In the news: ‘Researchers pinpoint strontium in aquifer’

A research study headed up by UW-Green Bay Prof. John Luczaj of Natural and Applied Sciences in collaboration with grad student Joseph Baeten is the topic of a news report in the current issue of the online Door County news source “The Pulse.” The story localizes the results, previously reported here and elsewhere, about the documentation of significant levels of the naturally occurring element strontium in local bedrock and well water. The UW-Green Bay researchers — also including Luczaj’s NAS faculty colleague, Michael Zorn — delved into the conditions that contribute to strontium hot spots in Northeast Wisconsin. Because strontium mimics calcium, it can cause tooth mottling, rickets and bone deformities in children and others. The article also includes what Luczaj calls a simple fix: “A lot of people who have deeper wells have reverse osmosis systems. Water softeners take this stuff out completely because it behaves like calcium.” Read news report.