Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Strontium-90

Manchester Water Department

Strontium is a metal that accumulates in the bones. Radioactive strontium-90 can cause bone cancer and leukemia, and any form of strontium at high doses can harm bone health. Read More.

Strontium-90 has been emitted widely by nuclear power plants, weapons facilities, waste sites and nuclear research facilities. Strontium-90 is structurally similar to calcium and is thus taken up into bones. The chief health concerns from strontium-90 exposure are bone cancer and leukemia.

No federal drinking water standards for strontium-90 exist. California set a legal maximum of 8 picocuries of strontium-90 radioactivity per liter of water. California also has a public health goal of no more than 0.35 picocuries of strontium-90 per liter of drinking water. According to studies by the U.S. Geological Survey, strontium-90 also is a concern for water quality in private wells.

Click here to read more on radiological contaminants.

 

9

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND30ND
2019N/A00N/A
2020ND30ND
2021N/A00N/A
2022N/A00N/A
20230.01 pCi/L31ND - 0.03 pCi/L

pCi/L = picocuries per liter

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 0.35 pCi/L

The EWG Health Guideline of 0.35 pCi/L for strontium-90 was defined by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a public health goal, the level of a drinking water contaminant that does not pose a significant health risk. This health guideline protects against cancer.

pCi/L = picocuries per liter

All test results

Date Lab ID Result
2018-03-26AA83267-RADBND
2018-03-27AA83279-RADBND
2018-03-28AA83297-RADBND
2020-12-15AA96030-RADBND
2020-12-15AA96037-RADBND
2020-12-15AA96038-RADBND
2023-11-01N3K0064-010.03 pCi/L
2023-11-01231101-3-05RADND
2023-11-01231101-3-06RADND