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Sr90 Monitoring at the Savannah River Plant
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1962
Year
Environmental MonitoringEngineeringNuclear DataRadioactive ContaminationFood ContaminantSr90 MonitoringHuman LactationLactationWatershed ManagementBiostatisticsToxicologyAnalytical ChemistryIsotope AnalysisFood SafetySoviet Nuclear TestingEnvironmental RadiochemistrySr90 ResultsWater MonitoringMass SpectrometryRemote SensingRadioanalytical ChemistryEnvironmental Signal ProcessingMedicineSr90 Content
Sr90 results are reported for milk and other samples which were analyzed from 1958 until just prior to the resumption of Soviet nuclear testing in 1961. The concentration of the nuclide was comparable to that found in fallout studies made elsewhere, indicating no detectable contribution by the Plant. Milk from commercial dairies assayed 11–14 µµc of Sr90 per liter during a three and one-half year period, with the exception of the period of high fallout which reached a peak in the spring of 1959. Farm milk samples were 40–100 per cent higher than dairy samples in Sr90 content. Human teeth surveys in 1959 and 1960 showed inclusion of Sr90, especially in deciduous teeth. Milk, water, soil, vegetation and teeth sample methods are summarized. A batch ion-exchange technique for absorption of strontium from milk is both accurate and rapid. The Sr90 content in all samples is determined by counting carrier-free Y90.