[Wonder Warthog]

"Agreed. There is no excuse for not having them at home, in your car, and at work. They are cheap and safe, and will save you and your family from a long painful death in the event of exposure via a dirty bomb (which could be unleashed absolutely anywhere.)"

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.

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"The only way that this would be useful is if the "dirty bomb" was built using radwaste from old nuclear reactor fuel rods."

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......

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Pardon my logic-lapse. I agree that potassium iodide would only be useful against radioiodine....