Health
Potassium iodide should be widely available, report says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 12, 2004
Potassium iodide pills should be available to everyone 40 and younger, especially children and pregnant and lactating women, who live near a nuclear power plant, said a Dec. 4, 2003, report released by the National Research Council.
Potassium iodide prevents thyroid cancer caused by exposure to radioactive iodine, a compound that can be released during a serious accident at a nuclear power plant. But potassium iodide will not protect against other types of radioactive isotopes released during nuclear reactor incidents or from so-called dirty bombs, according to the committee that wrote the report.
To be most effective, potassium iodide must be taken a few hours before exposure to radioactive iodine. Further protection from risk should include evacuation and the destruction of contaminated food.
While plans for pill distribution have focused mainly on a 10-mile emergency planning zone, specific incidents may call for a different zone of distribution.
Potassium iodide pills work by quickly filling the thyroid with nonradioactive iodine, blocking absorption of radioactive iodine.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/01/12/hlbf0112.htm.
