Strontium has something of an ill-deservedly bad reputation. Most people have heard of strontium as the highly unstable and radioactive isotope found in nuclear fallout. However, the element is usually harmless in a variety of other substances and even has several medical applications.
Identification
Strontium is a an alkali metallic element. Strontium is found in a wide variety of chemical compounds, and the element itself comes in 4 stable and 16 unstable isotopes, some of which are known to be radioactive.
Radiotherapy
Strontium-90 is a highly radioactive substance. It is also one of the best emitters of beta particles, or highly charged electrons and positrons, known to science. That, coupled with a long half-life of almost 29 years, makes it a good material to use in radiotherapy, or the radioactive treatment of cancer.
Osteoporosis
Strontium has the property of being absorbed into the human body just like calcium is, so it readily finds its way into bone. Radioactive strontium-90 was the source of many bone cancers during the era of open nuclear testing and its resulting radioactive fallout. However, that property can be put to good use in other strontium substances. An example is the osteoporosis medication Protelos, which uses strontium ranelate as the active ingredient.
Bone Pain
Strontium-89 is used as a treatment for the pain caused by certain kinds of cancer, such as prostate cancer, breast cancer, and bone cancer. However, in this application, strontium is used for dealing with secondary bone issues and does not directly address the actual cancer. The strontium-based drug used in these treatments is called Metastron.
Toothpaste
Another use of strontium is as the active ingredient in toothpastes for people with very sensitive teeth, with the brand Sensodyne being a good example. The active ingredient is strontium chloride or strontium acetate, which forms a barrier on the surface of the teeth, sealing up microscopic openings in the enamel.
Tags: active ingredient, fallout However