Re: Sr-90 and bone marrow

[carol marcus <csmarcus@ucla.edu>]

At 10:14 PM 8/23/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Aug. 23
>
>	A few weeks ago there was a lot of traffic on RADSAFE concerning a claim
>that Sr-90 goes to the bone and irradiates the immune system thereby
>damaging it.  (I do not want to re-start that thread.)  Instead, I have a
>question about where the Sr-90 is deposited, and its effect(s) when it gets
>to the bone.
>
>	Is Sr-90 deposited on the surface of the bone, is it deposited within the
>bone, or is it deposited on the inner surface of the bone where it can
>directly irradiate the bone marrow?
>
>	Regardless of where it is deposited in or on the bone, is Sr-90's
>radiation strong enough to damage the bone marrow, or interfere with the
>production of blood, in particular leukocytes?  If the radiation isn't
>strong enough to damage or otherwise interfere with leukocytes, which are
>part of the immune system, it would seem that the whole argument falls down
>flat.
>
>Steven Dapra
>sjd@swcp.com
>
>
>
>
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Dear Radsafers:

Sr-90 should have the same distribution as Sr-89 and Sr-85.  Basically, it
parallels a Tc-99m-MDP bone scan.  The beta energy is sufficient to harm
bone marrow.  It also has a radioactive daughter, Y-90.

Ciao, Carol

Carol S. Marcus, Ph.D., M.D.
<csmarcus@ucla.edu>

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