nuclear-news

Potassium iodate pills for communities on Amherst Point and Boblo Island, near Fermi 2 nuclear power plant

Amherstburg residents will be given iodide pills to protect against potential nuclear emergency
Potassium iodide pills are salt tablets that prevent the body from absorbing potentially radioactive poisoning   CBC News  Jun 02, 2017 To reduce the risk of radiation poisoning during an “unlikely” nuclear disaster in Michigan, health officials are distributing protective pills to residents on Amherst Point and Boblo Island.

The two communities fall within the primary zone of Fermi 2 nuclear power plant located near the shores of Lake Erie, just south of Amherst and Boblo.  New regulations from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission require the distribution of potassium iodide pills, which are salt tablets that prevent the body from absorbing potentially radioactive iodine.

Even though the regulations don’t apply to U.S. facilities, officials from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit are distributing the pills anyway.

“We still want our community to be prepared,” said Jyllian Mackie, the health unit’s public health emergency preparedness coordinator.

Primary zone precaution

Primary zone residents are those living within a 16.1 km radius. The rest of Windsor and Essex County sit in the secondary zone, which means the pills are available to residents for purchase.

A package of pills, good for about two days, for a family of five costs $20, according to Mackie.

Because human bodies absorb radioactive iodine, the pills are used to get into the thyroid and block the poisonous iodine.

Mackie added the risk of a nuclear emergency at Fermi 2 has not changed, but the regulations have, but that didn’t do much to calm the concerns of Amherstburg residents…… http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/amherstburg-residents-will-be-given-iodide-pills-to-protect-against-potential-nuclear-emergency-1.4142478

June 3, 2017 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, safety