A study of strontium-90 levels in local milk, tapwater, and rainwater samples, St. John's Newfoundland.

Strontium-90 activities in milk, rainwater and tapwater samples, collected in St. John's, Newfoundland, have been determined in the present investigation. Milk samples were collected weekly over two periods: January, 1961 to January, 1962 and July, 1962 to August, 1962. Rainwater and tapwater o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Grandy, Thomas Boyde
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1962
Subjects:
Online Access:https://research.library.mun.ca/10569/
https://research.library.mun.ca/10569/1/Grandy_ThomasBoyde.pdf
Description
Summary:Strontium-90 activities in milk, rainwater and tapwater samples, collected in St. John's, Newfoundland, have been determined in the present investigation. Milk samples were collected weekly over two periods: January, 1961 to January, 1962 and July, 1962 to August, 1962. Rainwater and tapwater over the period Hay, 1962 to July, 1962 were studied. It was found that the strontium-90 levels in milk increased from a low of 2.4 to a high of 21.1 micromicrocuries per gram calcium over the experimental period. The activities in tapwater have also shown an increase from 0.25 micromicrocuries per litre in April, 1961 to 2.1 micromicrocuries per litre in July, 1962. Strontium-89 activities in rainwater and tapwater samples have also been computed. -- During the course of the investigation a Philips low-level beta counter was calibrated with a standard strontium-90 source.