from accidental releases from production and
uses, and from its disposal in landfills where it may evaporate into the air or leach into groundwater. (1)
Carbon tetrachloride is also a common contaminant of indoor air; the sources of exposure appear to be
building materials or products, such as cleaning agents, used in the home. (1)
Workers directly involved in the manufacture or use of carbon tetrachloride are most likely to have
significant exposures to carbon tetrachloride. (1)
Individuals may also be exposed to carbon tetrachloride by drinking contaminated water. (1,2)
Assessing Personal Exposure
Measurement of carbon tetrachloride in exhaled breath has been the most convenient method for
determining exposure; measurements in blood, fat, or other tissues have also been used as indicators of
exposure. However, these tests are not routinely available and cannot be used to predict whether any
health effects will result. (1)
Health Hazard Information
Acute Effects:
Acute inhalation and oral exposures to high levels of carbon tetrachloride have been observed primarily to
Acute inhalation and oral exposures to high levels of carbon tetrachloride have been observed primarily to
damage the liver (swollen, tender liver, changes in enzyme levels, and jaundice) and kidneys (nephritis,
nephrosis, proteinurea) of humans. Depression of the central nervous system has also been reported.
Symptoms of acute exposure in humans include headache, weakness, lethargy, nausea, and vomiting. (1-6)
Delayed pulmonary edema (fluid in lungs) has been observed in humans exposed to high levels of carbon
tetrachloride by inhalation and ingestion, but this is believed to be due to injury to the kidney rather than
direct action of carbon tetrachloride on the lung. (1)
Acute animal exposure tests in rats, mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs have demonstrated carbon tetrachloride
to have low toxicity from inhalation exposure, low-to-moderate toxicity from ingestion,
and moderate toxicity from dermal exposure. (7)
Chronic Effects (Noncancer):
Chronic inhalation or oral exposure to carbon tetrachloride produces liver and kidney damage in humans
and animals. (1,3,6,8)
EPA has not established a Reference Concentration (RfC) for carbon tetrachloride. (9)
The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) has established a chronic reference exposure level
of 0.04 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m
3
) for carbon tetrachloride based on liver effects in guinea pigs.
The CalEPA reference exposure level is a concentration at or below which adverse health effects are not
likely to occur. It is not a direct estimator of risk, but rather a reference point to gauge the potential
effects. At lifetime exposures increasingly greater than the reference exposure level, the potential for
adverse health effects increases. (10)
ATSDR has established an acute duration (1-14 days) inhalation minimal risk level (MRL) of 1.3 mg/m
3
(0.2
parts per million [ppm]) based on liver effects in rats, and an intermediate duration (14-365 days) MRL of
0.3 mg/m
3
(0.05 ppm) also based on liver effects in rats. The MRL is an estimate of the daily human
exposure to a hazardous substance that is likely to be without appreciable risk of adverse noncancer health
effects over a specified duration of exposure. (1)
The Reference Dose (RfD) for carbon tetrachloride is 0.0007 milligrams per kilogram per day (mg/kg/d)
based on the occurrence of liver lesions in rats. The RfD is an estimate (with uncertainty spanning perhaps
an order of magnitude) of a daily oral exposure to the human population (including sensitive subgroups)
that is likely to be without appreciable risk of deleterious noncancer effects during a lifetime. (9)
EPA has medium confidence in the RfD based on (1) high confidence in the principal study on which
the RfD was based because the study was well conducted and good dose-response was observed in the
liver, which is the target organ for carbon tetrachloride toxicity; and (2) medium confidence in the database
because four additional subchronic studies support the RfD, but reproductive and teratology endpoints are
not well investigated; and, consequently, medium confidence in the RfD. (9)
Reproductive/Developmental Effects:
No information is available on the reproductive effects of carbon tetrachloride in humans. Limited
epidemiological data have indicated a possible association between certain birth outcomes (e.g., birth
weight, cleft palate) and drinking water exposure. However, as the water contained multiple chemicals, the
role of carbon tetrachloride is unclear. (1)
Decreased fertility and degenerative changes in the testes have been observed in animals exposed to
carbon tetrachloride by inhalation. (1,6)
Birth defects have not been observed in animals exposed to carbon tetrachloride by inhalation or ingestion.
(1,2,8)
Cancer Risk:
Occasional reports have noted the occurrence of liver cancer in workers who had been exposed to carbon
tetrachloride by inhalation exposure; however, the data are not sufficient to establish a cause-and-effect
relationship. (1,6,8,9,11,12)
Liver tumors have developed in rats and mice exposed to carbon tetrachloride by gavage (experimentally
placing the chemical in their stomachs). (1,4,6,8,9,11,12)
placing the chemical in their stomachs). (1,4,6,8,9,11,12)
EPA has classified carbon tetrachloride as a Group B2, probable human carcinogen. (8,9)
EPA uses mathematical models, based on human and animal studies, to estimate the probability of a
person developing cancer from continuously breathing air containing a specified concentration of a
chemical. EPA calculated an inhalation unit risk of 1.5 × 10
-5
(µg/m
3
)
-1
. EPA estimates that, if an individual
were to continuously breathe air containing carbon tetrachloride at an average of 0.07 µg/m
3
(7 x 10
-
5
mg/m
3
) over his or her entire lifetime, that person would theoretically have no more than a one-in-a[1]million increased chance of developing cancer as a direct result of breathing air containing this chemical.
Similarly, EPA estimates that continuously breathing air containing 0.7 µg/m
3
(7 x 10
-4
mg/m
3
) would
result in not greater than a one-in-a-hundred thousand increased chance of developing cancer, and air
containing 7.0 µg/m
3
(7 x 10
-3
mg/m
3
) would result in not greater than a one-in-a-ten thousand
increased chance of developing cancer. (9)
EPA has calculated an oral cancer slope factor of 1.3 x 10
-1
(mg/kg/d)
-1
. For a detailed discussion of
confidence in the potency estimates, please see IRIS. (9)
Physical Properties
The chemical formula for carbon tetrachloride is CCl
4
, and its molecular weight is 153.8 g/mol. (1,2)
Carbon tetrachloride is a clear, nonflammable liquid which is almost insoluble in water. (1)
Carbon tetrachloride has a sweet characteristic odor, with an odor threshold above 10 ppm. (1)
The vapor pressure for carbon tetrachloride is 91.3 mm Hg at 20 C, and its log octanol/water partition
coefficient (log K
ow
) is 2.64. (1)
Conversion Factors:
To convert concentrations in air (at 25°C) from ppm to mg/m
3
: mg/m
3
= (ppm) × (molecular weight of the
compound)/(24.45). For carbon tetrachloride: 1 ppm = 6.3 mg/m
3
. To convert concentrations in air from
µg/m
3
to mg/m
3
: mg/m
3
= (µg/m
3
) × (1 mg/1,000 µg).
Health Data from Inhalation Exposure
AIHA ERPG--American Industrial Hygiene Association's emergency response planning guidelines. ERPG 1 is the
maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed nearly all individuals could be exposed up to one hour
without experiencing other than mild transient adverse health effects or perceiving a clearly defined objectionable
odor; ERPG 2 is the maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed nearly all individuals could be
exposed up to one hour without experiencing or developing irreversible or other serious health effects that could
impair their abilities to take protective action.
ACGIH TLV--American Conference of Governmental and Industrial Hygienists' threshold limit value expressed as a
time-weighted average; the concentration of a substance to which most workers can be exposed without adverse
effects.
LC
50
(Lethal Concentration
50
)--A calculated concentration of a chemical in air to which exposure for a specific
length of time is expected to cause death in 50% of a defined experimental animal population.
NIOSH IDLH -- National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health's immediately dangerous to life or health
concentration; NIOSH recommended exposure limit to ensure that a worker can escape from an exposure condition
that is likely to cause death or immediate or delayed permanent adverse health effects or prevent escape from the
environment.
NIOSH REL--NIOSH's recommended exposure limit; NIOSH-recommended exposure limit for an 8- or 10-h time[1]weighted-average exposure and/or ceiling.
OSHA PEL--Occupational Safety and Health Administration's permissible exposure limit expressed as a time[1]weighted average; the concentration of a substance to which most workers can be exposed without adverse effect
averaged over a normal 8-h workday or a 40-h workweek.
The health and regulatory values cited in this factsheet were obtained in December 1999.
a
Health numbers are toxicological numbers from animal testing or risk assessment values developed by EPA.
b
Regulatory numbers are values that have been incorporated in Government regulations, while advisory numbers
are nonregulatory values provided by the Government or other groups as advice. OSHA numbers are regulatory,
are nonregulatory values provided by the Government or other groups as advice. OSHA numbers are regulatory,
whereas NIOSH, ACGIH, and AIHA numbers are advisory.
c
These cancer risk estimates were derived from oral data and converted to provide the estimated inhalation risk.
d
The LOAEL is from the critical study used as the basis for the CalEPA chronic reference exposure level.
Summary created in April 1992, updated in January 2000.
References
1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Toxicological Profile for Carbon tetrachloride
(Update). Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA. 1994.
2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Carbon tetrachloride Health Advisory. Office of Drinking Water,
Washington, DC. 1987.
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Hazardous Substances Databank (HSDB, online database).
National Toxicology Information Program, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD. 1993.
4. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the
Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Humans: Some Halogenated Hydrocarbons. Volume 20. World Health
Organization, Lyon. 1979.
5. M. Sittig. Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens. 2nd ed. Noyes Publications, Park
Ridge, NJ. 1985.
6. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Health Affects Document for Carbon tetrachloride. EPA/600/8-82-
001F. Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment,
Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati, OH. 1984.
7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS,
online database). National Toxicology Information Program, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
1993.
8. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Updated Health Effects Assessment for Carbon tetrachloride.
EPA/600/8-89/088. Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, Office of Health and Environmental
Assessment, Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati, OH. 1989.
9. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) on Carbon tetrachloride.
National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC.
1999.
10. California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA). Technical Support Document for the Determination of
Noncancer Chronic Reference Exposure Levels. Draft for Public Comment. Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment, Berkeley, CA. 1997.
11. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the
Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Humans: Chemicals, Industrial Processess and Industries Associated with
Cancer in Humans.Supplement 4. World Health Organization, Lyon. 1982.
12. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the
Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Volume 1. World Health Organization, Lyon. 1972.
13. The Merck Index. An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. 11th ed. Ed. S. Budavari. Merck and
Co. Inc., Rahway, NJ. 1989.
14. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Occupational Safety and Health Standards, Toxic
and Hazardous Substances. Code of Federal Regulations. 29 CFR 1910.1000. 1998.
15. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). 1999 TLVs and BEIs. Threshold Limit
Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents. Biological Exposure Indices. Cincinnati, OH. 1999.
16. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Cincinnati, OH. 1997.
17. American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). The AIHA 1998 Emergency Response Planning Guidelines
and Workplace Environmental Exposure Level Guides Handbook. 1998.
Hexavalent chromium
Strontium-90
Strontium-90 is considered a cancer-causing substance because it damages the genetic material (DNA) in cells. In one geographical location near a nuclear weapons plant, an increase in leukemia (a form of cancer) was reported in people who swallowed a large amount of strontium-90 in water.
From Delaware Health and Human Services :
STRONTIUM-90
What is STRONTIUM-90?
Strontium is a soft, silvery metallic element found in rocks, soil, dust, coal and oil. Strontium found in nature is
not radioactive and is sometimes called stable strontium.
Strontium-90 is a radioactive form of strontium. Strontium-90 is formed in nuclear reactors or during the
explosion of nuclear weapons. The half-life of strontium-90 (the time it takes for half of the strontium to give off
its radiation and change into another substance) is 29 years.
Where can strontium-90 be found and how is it used?
Strontium-90 is found in spent fuel rods in nuclear reactors and is considered a waste product. It is found
almost everywhere in small amounts, due to past nuclear accidents and fallout from nuclear explosions.
Strontium-90 is a part of polluted soils at sites where nuclear fission was used, including research reactors
and nuclear power plants.
Strontium-90 is used as a radioactive tracer in medical studies and in studies of agricultural crops. It is also
used in beacons for navigating, remote weather stations and space vehicles. Strontium-90 is used in electron
tubes to treat eye diseases and as a radiation source in industrial thickness gauges.
How can people be exposed to strontium-90?
It is unlikely that people will be exposed through breathing, drinking, or touching strontium-90. Food and
drinking water are the largest sources of exposure to strontium-90. Some strontium-90 gets into fish,
vegetables and livestock. It can also be found in grain, leafy vegetables and dairy products. However, the
amount of radioactive strontium taken in by most people is small, unless they eat food that was grown on a
waste site polluted with radioactive strontium.
How does strontium-90 work and how can it affect my health?
It is possible to breathe in particles or dust containing a chemical compound of strontium-90. If this compound
dissolves in water, the chemical will dissolve in the moist surface inside the lungs. Strontium will then enter
the blood quickly. If the chemical form of strontium does not dissolve in water easily, a small amount may
remain in the lungs.
When you eat food or drink water containing strontium, only a small amount leaves the intestines and enters
the blood. Strontium can also pass through the skin.
Once strontium enters the blood, it flows to other parts of the body. It enters and leaves cells easily. In the
body, strontium acts very much like calcium. A large portion of the strontium will build up in bones. In adults,
strontium mostly attaches to the surfaces of bones. In children, strontium may create the hard bone mineral
itself, thus being stored in the bones for many years. Eventually, strontium will dissolve from the bones and
return to the blood to be used again to grow bone, or to be expelled through urine, waste matter or sweat. The
harmful effects of strontium-90 are caused by the high energy effects of radiation.
Since radioactive strontium is taken up into bone, the bone itself and nearby soft tissues may be damaged by
radiation released over time. Bone marrow is the most important source of red blood cells, which are depleted
if the strontium-90 level is too high. Some cancer patients are given injections of radioactive strontium (89Sr) to
destroy cancer tissue in the bone marrow.
Problems from lowered red blood cell counts include anemia, which causes excessive tiredness, blood that
does not clot properly, and a decreased resistance to fight disease.
24/7 Emergency Contact Number: 1-888-295-5156
Revised: 01/2012
Radioactive strontium probes are used to destroy unwanted tissue on the surface of the eye or skin. If used
for eye surgery, this results in eye tissues becoming red and sore, or very thin after a long time. Thinning of
the lower layer of the skin has also been reported in animal studies.
In animal studies, exposure to strontium-90 caused harmful reproductive effects. These effects happened
when animals were exposed to doses more than a million times higher than typical exposure levels for
humans. Animals that breathed or swallowed radioactive strontium had lowered blood cell counts. It is not
known if exposure to strontium-90 affects human reproduction.
Strontium-90 is considered a cancer-causing substance because it damages the genetic material (DNA) in
cells. In one geographical location near a nuclear weapons plant, an increase in leukemia (a form of cancer)
was reported in people who swallowed a large amount of strontium-90 in water. In animal studies, researchers
reported cancers of the bone, nose and lung, as well as leukemia. Animals receiving high doses of radiation to
the skin developed skin and bone cancer.
How is strontium-90 poisoning treated?
Strontium-90 poisoning is treated in the same way as other radiation exposures. There are no direct
treatments for strontium-90 exposure.
What should I do if exposed to strontium-90?
Decontamination should begin immediately. Emergency workers should wear protective safety gear. The
patient’s clothing should be removed. Then, the entire skin surface must be scrubbed with soap and water. All
materials in contact with the strontium-90 must be placed in containers labeled as radioactive waste.
Investigators should determine the exact type of exposure to assist caregivers in providing the best treatment.
It will also help protect the emergency workers and hospital staff.
What factors limit use or exposure to strontium-90?
Strontium-90 exposure is usually only of concern for people working in nuclear facilities. This could be in the
nuclear power industry, at a nuclear weapons plant or in nuclear plants that taken out of service. Laws ensure
that such employees are safe and limit their exposure.
Is there a medical test to show whether I’ve been exposed to strontium-90?
All people have small amounts of stable strontium in their bodies. Tests can measure the level of strontium in
blood, hair, waste matter and urine. These tests are most useful for people exposed to high levels. These
tests cannot determine the exact levels of strontium during exposure, or how the exposure will affect your
health.
Technical information for strontium-90:
CAS Number: 10098-97-2
Chemical Formula: Sr90
Carcinogenicity (EPA): Classified as a human carcinogen.
MCL (Drinking Water): 4 millirems per year for beta and alpha emitters.
OSHA Standards: There is no standard for Sr.90
NIOSH Standards: There is no standard for Sr.90
References and Sources
http://www.radonseal.com/radon-level.htm
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2004. Toxicological profile for Strontium.
Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Strontium from Centers for Disease Control
Public Health Statement for Strontium
Spanish: Estroncio
CAS#: 7440-24-6
PDF Versionpdf icon[78.3 KB]
This Public Health Statement is the summary chapter from the Toxicological Profile for strontium. It is one in a series of Public Health Statements about hazardous substances and their health effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQsTM, is also available. This information is important because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-800-232-4636.
This public health statement tells you about strontium and the effects of exposure.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites in the nation. These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and are the sites targeted for long-term federal cleanup activities. Strontium and strontium-90 have been found in at least 102 and 12 of the 1,636 current or former NPL sites, respectively. However, the total number of NPL sites evaluated for strontium and strontium-90 are not known. As more sites are evaluated, the sites at which strontium and strontium-90 are found may increase. This information is important because exposure to strontium and strontium-90 may harm you and because these sites may be sources of exposure.
When a substance is released from a large area, such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment. This release does not always lead to exposure. You are exposed to a substance only when you come in contact with it. You may be exposed by breathing, eating, or drinking the substance, or by skin contact.
External exposure to radiation may occur from natural or man-made sources. Naturally occurring sources of radiation are cosmic radiation from space or radioactive materials in soil or building materials. Man-made sources of radioactive materials are found in consumer products, industrial equipment, atom bomb fallout, and to a smaller extent from hospital waste and nuclear reactors.
If you are exposed to strontium, many factors determine whether you'll be harmed. These factors include the dose (how much), the duration (how long), and how you come in contact with it. You must also consider the other chemicals you're exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health.
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What is strontium?
Strontium is a natural and commonly occurring element. Strontium can exist in two oxidation states: 0 and +2. Under normal environmental conditions, only the +2 oxidation state is stable enough to be important. Pure strontium is a hard, white-colored metal, but this form is not found in the environment. Rather, strontium is usually found in nature in the form of minerals. Strontium can form a variety of compounds. Strontium compounds do not have any particular smell. There are two types of strontium compounds, those that dissolve in water and those that do not. Natural strontium is not radioactive and exists in four stable types (or isotopes), each of which can be written as 84Sr, 86Sr, 87Sr, and 88Sr, and read as strontium eighty-four, strontium eighty-six, etc. All four isotopes behave the same chemically, so any combination of the four would have the same chemical effect on your body.
Rocks, soil, dust, coal, oil, surface and underground water, air, plants, and animals all contain varying amounts of strontium. Typical concentrations in most materials are a few parts per million (ppm). Strontium ore is found in nature as the minerals celestite (SrSO4) and strontianite (SrCO3). After the strontium is extracted from strontium ore, it is concentrated into strontium carbonate or other chemical forms by a series of chemical processes. Strontium compounds, such as strontium carbonate, are used in making ceramics and glass products, pyrotechnics, paint pigments, fluorescent lights, medicines, and other products.
Strontium can also exist as radioactive isotopes. 90Sr, or strontium ninety, is the most hazardous of the radioactive isotopes of the chemical element strontium. 90Sr is formed in nuclear reactors or during the explosion of nuclear weapons. Each radioactive element, including strontium, constantly gives off radiation, and this process changes it into an isotope of another element or a different isotope of the same element. This process is called radioactive decay. 90Sr gives off beta particles (sometimes referred to as beta radiation) and turns into yttrium ninety (90Y); 90Y is also radioactive and gives off radiation to form zirconium ninety (90Zr), which is a stable isotope. The radioactive half-life is the time that it takes for half of a radioactive strontium isotope to give off its radiation and change into a different element. 90Sr has a half-life of 29 years.
90Sr has limited use and is considered a waste product. The radioactive isotope 89Sr is used as a cancer therapeutic to alleviate bone pain. 85Sr has also been used in medical applications. .
Quantities of radioactive strontium, as well as other radioactive elements, are measured in units of mass (grams) or radioactivity (curies or becquerels). Both the curie (Ci) and the becquerel (Bq) tell us how much a radioactive material decays every second. The becquerel is a new international unit known as the SI unit, and the curie is an older unit; both are used currently. A becquerel is the amount of radioactive material in which 1 atom transforms every second. One curie is the amount of radioactive material in which 37 billion atoms transform every second; this is approximately the radioactivity of 1 gram of radium.
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What happens to strontium when it enters the environment?
Stable and radioactive strontium compounds in the air are present as dust. Emissions from burning coal and oil increase stable strontium levels in air. The average amount of strontium that has been measured in air from different parts of the United States is 20 nanograms per cubic meter (a nanogram is a trillion times smaller than a gram). Most of the strontium in air is in the form of stable strontium. Very small dust particles of stable and radioactive strontium in the air fall out of the air onto surface water, plant surfaces, and soil either by themselves or when rain or snow falls. These particles of strontium eventually end up back in the soil or in the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and ponds, where they stay and mix with stable and radioactive strontium that is already there.
In water, most forms of stable and radioactive strontium are dissolved. Stable strontium that is dissolved in water comes from strontium in rocks and soil that water runs over and through. Only a very small part of the strontium found in water is from the settling of strontium dust out of the air.
Some strontium is suspended in water. Typically, the amount of strontium that has been measured in drinking water in different parts of the United States by the EPA is less than 1 milligram for every liter of water (1 mg/L). 90Sr in water comes primarily from the settling of 90Sr dust out of the air. Some 90Sr is suspended in water. In general, the amount of 90Sr that has been measured in drinking water in different parts of the United States by EPA is less than one tenth of a picocurie for every liter of water (0.1 pCi/L or 0.004 Bq/L).
Strontium is found naturally in soil in amounts that vary over a wide range, but the typical concentration is 0.2 milligrams per kilogram (kg) of soil (or 0.2 mg/kg). The disposal of coal ash, incinerator ash, and industrial wastes may increase the concentration of strontium in soil. Generally, the amount of 90Sr in soil is very small and is only a fraction of the total concentration of strontium in soil. Higher concentrations of 90Sr in soil may be found near hazardous waste sites, radioactive waste sites, and Department of Energy facilities located around the United States. A major portion of stable and radioactive strontium in soil dissolves in water, so it is likely to move deeper into the ground and enter groundwater. However, strontium compounds may stay in the soil for years without moving downward into groundwater. In the environment, chemical reactions can change the water-soluble stable and radioactive strontium compounds into insoluble forms. In some cases, water-insoluble strontium compounds can change to soluble forms.
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How might I be exposed to strontium?
Strontium is found nearly everywhere in small amounts, and you can be exposed to low levels of strontium by breathing air, eating food, drinking water, or accidentally eating soil or dust that contains strontium. Food and drinking water are the largest sources of exposure to strontium. Because of the nature of strontium, some of it gets into fish, vegetables, and livestock. Grain, leafy vegetables, and dairy products contribute the greatest percentage of dietary strontium to humans. The concentration of strontium in leafy vegetables, such as cabbage, grown in the United States is less than 64 mg in a kg of the fresh vegetables (i.e., 64 ppm). For most people, the intake of strontium will be moderate.
90Sr is found nearly everywhere in small amounts from past nuclear accidents and fallout from nuclear explosions. You can be exposed to low levels of 90Sr by eating food, drinking water, or accidentally eating soil or dust that contains 90Sr. Food and drinking water are the largest sources of exposure to 90Sr. Because of the nature of 90Sr, some of it gets into fish, vegetables, and livestock. Grain, leafy vegetables, and dairy products contribute the greatest percentage of dietary 90Sr to humans. The concentration of 90Sr in fresh vegetables grown in the United States is less than 9 pCi (or 0.3 Bq) in 1 kg of dried vegetables (in a hot oven). The intake of radioactive strontium for most people will be small. You can take in more 90Sr if you eat food that was grown on a radioactive strontium-contaminated hazardous waste site.
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How can strontium enter and leave my body?
Both stable strontium and radioactive strontium enter and leave the body in the same way.
If a person breathes in vapors or dust containing a chemical form of strontium that is soluble in water, then the chemical will dissolve in the moist surface inside the lungs and strontium will enter the bloodstream relatively quickly. If the chemical form of strontium does not dissolve in water easily, then particles may remain in the lung for a time. When you eat food or drink water that contains strontium, only a small portion leaves the intestines and enters the bloodstream. Studies in animals suggest that infants may absorb more strontium from the intestines than adults. If a fluid mixture of a strontium salt is placed on the skin, the strontium will pass through the skin very slowly and then enter the bloodstream. If the skin has scratches or cuts, strontium will pass through the skin much more quickly.
Once strontium enters the bloodstream, it is distributed throughout the body, where it can enter and leave cells quite easily. In the body, strontium behaves very much like calcium. A large portion of the strontium will accumulate in bone. In adults, strontium mostly attaches to the surfaces of bones. In children, whose bones are still growing, strontium may be used by the body to create the hard bone mineral itself. As a result the strontium will be stored in the bone for a long time (years). Because of the way bone grows, strontium will be locally dissolved from bone and recirculate through the bloodstream, where it may be reused by growing bone, or be eliminated. This process accounts for the slow removal of strontium from the body.
Strontium is eliminated from the body through urine, feces, and sweat. Elimination through urine may occur over long periods, when small amounts of strontium are released from bone and do not get recaptured by bone. When strontium is taken in by mouth, the portion that does not pass through the intestinal wall to enter the bloodstream is eliminated through feces during the first day or so after exposure.
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How can strontium affect my health?
To protect the public from the harmful effects of toxic chemicals and to find ways to treat people who have been harmed, scientists use many tests.
One way to see if a chemical will hurt people is to learn how the chemical is absorbed, used, and released by the body. In the case of a radioactive chemical, it is also important to gather information concerning the radiation dose and dose rate to the body. For some chemicals, animal testing may be necessary. Animal testing may also be used to identify health effects such as cancer or birth defects. Without laboratory animals, scientists would lose a basic method to get information needed to make wise decisions to protect public health. Scientists have the responsibility to treat research animals with care and compassion. Laws today protect the welfare of research animals, and scientists must comply with strict animal care guidelines.
There are no harmful effects of stable strontium in humans at the levels typically found in the environment. The only chemical form of stable strontium that is very harmful by inhalation is strontium chromate, but this is because of toxic chromium and not strontium itself. Problems with bone growth may occur in children eating or drinking unusually high levels of strontium, especially if the diet is low in calcium and protein. Ordinary strontium salts are not harmful when inhaled or placed on the skin.
Animal studies showed that eating or drinking very large amounts of stable strontium can be lethal, but the public is not likely to encounter such high levels of strontium. In these unusually high amounts, so much strontium was taken into bone instead of calcium that growing bones were weakened. Strontium had more severe effects on bone growth in young animals than in adults.
It is not known whether stable strontium affects reproduction in people. The effect of stable strontium on reproduction in animals is not known. The Department of Health and Human Services has determined that strontium chromate is expected to be a carcinogen, but this is because of chromium. There is no information that any other form of stable strontium causes cancer in humans or animals.
The harmful effects of radioactive strontium are caused by the high energy effects of radiation. Since radioactive strontium is taken up into bone, bone itself and the soft tissues nearby may be damaged by radiation released over time. Because bone marrow is the essential source of blood cells, blood cell counts may be reduced if the dose is too high. This has been seen in humans who received injections of radioactive strontium (89Sr) to destroy cancer tissue that had spread to the bone marrow. Lowered blood cell counts were also seen in animals that breathed or swallowed radioactive strontium. Numerous problems occur when the number of blood cells is too low. A loss of red blood cells, anemia, prevents the body from getting sufficient oxygen, resulting in tiredness. A loss of platelets may prevent the blood from clotting properly, and may result in abnormal bleeding, especially in the intestines. A loss in white blood cells harms the body's ability to fight infectious disease.
Radiation damage may also occur from exposure to the skin. Medically, radioactive strontium probes have been used intentionally to destroy unwanted tissue on the surface of the eye or skin. The eye tissues sometimes become inflamed or abnormally thin after a long time. Thinning of the lower layer of the skin (dermis) has also been reported in animal studies as a delayed effect.
It is not known whether exposure to radioactive strontium would affect human reproduction. Harmful effects on animal reproduction occurred at doses that were more than a million times higher than typical exposure levels for the general population.
Radioactive strontium may cause cancer as a result of damage to the genetic material (DNA) in cells. An increase in leukemia over time was reported in individuals in one foreign population who swallowed relatively large amounts of 90Sr (and other radioactive materials) in river water contaminated by a nuclear weapons plant. Cancers of the bone, nose, and lung (in the case of a breathing exposure), and leukemia were reported in animal studies. In addition, skin and bone cancer were reported in animals that received radiation at high doses to the skin. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that radioactive strontium is carcinogenic to humans, because it is deposited inside the body and emits beta radiation. The EPA has determined that radioactive strontium is a human carcinogen.
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How can strontium affect children?
This section discusses potential health effects from exposures during the period from conception to maturity at 18 years of age in humans.
Children are exposed to stable strontium in the same manner as adults: usually in small amounts in drinking water and food. Young children who have more hand-to-mouth activity or who eat soil may accidentally eat more strontium. Infants and children with active bone growth absorb more strontium from the gut than adults.
Excess stable strontium causes problems with growing bone. For this reason, children are more susceptible to the effects of stable strontium than adults who have mature bone. Children who eat or drink unusually high levels of stable strontium may have problems with bone growth, but only if the diet is low in calcium and protein. Children who drink milk, especially milk fortified with vitamin D, are not likely to have bone problems from exposure to excess stable strontium. The amount of stable strontium that is usually taken in from food or water or by breathing is too low to cause bone problems in children. No developmental studies in humans or animals examined the effect on the fetus when the mother takes in excess strontium. However, no problems are expected with fetal bone growth because only small amounts of strontium are transferred from the mother across the placenta to the fetus. Evidence suggests that stable strontium can be transferred from the mother to nursing infants through breast milk, but the presence of calcium and protein in milk protects against bone problems during nursing.
Children take in, use, and get rid of radioactive strontium in the same ways as stable strontium. Children are likely to be more vulnerable than adults to the effects of radioactive strontium because relatively more goes into bone when it is growing. Also, children are potentially more vulnerable than adults to radiation damage because they keep radioactive strontium in bone for a longer time.
Children would be expected to have the same types of effects from exposure to radioactive strontium as exposed adults. Children can be exposed to radioactive strontium at levels higher than background without showing increases in cancer rates. Evidence from one foreign population showed that children who drank water containing unusually high levels of radioactive strontium for 7 years showed an increase in leukemia. High levels of radioactive strontium cause more bone damage and higher bone cancer rates when animals are exposed before birth or as juveniles rather than as adults. In humans and animals, radioactive strontium can be transferred into milk or across the placenta into the fetus.
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How can families reduce the risk of exposure to strontium?
If your doctor finds that you have been exposed to significant amounts of strontium, ask whether your children might also be exposed. Your doctor might need to ask your state health department to investigate. Public health officials may publish guidelines for reducing exposure to strontium when necessary.
It is possible that higher-than-normal levels of stable strontium may occur naturally in soil in some places or that higher levels of radioactive strontium may be found in soil near hazardous waste sites. Some children eat a lot of dirt. You should prevent your children from eating dirt. Make sure they wash their hands frequently, and before eating. If you live near a hazardous waste site, discourage your children from putting their hands in their mouths or from engaging in other hand-to-mouth activities.
Since strontium is so common in the environment, and is naturally present in food and water, we cannot avoid being exposed to it. For several reasons, having a balanced diet with sufficient vitamin D, calcium, and protein will be protective by reducing the amount of ingested strontium that is absorbed.
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Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed to strontium?
All people have small amounts of stable strontium in their bodies, mostly in bone. It can be measured in the blood, hair, feces, or urine. The amount is usually measured by its mass (grams). Measurements in urine can show whether you have been exposed recently to larger-than-normal amounts of strontium. Measurements in hair can reveal whether you were exposed to high amounts of strontium in the past. Most physicians do not test for strontium in their offices, but can collect samples and send them to a special laboratory. X-rays can show changes in bone that may occur from exposure to high amounts of strontium, but these changes may have other causes (a diet low in vitamin D or a high exposure to some other trace metal).
If a person has been exposed to radioactive strontium, special tests can be used to measure radioactive strontium in blood, feces, or urine. These tests are most useful when done soon after exposure, since radioactive strontium quickly enters into bone and takes many years to be completely removed from bone. Radioactive strontium can be measured by its mass (in grams) or by its radiation emissions. These emissions, which differ for the various isotopes of strontium, are used to tell the amount of radioactive strontium (in curies or bequerels) and the radiation dose that it gives to your body (in sieverts or rem). In a procedure that is similar to being x-rayed, specialized equipment can measure radioactive strontium that has been incorporated into bone.
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What recommendations has the federal government made to protect human health?
The federal government develops regulations and recommendations to protect public health. Regulations can be enforced by law. Federal agencies that develop regulations for toxic substances include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC).
Recommendations provide valuable guidelines to protect public health but cannot be enforced by law. Federal organizations that develop recommendations for toxic substances include the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the FDA.
Regulations and recommendations can be expressed in not-to-exceed levels in air, water, soil, or food that are usually based on levels that affect animals; they are then adjusted to help protect people. Sometimes these not-to-exceed levels differ among federal organizations because of different exposure times (an 8-hour workday or a 24-hour day), the use of different animal studies, or other factors.
Recommendations and regulations are also periodically updated as more information becomes available. For the most current information, check with the federal agency or organization that provides it. Some regulations and recommendations for strontium include the following:
EPA recommends that drinking water levels of stable strontium should not be more than 4 milligrams per liter of water (4 mg/L).
The Department of Energy (DOE) established derived air concentrations (DAC) for workplace exposure to radiation at DOE facilities. The DAC ranges from 0.000000002 microcuries per milliliter (μCi/mL) (2x10-9 μCi/mL of air = 70 μBq/mL of air) for radioactive particles remaining in the lung for 100 days to 0.000000008 μCi/mL (8x10-9 μCi/mL of air = 300 μBq/mL of air) for radioactive particles remaining in the lung for less than 10 days. The USNRC established an annual intake limit of 20 μCi (7 MBq) for on-the-job exposure to 90Sr in air.
EPA set standards for the concentration of 90Sr in community water supplies. The average annual concentration of 90Sr in water supplies should not exceed 8 pCi/L (0.3 Bq/L). EPA also established maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in drinking water for radionuclide activities to protect against harmful effects of 90Sr. For beta particles like strontium, the MCL is 4 mrem per year (4x10-5 Sv per year). The USNRC set a workplace value of 31 μCi (1.1 MBq) for the amount of 90Sr that can be taken in by mouth in a year without any harmful effects.
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References
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2004. Toxicological profile for strontium. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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Where can I get more information?
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
For more information, contact:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology and Human Health Sciences
4770 Buford Highway
Chamblee, GA 30341-3717
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO 888-232-6348 (TTY)
Email: Contact CDC-INFO
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.