nuclear-news

The Dutch government has ordered 15m iodine pills to protect people living near nuclear plants in case of an accident, as concerns rise over ageing reactors across the border in Belgium.

The iodine pills, which help reduce radiation build-up in the thyroid, would be given first to children under 18 and pregnant women living within a 100-kilometre (62-mile) radius of a plant, health ministry spokeswoman Edith Schippers said.

Until now, the tablets have been available within 20km of a plant, to everyone aged 40 and under.

The Netherlands has only one nuclear power plant – at Borssele in the southwest – but the expansion will provide pills for people living in border areas near Germany’s Emsland plant and two Belgian facilities, Doel and Tihange……..http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/30/netherlands-to-hand-out-iodine-pills-in-case-of-nuclear-accident