North Carolina to Give Pills Against Radiation

Potassium iodide could protect against thyroid cancer in case of radiation exposure

Paraphrased by Steve Waldrop
October 25, 2002

Nearly 165,000 people living with 10 miles of the Charlotte area's nuclear plants are elligible to receive two tiny salt pills later that could help save their lives in a radiation disaster.

North Carolina counties in the Charlotte area will distribute free potassium iodide pills from the federal government in October. Times and places where residents can pick up tablets will be announced later.

Officials in South Carolina say that they haven't decided whether to offer the pills, which can prevent thyroid cancer caused by radiation. Other N.C. counties near nuclear plants will make their own plans for distribution.

The pills don't block all potentially harmful radiation from a nuclear accident. So officials warn that taking potassium iodide, known as KI, shouldn't make people feel safe. They still need to evacuate if officials tell them to.

'" This is a very small silver of protection," said Mecklenburg Health Director Peter Safir.

People living more than 10 miles from the plants, aren't eligible for the free pills, although they might be vulnerable to radiation. Studies suggest that a major nuclear accident might increase the risk of thyroid cancer more than 100 miles away.

Mecklenburg County health officials say they've alerted major pharmacy chains that they might want to increase their local supplies in case they see more demand in the coming weeks.

The Carolinas have a dozen nuclear plants, including McGuire on Lake Norman and Catawba on Lake Wylie, both in North Carolina.

Mecklenburg, Gaston, Catawba, Iredell and Lincoln counties will receive 350,000 pills from the NRC stock. Mecklenburg officials expect fewer than half the eligible residents to want them. If they run low, however, local officials may ask for more.

People who work within 10 miles of the plants will be offered the pill later, officials aren't sure when.

Potassium iodide is "not very different in its chemical structure from table salt," said Dr. Stephen Keener, Mecklenburg County's medical director. Table salt doesn't protect against radiation.

The pills will come with instructions and should not be taken unless a disaster occurs. Officials will make an announcement telling residents when to use them.

Some people are allergic to iodide, and others can suffer minor side effects, such as rashes. Officials urge people who receive the pills to check with their doctor if they're not sure it's OK for them.

KI can be given to people of all ages, although newborns younger than 1 month should only take an eight of a pill. Infants and children, who have more active thyroid glands than adults, are at particular risk of thyroid cancer in a radiation-spewing disaster.

Potassium iodide received Food and Drug Administration approval in 1982, three years after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania. For years, health experts urged federal, state and local officials to stockpile the pills for emergency civilian use. But it took the September 11 terrorist attack to convince the NRC to act.

Until recently, both Carolinas kept small KI stockpiles- enough to protect only emergency workers and civilians, who could not evacuate quickly, such as hospital patients and prison inmates.

Distribution after a disaster also was a concern, officials would prefer to see residents evacuate rather than stand in line for pills- which is why they decided to distribute them to residents now, rather than storing them to pass out after an event.

"Potassium iodide is not a substitute for evacuation in an emergency," Keener said. "That is the No. 1, 2 and 3 priority."

But evacuating everyone within 10 miles of the McGuire or Catawba plants could take at least eight to 24 hours, according to local emergency plans. Less than four hours is considered optimal by the federal government.

The worst kind of nuclear accident could release enough radiation within a few hours to pose a potential cancer risk for people nearby. The chance of that happening, the NRC says, is very low.