PA Department of Health to Offer Free Potassium Iodide Tablets on Aug. 8

PRNewswire ^ | 7/25/13 | Staff

[P.O.E.]

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Health will provide free potassium iodide tablets Thursday, Aug. 8, to Pennsylvanians who live, work or attend school within a 10-mile radius of one of the state's five nuclear power plants.

Potassium iodide, or KI, can help protect the thyroid gland against harmful radioactive iodine when taken as directed during radiological emergencies. Individuals should only take KI when told to do so by state health officials or the governor.

Each adult will receive four 65-milligram tablets. Children will be given smaller doses based on their age. Individuals can pick up KI tablets for other family members or those who are unable to pick them up on their own. Directions detailing when to take the tablets and how to store them will be provided with the KI.

Anyone can take the tablets as long as they are not allergic to KI. They are safe for pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding, people on thyroid medicine, children and infants. Individuals who are unsure if they should take KI should ask a healthcare provider.

KI tablets are also available throughout the year at county and municipal health departments or state health centers.

Pennsylvania's five nuclear power plants are closely regulated, secure and well-maintained. The facilities are: Beaver Valley Power Station, Limerick Generating Station, Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Susquehanna Steam Electric Station and Three Mile Island Generating Station.

For more information, visit www.health.state.pa.us or call 1-877-PA-HEALTH (877-724-3258).

Media contact: Penny Kline, 717-787-1783

Editor's Note: KI tablets will be available between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Aug. 8 at the distribution sites below in Pennsylvania. No appointments are necessary.

Beaver Valley Power Station •Beaver County Emergency Services, 351 14th St., Ambridge •Center at the Mall, 284 Beaver Valley Mall Blvd., Monaca •Primary Health Network, 1302 Seventh Ave., Beaver Falls

Limerick Generating Station •Solanco High School, 585 Solanco Road, Quarryville •Keystone Fire Company, 240 N. Walnut St., Boyertown

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station •Peach Bottom Community Center, 5 Pendyrus St., Delta

Susquehanna Steam Electric Station •Berwick Fire Department, Reliance Hose Company #1, 501 W. Third St., Berwick •Butler Township Community Center, 415 W. Butler Drive, Drums •Luzerne County Community College, Public Safety Training Institute, 1333 S. Prospect St., Nanticoke

Three Mile Island Generating Station •Fairview Township Fire Department, 340 Lewisberry Road, New Cumberland •Goldsboro Municipal Building, 53 N. York St., Etters •Hummelstown Fire Hall, 249 E. Main St., Hummelstown •Londonderry Township Building, 783 S. Geyers Church Road, Middletown

KI tablets will also be available at the following location from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 8:

Limerick Generating Station •Pottstown Health Center, 364 King St., Pottstown

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Health

RELATED LINKS http://www.health.state.pa.us

[P.O.E.]

I think they do this every year. Related post about NY from last year

[Red in Blue PA]

Even if you live outside of the 10 mile radius, these are a good idea to have in your supplies.

[kearnyirish2]

A friend in southeast PA gets these (he lives near a different reactor); I couldn’t imagine having to worry about something like this (on top of everything else going on).

[lefty-lie-spy]

This is nothing but a bad, ill-informed, ignorant idea passed on by one idiot in the government to another idiot in the government.

[fivecatsandadog]

So this is not related to the “credible” threat?

[exDemMom]

This doesn’t make much sense to me. How much do those tablets cost? What is the expense of distributing them? What is the real chance of a nuclear accident?

The city would be better off saving its money. If people want to buy KI tablets in the event of something that is orders of magnitude less likely to happen than a plane crash, it is *their* money. But taxpayer money shouldn’t be used for this.

If the city wants to have a supply of the tablets on hand just in case that one in a billion or whatever event happens, that’s a little different. In that case, the city is not continually incurring the expense of buying the tablets.

[Red in Blue PA]

This is nothing but a bad, ill-informed, ignorant idea passed on by one idiot in the government to another idiot in the government.

You are aware that most of the Chernobyl deaths were from iodine uptake in the thyroid, don't you? These tablets stop that uptake from happening. I have them and do not live anywhere close to a nuclear reactor **just in case**. Remember Fukushima?

Cheap insurance for $10.

[Past Your Eyes]

My wife’s 3 sisters all live within 10 miles of the Seabrook, NH plant. At least two of them were trembling in fear 20 or 30 years ago and you used to see KI grafitti on abandoned buildings in Newburyport. Big pucker over nothing. I haven’t heard anything mentioned about the situation for years.

[cripplecreek]

I would think it would be something to keep on hand but not given out yearly by government. I’m guessing that this program is the result of some anti nuke group wanting to keep the “threat” in people’s minds.

[9YearLurker]

Why?

[P.O.E.]

“So this is not related to the “credible” threat?”

FWIW:

http://www.dhs.gov/national-terrorism-advisory-system

“There are no current alerts.”

“There are no expired alerts.”

http://www.dhs.gov/ntas-public-guide#0

The National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) is a two-level terrorism threat advisory scale used by the United States Department of Homeland Security since April 26, 2011.[1][2] The system was announced on January 27, 2011 by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano during a speech at George Washington University. Her official announcement followed reports of the NTAS that had surfaced the day before.[3] The NTAS is the replacement for the often-criticized, color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System introduced by the George W. Bush administration in 2002.[1] Napolitano said the color-coded system often presented “little practical information” to the public, and that the NTAS will provide alerts “specific to the threat” with “a specified end date.”[3]

When introducing the National Terrorism Advisory System, Napolitano said, “Today I announce the end of the old system of color-coded alerts. In its place, we will implement a new system that’s built on a clear and simple premise: When a threat develops that could impact you—the public—we will tell you. We will provide whatever information we can so you know how to protect yourselves, your families, and your communities.”[4] Her speech at George Washington University was timed to complement US President Barack Obama’s 2011 State of the Union Address, which occurred two days earlier.[5]

As of August 2013, the NTAS has never issued an alert.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTAS

[yldstrk]

this is just a scare tactic to further discredit the best most efficient power source we have

[Buckeye McFrog]

Three Mile Island happened in this state. Close to the state capital. This issue still near and dear to them in Harrisburg.

[bagman]

No, most of the Chernobyl deaths were not due to iodine uptake in the thyroid. Thyroid cancer from iodine updtake is rarely life-threatening.

[Red in Blue PA]

Higher cancer risk continues after Chernobyl;
NIH study finds that thyroid cancer risk for those who were children and adolescents when exposed to fallout has not yet begun to decline

Nearly 25 years after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, exposure to radioactive iodine-131(I-131, a radioactive isotope) from fallout may be responsible for thyroid cancers that are still occurring among people who lived in the Chernobyl area and were children or adolescents at the time of the accident, researchers say.

http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/newsfromnci/2011/ChernobylRadiation

[bagman]

And those cancers are easily treatable; one doesn’t die from them. I’m not trying to minimize a cancer diagnosis, but we just don’t have the vast numbers of thyroid cancer deaths which you claim.

[moovova]

“Cheap insurance for $10.”

Yep...keep’em on hand also. Have them at the house and also a sealed placard in the glove compartment of each car.

Funny, though...I happened to be in Harrisburg visiting a young lady when 3-Mile Island went up. Too young/stupid/in love then to care that much. Young lady is gone but I still have my hair and most other parts.

[Vinnie]

Thanks
Sent this to my son. He lives a stone’s throw from Monaca.

[justa-hairyape]

Very good idea. In fact if you live near a plant, pick up the tablets yourself if the government does not provide them. What occurred in Japan with Fukushima was that the government tried to cover up the meltdowns when they occurred, because they did not want to distribute iodide and cause a panic. So you cannot rely on any politically based organization.

BTW - Now that we are 2 1/2 years beyond the Fukushima accident, the Japanese government just today admitted they have been dumping nuclear contamination way over legal limits into the Pacific Ocean for two years. In total amounts that greatly surpassing Chernobyl contamination. And it will continue for 20 to 30 years. Latest idea is to build a contamination island just off the coast with contaminated debri.

[kearnyirish2]

I would have agreed with you until Fukishima.