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The radioactive chemical strontium-90, is released during nuclear explosions and by nuclear power reactors. As it accumulates in bones and teeth, researchers have used baby teeth to track the link between this exposure and cancer.
Using baby teeth, researchers have analyzed the amount of the radioactive chemical strontium-90 in peoples’ bodies who lived in the 1960s ?an era of above ground nuclear testing in the U.S. Through this research, scientists at the Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP) in New York are making the connection between strontium-90 and cancer. Host Steve Curwood talks with the executive director of RPHP, Joseph Mangano, about this study and other studies that link a person’s proximity to nuclear power plants and cancer.