Patricia Milligan
Senior Level Advisor for Emergency Preparedness
The
Department of Health and Human Services, acting on behalf of the NRC,
last month issued a procurement order for 14 million tablets of
potassium iodide to replenish out-of-date supplies. This drug, also
known by its chemical symbol KI, is used to protect the thyroid against
radioactive iodine should a nuclear power plant accident occur, and is
part of NRC’s program to help states and localities with their emergency
response plans.
The
NRC first offered KI tablets to states with residents living within the
10-mile emergency protection zone of a nuclear power plant in 2001. The
agency recommends that states consider including KI in their emergency
preparedness plans and provides it to those states that ask for it.
Currently, 25 states have requested and received the pills.
The
NRC’s policy is to offer KI to states once every six years to replace
pills that may have passed their shelf life. The recent order is the
third wave of replenishing KI. While this matter has been subject of
some social media attention as perhaps indicative of some imminent
threat, supplying KI nothing new. Including KI in emergency plans is a
decades old precaution. However, this is, the first time the NRC has
used the HHS medical procurement service to order KI. The NRC decided to
go through HHS this time in order to leverage federal buying power and
reduce costs.
Here are some other facts about KI:
•
KI protects the thyroid from iodine-131, a radioisotope that would
likely be released into the air during a nuclear power plant accident.
It does not protect against all forms of radiation and is to be taken in
addition to other protective measures, such as sheltering.
•
Residents living near nuclear plants should take KI only when directed
by local authorities during an incident – it is not a daily supplement
to build up immunity, as some have advertised on the Internet. In fact,
daily use can be harmful.
If
you live within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant and want to inquire
about obtaining KI and/or disposing of expired KI, contact your state
health authorities.
No comments:
Post a Comment