potassium iodide - The Environment Report

States Stock Up for Nuclear Emergencies

Four Great Lakes states are stocking up on special cancer-prevention pills that are supposed to protect people who live near nuclear power plants, in case there’s a major leak of radiation. Ohio is the latest. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Cohen has the story:

Transcript

Four Great Lakes states are stocking up on special cancer-prevention
pills that are supposed to protect people who live near nuclear power
plants, in case there’s a major leak of radiation. Ohio is the latest.
Bill Cohen has the story:

The pills contain potassium iodide and the federal government has
agreed to pay for them. The idea is, if people swallow this harmless
iodine just before they’re exposed to radioactivity, their thyroid
glands won’t absorb much dangerous radioactive iodine. That way, the
chances of getting thyroid cancer go down.

Ohio has just packaged 600,000 pills for evacuation centers near
the three nuclear power plants that serve the state. Next year, pills
will be available to residents to pick up directly, so they can keep
them in their medicine cabinet at home or their desk drawer at work.

Still, health officials stress in an emergency, evacuation – not
the pills – should be the top priority. Jay Carey speaks for the state
health department.

“If they’re ordered to evacuate, they should leave first. Don’t even turn
around and go back – ‘Oh, I left my pills in the medicine cabinet, I’ll
go get ’em.’ If you’re told to evacuate, evacuate!”

New York and Pennsylvania are also stocking up on the pills the feds
are paying for. Illinois is buying its own supply.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bill Cohen.

Nuke Pills Part of Disaster Plan

Like several other states, Ohio is moving ahead with plans to provide anti-cancer pills to people who live near nuclear power plants, just in case an accident or terrorist attack spills radiation. Health officials have made a key decision about when the pills will be passed out. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Cohen reports:

Transcript

The 150-thousand people who are neighbors of the 3 nuclear plants serving Ohio won’t have to flee first to evacuation centers to get hold of the pills that protect against thyroid cancer. Health officials have decided to help distribute the potassium iodide pills this fall, hopefully before any crisis.

At three public hearings last month, residents and local emergency officials made it clear they wanted the pills in their medicine cabinet or their desk drawer at work…just in case of a disaster. Health officials say they’ll go along…but they’re stressing – evacuation is still the top priority…swallowing the pills can come later.

The federal government has agreed to pay for this first round of pills for any state that requests them…but the states may have to pick up the tab for replacements when the pills lose their effectiveness after a few years.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bill Cohen.

Stocking Up on Nuke Accident Pills

The federal government is offering to buy special anti-cancer pills for people who live near nuclear power plants. There are 24 nuclear power plants in the Great Lakes states… and state officials are now pondering whether to accept the offer. In Ohio, the debate reflects the pro and con arguments across the region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Cohen has details:

Meltdown Pills

This summer, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission began encouraging statesto begin stockpiling certain pills in the event of a nuclear accident.Some eastern states have already started putting the medicine in theiremergency centers and now those drugs are coming to the Midwest. TheGreat Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Cohen has the story: