![]() If you're outside and you're aware that there's been a nuclear detonation in your area, you have about 15 to 20 minutes to get to shelter safely, Irwin Redlener, M.D., director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, tells SELF. “Sheltering in place for at least 24 hours is crucial to saving lives and reducing exposure to radiation,” the CDC says in a recent public health response. If an attack happens, seek shelter inside, preferably in the middle of a building or basement, away from doors and windows. ![]() The CDC has very specific and basic instructions for dealing with a radioactive emergency on its website. It may seem basic, but getting inside ASAP is one of the most important things you can do in the event of a radioactive attack. "People must protect themselves from the other risks." " is a reasonable treatment, but it is certainly not the entire story," he says. And, although the "greatest threat" is indeed to the thyroid, he says, other parts of your body can also absorb radiation. Calhoun, M.D., F.A.E.M.S., an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati, tells SELF. Although it's possible for radioactive iodine to be present in most things that would release nuclear material, like a nuclear bomb, dirty bomb, or accidental or intentional release or leak, there are many other radioactive isotopes that may be present as well and can pose serious effects, Dustin J. (Non-thyroidal side effects of potassium iodide are very rare, and can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain skin rashes and potentially rare allergic reactions like itching, swollen lymph nodes, and general swelling.) For infants, children, pregnant and lactating women, and people under 40, however, the potential benefits of KI pills certainly outweigh the possible side effects in the event of a nuclear incident that involves radioactive iodine.Īs we mentioned before, though, KI pills will only be helpful if there is radioactive iodine present-and they won't help protect against other types of radioactive isotopes. The reason for the 40-year-old cutoff: "There is little benefit in providing KI to adults over 40 years old," per the report.įrom the National Academy of Sciences report: "People over 40 probably should not take KI tablets after a nuclear incident as they are at virtually no risk of developing thyroid cancer from the radiation, and are more likely than younger people to develop side effects from the KI." Side effects include thyroid disfunction, such as hypothyroidism, especially in people who already have thyroid conditions. In 2004, the National Academy of Sciences released a report, " Distribution and Administration of Potassium Iodide in the Event of a Nuclear Incident," in which they advise that "KI should be available to infants, children, and pregnant and lactating women" as well as "everyone at risk of significant health consequences from accumulation of radioiodine in the thyroid in the event of a radiological incident"-basically, everyone under 40 years old who lives in the immediate vicinity of a nuclear power plant. In the event of a radiological incident in which radioactive iodine is present, distribution of KI pills should be a critical part of the government's disaster response-but it shouldn't be the only strategy, and it also isn't necessarily going to be beneficial for everyone. The pills aren't a blanket protection against radiation poisoning, though. ![]() ![]() From the report: "Thousands of measurements of activity in the thyroids of the exposed population suggest that the observed levels were lower than those that would have been expected had this prophylactic measure not been taken." According to a report compiled by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission in January 1987, the KI pills were credited with safe levels of radioactive iodine exposure in 97 percent of 206 evacuees tested at one of the centers. In the aftermath, Pripyat evacuees ended up in relocation centers, where authorities tested them for radioactive iodine exposure. And on the day of the Chernobyl disaster, Soviet authorities in the nearby town of Pripyat distributed potassium iodide pills to the local population as part of their emergency response plan, which also involved a period of sheltering in place. Most recently, in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan, Japanese authorities distributed 230,000 units of potassium iodide tablets to evacuation centers in the surrounding area. KI pills have been used for this exact blocking purpose in the past.
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