RE: Gould's Tooth Fairy Project (Link to article) -Reply

["CLAUDE A. FLORY" <FLORYCA@GWSMTP.NU.COM>]

Both Sr-89 and Sr-90 are released from Millstone.  In 1998 we reported liquid
releases of 3.07E-4 curies (307 microcuries) of Sr-89 and 1.13E-4 curies (113
microcuries) of Sr-90.  Strontiums were not reported in gaseous releases in
1998; however, they have been reported in the past.  For example, in 1993 we
reported gaseous releases of 2.16E-4 curies (216 microcuries) of Sr-89 and
6.21E-7 curies (0.6 microcuries) of Sr-90.  Doses calculated for these levels
of releases (combined strontiums and other radionuclides) have been minuscule. 
In over 25 years of environmental monitoring, we have never seen the shorter
half-life Sr-89 in milk.  Sr-90 regularly shows up in milk, especially in
summer when milking animals are in pasture, and especially in goats which eat
about anything.  Our environmental report has a graph showing a continuous
decline of Sr-90 in milk over the years.

I appreciate the insight given by several radsafe posts about the possibility
of skewed distribution of Sr-90 in the environment due to factors such as
atmospherics, meteorology, diet, etc.  However, this seems to tacitly
acknowledge that the claim of increased levels of Sr-90 in baby teeth is valid.
 I would like to see a peer review of the methods and data used to reach this
claim.  

>>> "Heinmiller, Bruce" <heinmillerb@aecl.ca> 11/04/99 03:15pm >>>

Question:  The primary pathway of Sr to humans is through food - especially
milk.  The Sr isotope most related specifically to nuclear power plant
operations is Sr-89.  While you wouldn't expect to see this in teeth, I
believe you would expect to see it in milk sourced near nuclear power
plants, if the source of Sr was the power plant.  I believe Millstone, for
example, (one of the power plants cited in the Tooth Fairy Project) has
reported not detecting Sr-89 in milk sourced around Millstone, but my source
of this information is indirect.  Can anyone verify this?

Bruce Heinmiller CHP
heinmillerb@aecl.ca

> ----------
> From: 	Bob Flood[SMTP:bflood@SLAC.Stanford.EDU]
> Reply To: 	radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
> Sent: 	Thursday, November 04, 1999 11:30 AM
> To: 	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: 	RE: Gould's Tooth Fairy Project (Link to article)
> 
> At 09:45 AM 11/4/1999 -0600, you wrote:
> >Unfortunately, there is no one associated with the Tooth Fairy Project
> that
> >has an understanding of environmental transport.
> 
> There is no doubt that the way food is processed and prepared in this
> country has changed dramatically in the last 40 years, and I'd be willing
> to wager up to a nickel that the Tooth Fairy Project hasn't examined
> whether there are processes now in use that tend to concentrate chemicals
> such as Strontium in foods that children like. Ignoring such things as
> transport mechanisms and food chain characteristics and jumping straight
> to
> assigning blame to nuclear power plants seems a fair demonstration to the
> preconceived notions the project started with. They had the answer before
> they started; they are now simply deriving the question.
> 
> ===================================
> Bob Flood
> Dosimetry Group Leader
> Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
> (650) 926-3793
> bflood@slac.stanford.edu
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