Strontium unit Strontium unit The strontium unit is a unit used to measure the amount of radioactivity from strontium-90, a radionuclide found in nuclear fallout, in a subject's body. Since the human body absorbs strontium as if it were calcium, incorporating it into the skeleton, its presence is very common. One strontium unit is equal to one picocurie from strontium-90 per gram of calcium (37 becquerels per kilogram) in the subject's skeleton. The United States National Academy of Sciences holds that the maximum safe measure of strontium-90 in a person is one hundred strontium units (3700 Bq/kg). The average American is estimated
Environmental radioactivity Environmental radioactivity Environmental radioactivity is produced by radioactive materials in the human environment. While some radioisotopes, such as strontium-90 (Sr) and technetium-99 (Tc), are only found on Earth as a result of human activity, and some, like potassium-40 (K), are only present due to natural processes, a few isotopes, "e.g." tritium (H), result from both natural processes and human activities. The concentration and location of some natural isotopes, particularly uranium-238 (U), can be affected by human activity. Radioactivity is present everywhere, and has been since the formation of the earth. According to the IAEA, soil typically contains the following four