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Strontium Contamination in the Environment pp 25–42Cite as

Isotopes of Strontium: Properties and Applications

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Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 88))

Abstract

The chapter gives an overview of properties and application of stable and radioactive isotopes of strontium. Natural strontium consists of the following four stable isotopes: 84Sr (0.56%), 86Sr (9.86%), 87Sr (7.00%), and 88Sr (82.58%). Among them, 87Sr is a radiogenic isotope being the decay product of the long-lived natural beta-emitting isotope 87Rb; it is widely used in geology for rocks and minerals dating as well as for systematization of origin of various rock formations. A unique 87Sr/86Sr ratio in each region became a useful tool for tracing geographical origin of water, archaeological artifacts, and foods. Besides stable isotopes, a number of radioactive isotopes of strontium from 73Sr to 107Sr are also known; among them, relatively long-lived isotopes are 90Sr, 89Sr, 82Sr, and 85Sr. The most long-lived radioactive isotope 90Sr with the half-life of 28.9 years is one of the most contaminants of the environment because of radiation accidents. Being a significant component of irradiated nuclear fuel and radioactive waste after spent fuel reprocessing, 90Sr is used in production of radioisotope thermoelectric generators, as beta radiation sources for radiometric and dosimetry applications, as well as in nuclear medicine as a mother nuclide for isotopic generators of 90Y being used for therapy in oncology. Applications of 82Sr and 85Sr in nuclear imaging and 89Sr in radiotherapy are described in the chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiochemistry and Applied Ecology Department, Ural Federal University, Physical Technology Institute, Ekaterinburg, Russia

    Vladimir Sergeevich Semenishchev & Anna Vladimirovna Voronina

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  1. Vladimir Sergeevich Semenishchev
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  2. Anna Vladimirovna Voronina
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Correspondence to Vladimir Sergeevich Semenishchev .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Marwadi University, Rajkot, Gujarat, India

    Pankaj Pathak

  2. Institut für Radioökologie und Strahlenschutz (IRS), Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany

    Dharmendra K. Gupta

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Semenishchev, V.S., Voronina, A.V. (2020). Isotopes of Strontium: Properties and Applications. In: Pathak, P., Gupta, D. (eds) Strontium Contamination in the Environment. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 88. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15314-4_2

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