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Strontium
Published in Brian D. Fath, Sven E. Jørgensen, Megan Cole, Managing Global Resources and Universal Processes, 2020
Silvia Haneklaus, Ewald Schnug
Strontium (Sr) was discovered by Adair Crawford in 1790 and named after the western Scottish village of Strontian. There are four stable Sr isotopes, 84Sr, 86Sr, 87Sr, and 88Sr, which occur naturally in a ratio of 0.56:9.87:7.00:82.58.[1] From these four stable Sr isotopes, only 87Sr is radiogenic. Thus, the 87Sr concentration increases over time because of the decay of 87Rb to 87Sr (half-life of 4.7 × 1010 years). It is, however, the radioactive isotope 90Sr from anthropogenic nuclear sources that this element is commonly associated with. Plant available concentrations of Sr and Ca in soils are important factors that affect the transfersoil/plant of 90Sr.[2] Consequently, the knowledge of the factors and processes influencing the chemical and spatial speciation of Sr in the soil is of prime interest in risk assessment of undesired 90Sr contaminations.
Tracers
Published in Werner Käss, Tracing Technique in Geohydrology, 2018
Neither the European nor the American drinking water laws state maximum levels for strontium. Odum (1951) reports that, strontium is not any more toxic for people than calcium. The German Environmental Agency allows the use of strontium salts in tracing tests if the injection amount is properly minimized regarding the test goal (UBA 1997).
Industrial Minerals
Published in Earle A. Ripley, E. Robert Redmann, Adèle A. Crowder, Tara C. Ariano, Catherine A. Corrigan, Robert J. Farmer, L. Moira Jackson, Environmental Effects of Mining, 2018
A. Ripley Earle, Robert E. Redmann, Adèle A. Crowder, Tara C. Ariano, Catherine A. Corrigan, Robert J. Farmer, Earle A. Ripley, E. Robert Redmann, Adèle A. Crowder, Tara C. Ariano, Catherine A. Corrigan, Robert J. Farmer, L. Moira Jackson
Calcium, in spite of its great lithospheric abundance, has few uses in its elemental form. Because of its high reactivity, however, it may be used to reduce several metallic oxides, and to de-oxidize, de-sulphurize and de-gas steels and cast irons (Ignatow et al. 1991). Canada’s calcium production is less than 900 t·yr-1, which supplies approximately a third of global requirements. Canada is the world’s leading producer of strontium. In its carbonate form, strontium is used primarily in television picture-tube construction; in its nitrate form, it is used in fireworks. Metallic strontium is most widely used as a modifier in aluminum/silicon casting alloys, for increased ductility and strength. Magnesium is used for casting and wrought products as well as in the production of aluminum alloys. Demand and production, therefore, are very closely linked to that of aluminum products.
Assessment of contamination levels of heavy metals in the agricultural soils using ICP-OES
Published in Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal, 2023
Mohamed E Shaheen, Walid Tawfik, Asmaa F. Mankola, Joel E. Gagnon, Brian J. Fryer, Farouk M. El-Mekawy
Strontium is an element that occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust with concentrations ranging between 260 and 370 µg/g (Burger and Lichtscheidl 2019; Kabata-Pendias 2011). The average content of Sr in soils was estimated to be 240 µg/g, but soils treated with phosphate fertilizers may contain more than 600 µg/g (Höllriegl 2019). Strontium is released into the environment due to natural processes (e.g., dust particle entrainment and soil erosion) and anthropogenic activities (e.g., grinding and treatment of strontium compounds, coal combustion, and phosphate fertilizer use) (Burger and Lichtscheidl 2019; Höllriegl 2019; Kabata-Pendias 2011). The concentrations of Sr determined in this study varied between 372–469 µg/g with a mean value of 416 µg/g. The average concentration is higher than the crustal (375 µg/g), shale (300 µg/g), and the world-soil average (175 µg/g), Table 4. The Sr content in the Egyptian soils was investigated in a few studies and was found to vary between 246 µg/g in Siwa Oasis (Badawy et al. 2015), 283 µg/g in the Middle Nile Delta (Abu Khatita, Koch, and Bamousa 2020), and 366 in Kafr El-Zayat city (Shaheen et al. 2021).
Strontium uptake and antioxidant capacity comparisons of low accumulator and high accumulator oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes
Published in International Journal of Phytoremediation, 2020
Strontium-90 (90Sr) is an important fission product of uranium-235 (235U) and plutonium-239 (239Pu), and it can be generated in high cumulative fission yields at 5%–6% in nuclear reactors or during nuclear weapon explosion (Vajda and Kim 2010). After a nuclear power plant accident, such as the cases of Fukushima in 2011 and Chernobyl in 1986, radioactive Sr isotopes (e.g., 90Sr) are dispersed into the environment (Sahoo et al. 2016). Typically, 90Sr is regarded as a key radionuclide with long half-life (T1/2 = 28.7 a) in radioactive pollution. Once it reaches the environment, 90Sr accumulates in the soil through atmospheric sedimentation and surface runoff and is subsequently absorbed by crop plants and livestock, possibly moving up the food chain for human consumption. 90Sr in soil can pose long-term radiation hazard and increased risks of cancer to humans when its concentration is elevated in the surroundings (Zhu and Shaw 2000). Thus, the 90Sr contamination of soil needs to be urgently remediated (Achal et al. 2012).
Overview of biological mechanisms of human carcinogens
Published in Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 2019
Nicholas Birkett, Mustafa Al-Zoughool, Michael Bird, Robert A. Baan, Jan Zielinski, Daniel Krewski
Radionuclides emitting β-particles were reviewed separately when adequate data were available, and evaluated as follows. There is sufficient evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of exposures during childhood and adolescence to short-lived radioisotopes of iodine, including iodine-131. These exposures produce cancer of the thyroid. Similarly, there is sufficient evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of therapeutic administration of phosphorus-32, as phosphate, which induces acute leukemia in patients with polycythemia vera. In addition, there is sufficient evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of external and internal exposures to fission products, including strontium-90, which initiates solid cancers and leukemia. This Group-1 classification was considered to be applicable to all β-particle-emitting radionuclides, based predominantly upon the following considerations: (1) all radionuclides that emit β-particles and that have been adequately studied, were noted to induce cancer in humans and experimental animals and (2) β-particles emitted by radionuclides, irrespective of their source, produce similar patterns of secondary ionizations and the same type of localized damage to biological molecules including to DNA. These effects include DNA double-strand breaks, chromosomal aberrations in circulating lymphocytes and gene mutations in humans in vivo, and cell transformation.