The relative retention of strontium and calcium in human bone tissue.

The production of radiostrontium in relatively high yield from fission reactions, together with the aflinity of strontium for bone, have added to the need for a quantitative understanding of the behavior of this element in the food chain leading to human bone. The quantity of this fission product which may be maintained in the bone tissue without perceptible damage to the organism is not well defined (1, 2) ; however, with the anticipated increase in the use of fission reactors both in the United States and abroad (3) together with the threat of an extensive dispersal of fallout material from nuclear warfare, the importance of radiostrontium as a hazard in our environment is increasing. In a previous paper on the relative retention of strontium and calcium in animal bone tissue (4) it was suggested that the equilibrium level of radiostrontium in human bone might be predicted from a knowledge of the retention factor between diet and human bone and the specific activity of radiostrontium in the diet. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study of the relationship between the strontium in the human diet and the quantity of strontium appearing in human bone.