you probably know that calcium is present in your bones. Why is radioactive strontium 90 dangerous to you?

Answer 1

Strontium is just below calcium on the periodic table and can participate in chemical reactions similar to calcium due to similarities in their orbiting electrons. Strontium can be taken up by bone tissue just like calcium. Radioactive strontium isotopes (same place in periodic table) are in very close proximity to tissues that can be damaged by ionizing radioactive decay particles and energy.

Answer 2

Both calcium and strontium are alkali-earth metals, and have similar chemistry, as rhsaunders said. They are so similar, that strontium can replace calcium in compounds, including teeth and bones. It is the strontium 90 isotope that is radioactive and harmful. This is a by-product of nuclear reactions, and can find its way into calcium rich foods such as milk. This was a big problem after the Chernobyl nuclear reaction, as radioactive strontium is harmful in tiny quantities, and was spread over a wide area.

Answer 3

Strontium 90 is a product of nuclear fission. It is present in significant amount in spent nuclear fuel and in radioactive waste from nuclear reactors and in nuclear fallout from nuclear tests. Together with cesium isotopes 134Cs, 137Cs, and iodine isotope 131I it was between the most important isotopes regarding health impacts after the Chernobyl disaster. Strontium has biochemical behavior similar to calcium. After entering the organism, most often by ingestion with contaminated food or water, about 70-80% of the dose gets excreted. Virtually all remaining strontium is deposited in bones and bone marrow, with the remaining 1% remaining in blood and soft tissues. Its presence in bones can cause bone cancer, cancer of nearby tissues, and leukemia.

Answer 4

Their chemistry is similar, so strontium can be taken up by bones and throw radiation at the marrow, where blood cells are produced.

Answer 5

because the radioactive strontium emit radiations,which modify the structure of some proteins from the body and it also can produce free radicals which are high reactive chemical substances and you may get to a tumor....