Posted on 12/02/2002 6:54:07 PM PST by all4one
U.S. Postal Service equipping workers with potassium iodide pills in event of radiological emergency.
WASHINGTON - The latest equipment for American postal workers: potassium iodide pills to protect against thyroid cancer in the event of a radiological emergency.
The U.S. Postal Service said Monday that it was purchasing nearly 1.6 million pills for distribution to workers.
"It's a proactive approach regarding the safety, health and well-being of employees nationwide," said Sue Brennan, Postal Service spokeswoman. She would not say how much they paid for the pills.
Potassium iodide is the only medication for internal radiation exposure. It has just one use to prevent thyroid cancer by shielding the thyroid from radioactive iodine.
Potassium iodide would be helpful only if a dirty bomb used radioactive iodine instead of other radioactive substances, and then only for people close to the explosion.
The tablets are being offered to all 750,000 postal workers nationwide. Two tablets will be given to any employee who wants to have the pills in case of an emergency.
"Employees are out there in all of these communities nationwide and we wanted to err on the side of caution," Brennan said.
In January, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it would provide free stockpiles of potassium iodide to 33 states that had residents living within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius of one of the nation's 102 nuclear reactors.
As with any medication, overdoses of potassium iodide can be dangerous. Some people may experience allergic reactions, including nausea or rashes.
Phone calls to the American Postal Workers Union and National Association of Letter Carriers were not immediately returned.
Another way to load up the thyroid with iodine, inexpensively, is to start taking one drop a day of Lugol's solution of iodine (which is very cheap). This helps offset the iodine deficiency many Americans experience now that we eat less (iodized) salt. A drop a day can be taken indefinitely by those not allergic to iodine, and may also serve to prevent some cancers, including breast cancer. It does not reverse breast cancer, but it can prevent those cells that are pre-cancerous from developing into cancer. It may also help prevent prostate cancer.
Stay Safe !!
The only way this would work is if the ONLY radioisotope used in said dirty bomb was radioactive iodine--potassium iodide is USELESS for any other isotope or form of radiation. The only way that this would be useful is if the "dirty bomb" was built using radwaste from old nuclear reactor fuel rods.
I wonder if the DNC is going to encourage it's trial lawyer constituency to sue the pill makers or the USPS. Wait, can they sue the USPS?
Actually, I'm not all that well versed. But, I do a great deal of research on everything I contemplate before doing it. This makes me an absolute expert on me.
I'm not qualified to comment on what to do with an iodine allergy. I would suggest a physician for a definitive answer (if you use the medical system). Other than that, I heard a (self proclaimed) expert on the subject on a talk radio show a number of years ago saying that you should take the iodine anyway if there was an actual radiation problem in the area if you could tolerate the allergic reaction. He seemed to think the long term cancer risk was greater then the short term allergic reaction (Again, I would consult a physycian before taking this advice seriously).
I have witnessed a short term allergic reaction to iodine. It was immediate anaphylaxis and death in the hospital setting. I wouldn't recommend taking iodine with a known allergy to it.
That said, it should be understood that potassium iodide (or iodate) will only prevent the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid and will do nothing else.
The employees also should be counseled against regularly taking the tablets as prophylaxis against exposure to radioisotopic iodine, given that immediate post-exposure ingestion of the tablets will suffice. However, postal and other vulnerable facilities should be equipped with devices which will quickly detect gamma and beta emissions.
Radioiodine emits gamma energy for the most part. As for other radiation hazards, one can only hope that adequate decon can be implemented soon after an exposure incident.
Perhaps it owuld be useful for all such emloyees to wear the film badges worn by scientists, technicians, and certain medical service providers.
I wore such a film badge, which was "read" every month for over twenty years and have on file a record of my lifetime radiation exposure. Such may be appropriate for all personnel at risk........
Not necessarily. A small envelope stained with a drop or so of a solution containg radioisotopic iodine, chromium, cesium, etc., etc. could wreak havoc whether or not significant levels of radiation were involved......
Allergies can develop any time, even if previous exposure does not produce a reaction. However, once an allergic response is produced by the body, further exposure to the allergen can increase the severity of the body's response.
Yes, you could still die from cancer. Or radiation sickness - which is what most short term survivors would die from. Potassium Iodide works well to prevent thyroid cancer but not the above. The reason you want potassium iodide is that the thyroid is the only organ that will collect and store radioactive material (iodine) - the potassium iodide 'fills' the thyroid so it doesn't store the radioactive stuff.
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