Coordinatively unsaturated oxygen (O-CUS(2-)) is generated on nonstoichiometric hydroxyapatite formally expressed as Ca-9.66(PO4)(5.66)(HPO4)(0.34)(OH)(1.66) by evacuation at 900 degrees C. Interaction between O-2 and O-CUS(2-) generated by the dehydration of the hydroxyl groups in the apatite results in the simultaneous appearance of ESR centers assigned as O-CUS(-) (hole center) and O-2(-) radical oxygen species, evidently showing that O-CUS(2-) can donate electron to O-2 and activate it. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.