is on land, it goes through a similar process.
is taken uv by plants and grass,
Strontiun 90, for example,
The grass is then eaten by cows, ‘hich
manufacture milk containing strontium,
Human beings then drink the milk
and consequently some of this contamination will reside in the bones of their
bodies.
This state of affairs would be extremely dangerous to man if it were
not for one factor, which Dr. Neuman also mentioned:
"No counterfeit is perfect, however, and there are slight differences
in properties between strontium and calcium which nermit our regulating
systems to select calcium preferentially, or to discriminate against
the less desirable strontium."
(p. 710)
The same is true for nlants, animals,
and fish.
For example,
if we
started out with $109 worth of strontium fallout on the ground in a small
area around a nlant, the plant might absorb $60 worth,
The milk From the
cow that ate the plant would only contain $20 worth of the strontium.
The
man who drinks the milk would, perhaps, retain at the end only $5 worth of the
Original $100 worth of strontium,
used as an examole,
While the proportions are not real and only
they illustrate what is called the "discrimination
factor"--a factor which means that part of the counterreit chemical is
rejected all along the route of the food chain,
factor,
Despite this rejection
however, worldwide stratospheric fallout and local fallout still
present considerable threats to the health of the average person and future
generations.
sr 20 gives off beta particles.
speed in nature,
Although these particles are high-
they are also relatively small in mass, or size and weight;
cannot travel far through matter;
and can be stopped easily by a layer of
clothing or the upper layers of the skin.
However, when they enter the
body and reside in the hone close to the marrow,
quantities, do great damage.
1O14b24:
nl
they can,
in sufficient