"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has revised a section of its emergency preparedness regulations. The revised rule requires that States with population within the 10-mile emergency planning zone of commercial nuclear power plants CONSIDER including potassium iodide (KI) as a protective measure for the general public to supplement sheltering and evacuation in the unlikely event of a severe nuclear power plant accident... "

NRC Web site

It appears the NRC is still dragging its feet on not buying and stockpiling Potassium Iodine for people exposed to radiation from a nuclear accident. Potassium iodine can protect people from thyroid cancer due to absorbtion of radioactive uranium in the thyroid. Those people in Europe who recieved Potassium Iodine during the Chernobyl accident have not gotten cancer. Those countries that did not give their residents Potassium iodine now have high thyroid cancer rates (note it takes 10 or more years to the cancer to appear).

slza

-- slza (slza@erols.com), May 10, 2001

Answers

Oops -- my mistake in reading the NRC position. It later says: "Concomitant with this action, the NRC will provide funding for a supply of KI for a State, or Tribe,that chooses to incorporate KI for the general public in their emergency plans. In some cases, if designated by the State, local governments may also request the funding. After funding the initial purchases of KI, the Commission may consider extending the program to fund replenishment supplies, but has made no commitments in this regard."

So it sounds like AT LAST the NRC will buy Potassium Iodine (chemically known as KI) for local governments IF REQUESTED. Apparently this was agreed to after the Three Mile Island accident in the 1970s. Well, better late than never.

I've read that KI has a shelf life of approximately 10 years. SO the supply will need to be replentished periodically.

-- slza (slzattas@erols.com), May 10, 2001.

Just a note to provide awareness--

Some people (including myself) are allergic to KI (actually all iodides) and can have a potentially fatal reaction to it.

-- PHO (owennos@bigfoot.com), May 11, 2001.