MEDICAL - Safety

Safety: 

Safety including benefits and problems from Strontium-90.

Benefits and Problems:

Benefits	problems
Sr-90 can be used industrially in portable batteries for space vehicles and isolated weather stations. It is a long-life power source as its half life is 29 years.	Exposure to Sr-90 can lead to health hazards such as cancer to the bone and leukemia. This risk depends on the amount of concentration in the environment. Since nuclear bomb testing and Chernobyl disaster, everyone is exposed to some Sr-90.
Sr-90 is a relatively abundant isotope and under controlled concentrations can treat certain cancers.	As Sr-90 is radioactive and decays by beta emissions, Y-90 will also be present. This could have risks to burning the eyes and skin from external exposure.

Further Safety:

Precautions: 

• The radioactive material can only be removed by a trained person
• When treating a patient the applicator must be moved fast but careful, not looking at it with the naked eye
• The surface of the applicator must not touch the fingers
• Must be thoroughly cleaned and stored in its shielded box 

Storage:
As Sr-90 is a very reactive isotope with the air, it is stored in Kerosene or mineral oil. 

Disposal:

As this is a highly radioactive isotope it will be disposed of in a "spent fuel pool" made of thick concrete lined with steel. Once these are full they are put into "dry cask" storage made of stainless steel and concrete.