Posted on 08/09/2010 1:10:39 PM PDT by swampfoxniner
In 1894, the British Board of Trade imposed regulations requiring all vessels over 10,000 tons to carry at least 16 lifeboats for passenger and crew protection. Eighteen years later, when the 46,000 ton Titanic left on its maiden voyage, it carried 20 boats—more than required by law but only enough for about 52% of those on board. A few days later, 1500 people drowned.
British officials, scurrying to protect their reputations, defended the lack of lifeboats by noting that there was broad expert agreement that the ship was unsinkable. They enumerated Titanic’s numerous technical advances: the sophisticated system of water-tight doors, the innovative double hull design, and the world’s most modern wireless equipment. The government had done all that needed to be done to prevent sinking, they argued. Low tech wooden lifeboats would only increase passenger anxiety and clearly seemed unnecessary. Yet by modern standards, the absence of a simple back-up in case the sophisticated technology should ever fail, would be considered unthinkable.
Well, maybe not.
Today, there are over 100 operating nuclear power reactors in the United States. Each contains enough radioactivity to threaten millions of people with thyroid cancer in the event of an accidental or terrorist-related release. But experts who work in the industry assure us that an accident is nearly impossible given the sophisticated and highly complex safety controls, redundant systems, and three feet of concrete that protects the plants.
However, should the unexpected occur, there is little in place to protect the public, even though a simple, effective, and inexpensive back-up does exist. It’s a pharmaceutical called potassium iodide (KI), which, in the FDA’s words, “can be used [to] provide safe and effective protection against thyroid cancer caused by irradiation.” Like the Titanic’s lifeboats, KI is the simple final defense in case everything else fails...
(Excerpt) Read more at raisafe.wordpress.com ...
The Titanic had a double bottom, but not a double hull.
Okay, so potassium iodide is cheap and effective. Cool. What about iodine and kelp tablets from every grocery store? Aren’t those effectively the same thing?
KI is a thyroid blocker and is only good if you are exposed to early fallout from a nuclear detonation or accident involving fresh nuclear fuel in a reactor (the latter is very improbable). Any kind of release from decayed fuel will not have a significant radioiodine source term.
Use KI like any dietary supplement. The severe allergic reaction rate from literature I've reviewed ranged from 0.5 to 2 per million people. Pretty low, but if it were me I'd check with my family doctor first before considering stocking it.
Pretty cheap. When they are needed, they won’t be available at any price. Used Nextag. Found 60 tablets for $4.88 at webvitamin.com
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