More Radiation Meds Are on Way
By David Sneed, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Feb. 12–State emergency services officials will order 500,000 adult doses and 300,000 children’s doses of emergency potassium iodide to replenish aging supplies of the thyroid protecting pills.
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given states until April 30 to order more pills. They are to be taken in the event of radiation exposure following an accident or terrorist attack at a commercial nuclear power plant.
The pills will be divided between San Luis Obispo County, which has Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant near Avila Beach, and the communities around San Onofre nuclear generating station in northern San Diego County, said Greg Renick, a spokesman with the state Office of Emergency Services.
Unlike the last time state and federal officials supplied potassium iodide, these pills will not be mailed to households. Instead San Luis Obispo County’s pills will be stored locally and shipped to Camp Roberts in the event of a radiation emergency.
The state has designated Camp Roberts as the care and treatment center for evacuees from a Diablo Canyon emergency.
“The pills would be available to those who don’t already have them,” Renick said.
In 2003, the state and federal governments supplied pills to households in the Diablo Canyon emergency planning zone, areas around the plant that could be irradiated in the event of a radioactive release. The shelf life of those pills is good through 2009.
The NRC authorized a one-time purchase of more tablets, but their distribution was delayed by budget concerns and the difficulties of dealing with 21 different states, said Patricia Milligan, who oversees the NRC’s potassium iodide program.
“States are notoriously slow,” she said. “Two or three responded right away, and a trickle after that, and some still haven’t responded.”
California is one of those states that haven’t responded, but Renick said his office will meet the April 30 deadline.
Reach David Sneed at
781-7930.
How Potassium iodide works
Potassium iodide is a form of salt that is often added to table salt. The tablets would be taken at the direction of county health officials following a radiological release.
The pills saturate the thyroid gland, preventing it from absorbing radioactive iodine, a common component of radiation releases.
Potassium iodide only protects the thyroid and should not be considered an all-purpose radiation protection pill.
The adult dose of potassium iodide is 130 milligrams, and a child’s dose is 65 milligrams. It is especially important that newborns receive the right dose, Milligan said.
Potassium iodide is a stable drug and can be used even after its shelf life expires, Milligan said. Its expiration date is based on the ability of the pills to dissolve within 15 minutes of being swallowed. Expired pills can still be effective if they are crushed before being taken, Milligan said.
— David Sneed
—–
Copyright (c) 2007, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.