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The Bone Sampling Programs

In 1961, the United States Atomic Energy Commission's Health and Safety Laboratory (now the US DOE Environmental Measurements Laboratory) began a systematic program of measuring 90Sr and stable calcium in human bone.

The initial program was centered in three continental United States urban centers: New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco. The program later included San Juan, Puerto Rico. Human bone specimens, principally vertebrae and a few ribs and long bones, were obtained (from autopsies, with the consent of next of kin) to study the uptake of the long-lived alkaline earth fallout fission product, Sr-90, in the general population.

A concurrent Tri-City Diet Program was intended to document the 90Sr dietary levels in the three continental U.S. cities. (Since 1967, the diet sampling program has been confined to New York City and San Francisco.) Strontium-90, which is the metabolic analog of calcium, is transferred from the diet to man and is deposited primarily in the skeleton. The measurements of the diet and the human bone samples provided necessary information for modeling the human metabolism of this alkaline earth element.

In the nearly two decades of the 90Sr human bone program, over 5000 samples have been prepared, ashed, and analyzed at EML. After the 90Sr program and stable calcium analyses were completed, some of the remaining ash was measured for naturally-occurring 226Ra and fallout 239,240Pu. Although many samples are only available in very limited quantities, the human bone ash still remaining represents a valuable resource for the chronological study of natural and fallout radionuclides in the U.S. population.

(Since the human bone samples were ashed at high temperatures in silica trays, they are unsuitable for analyses of volatile and trace elements. Discussions of the analysis procedures used over the course of the program are available in the references below.)

For more information about the archived Bone samples, contact:

webmaster@eml.st.dhs.gov

References:

Tri-City program

  1. Kulp, J. A. and A. R. Schulert. "Strontium-90 in Man and His Environment." USAEC Report NYO-9934 (1962).
  2. Rivera, J. and J. H. Harley. "The HASL Bone Program 1961-1964." USAEC Report HASL-163, August (1965).
  3. Rivera, J. "90Sr in Human Vertebrae - 1965 Results." USAEC Report HASL-172, p. I-141, July (1966).
  4. Rivera, J. "90Sr in Human Vertebrae - 1966 Results." USAEC Report HASL-182, p. I-10, July (1967).
  5. Rivera, J. "90Sr in Human Vertebrae - 1967 Results." USAEC Report HASL-197, p. I-266, July (1968).
  6. Rivera, J. "90Sr in Human Vertebrae - 1968 Results." USAEC Report HASL-210, p. I-76, July (1969).
  7. Hardy, E. P. Editor. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1969 Results." USAEC Report HASL-227, p. II-10, July (1970).
  8. Bennett, B. G. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1970 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USAEC Report HASL-243, p. I-99, July (1971).
  9. Bennett, B. G. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1971 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USAEC Report HASL-257, p. I-51, July (1972).
  10. Bennett, B. G. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1972 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USAEC Report HASL-274, p. I-13, July (1973).
  11. Bennett, B. G. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1973 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USAEC Report HASL-286, p. I-53, October (1974).
  12. Bennett, B. G. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1974 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USAEC Report HASL-297, p. I-21, October (1975).
  13. Bennett, B. G. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1975 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USAEC Report HASL-308, p. I-3, October (1976).
  14. Bennett, B. G. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1976 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USAEC Report HASL-328, p. I-69, October (1977).
  15. Bennett, B. G. and C. S. Klusek. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1977 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USDOE Report EML-344, p. I-3, October (1978).
  16. Klusek, C. S. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1978 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USDOE Report EML-363, p. I-125, October (1979).
  17. Klusek, C. S. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1979 Results." USDOE Report EML-381, p. I-139, October (1980).
  18. Klusek, C. S. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1980 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USDOE Report EML-395, p. I-49, November (1981).
  19. Klusek, C. S. "90Sr in Human Bone - 1981 Results for New York City and San Francisco." USDOE Report EML-412, p. I-21, November (1982).
  20. Klusek, C. S. "Strontium-90 in Food and Bone from Fallout." Journal of Environmental Quality. 16:195-199, (1987).
Natural Radiation in Man
  1. Hallden, N. A., I. M. Fisenne and J. H. Harley. "Radium-226 in Human Diet and Bone." Science, Vol. 140, No. 3573, pp. 1327-1329, June 21 (1963).
  2. Hallden, N. A., I. M. Fisenne and J. H. Harley. "The Determination of Radium-226 in Human Bone." Talanta, Vol. 10, pp. 1223-1227, (1963).
  3. Hallden, N. A. and J. H. Harley. "Radium-226 in Diet and Human Bone from San Juan, Puerto Rico." Nature, Vol. 204, No. 4955, pp. 240-241, October 17 (1964).
  4. Fisenne, I. M., H. W. Keller and N. H. Harley. "Worldwide Measurement of 226Ra in Human Bone: Estimate of Skeletal Alpha Dose." Health Physics, Vol. 40, pp. 163-171, February (1981).
  5. Fisenne, I. M. and G. A. Welford. "Natural Uranium Concentrations in Soft Tissues and Bone of New York City Residents." Health Physics, Vol. 50, pp. 739-746, June (1986).
World Health Organization studies
  1. Harley, J. H. "UNSCEAR/WHO Bone Program." HASL-245. pp. II-4-7, (1971).
  2. Bennett, B. G. "Fallout Pu-239 Dose to Man." HASL-278. pp. I-42-63, (1974).
  3. Hardy, E. P. Jr., J. Rivera and W. R. Collins, Jr. "On Cs-137 and Sr-90 in Bone." HASL-278. pp. I-64-69, (1974).
  4. Harley, J. H. "UNSCEAR/WHO Bone Program." HASL-281. pp. II-7-8, (1974).
  5. Harley, J. H. "UNSCEAR/WHO Bone Program." HASL-297. pp. II-7-9, (1975).
  6. Harley, J. H. "UNSCEAR/WHO Bone Program." HASL-306. pp. II-7-8, (1976).
The EML Sample Archives makes available environmental radiological data collected for programs funded through the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the U. S. Energy Research and Development Administration and the U. S. Department of Energy. All of these programs have been terminated. The databases were last updated in 1999. No additional data will be added to these databases. Any inquiries about these programs should be made to webmaster@eml.st.dhs.gov.

Contact: webmaster@eml.st.dhs.gov
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Environmental Measurements Laboratory - http://www.eml.st.dhs.gov

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