Big task ahead, as Canada’s nuclear industry must try to protect 100s of thousands of citizens against radiation

Radiation protection pills delivered by end of 2015, Star.com New rules from the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission dictate that iodine thyroid-blocking pills must be delivered to homes and workplaces near nuclear plants by the end of next year. By: John Spears Business reporter, Oct 14 2014

People living and working within 8 to 16 kilometres of a nuclear power plant should have radiation protection pills in their hands by the end of 2015, under new federal regulations.

But Durham’s Medical Officer of Health says it will be “very tight – extremely tight” to meet the deadline.New rules from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission dictate that iodine thyroid-blocking pills must be delivered to homes and workplaces near nuclear plants by the end of next year.

The pills, often known as potassium iodide pills or KI pills, inhibit the thyroid gland from absorbing radiation.Nuclear plant operators must pay the cost of buying and distributing the pills, but provincial and local health officials will be working out how to get them into the hands of tens of thousands of people from Scarborough to Clarington in time for the deadline.

Dr. Robert Kyle, Durham’s medical officer of health, said his unit already given stocks of pills to pharmacies and to institutions like schools, daycares, and police and fire departments……..

The pills will have to be sent out with readily understandable directions in different languages, he added.And someone will have to track new residents to make sure they get their pills.

The new rules also require pills to be stocked in institutions over a wide area beyond the immediate zones around the plants, he said.

“It’s a very tall order,” Kyle said. “It sounds like a year is a long time, but it may take a while to get this all planned and resourced.”

Toronto officials will also have to be involved, since eastern Scarborough is within 10 kilometres of the Pickering plant, he noted. (Lenore Bromley of Toronto Public Health took a different tack, however, saying that distributing the pills is “not something that would fall within our domain.”)

Kyle said he hasn’t tallied up the number of residents within 10 kilometres of the Pickering and Darlington plants, but said “you may be talking about 100,000.”

Ontario Power Generation operates the Pickering and Darlington nuclear plants east of Toronto.

Company spokesman Neal Kelly said it has cost about $180,000 to buy and distribute pills to pharmacies and institutions under the old rules.

“Under this new regulation, there will be significant costs associated with public communications and delivery,” Kelly said.

He wouldn’t name a figure. OPG will have to foot that bill, but who does the work on the ground is still being worked on, he said.

http://www.thestar.com/business/tech_news/2014/10/14/radiation_protection_pills_delivered_by_end_of_2015.html

October 15, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, health

2 Comments »

Reblogged this on The Most Revolutionary Act and commented:
All Canadian citizens living or working 8-16 kilometers of a nuclear power plant are to receive a stock of potassium iodide pills (by Dec 2015) to protect them from thyroid cancer. Maybe someone should tell Obama

Comment by stuartbramhall | October 16, 2014 | Reply
Ths reminds me about Bangkok scrap dealers accidentally getting hold of Medical isotope and cut it with his torch 3 died in short order. Nuclear energy is not safe for anyone

Comment by gerald campeau | October 17, 2014 | Reply