Potassium Iodide

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Potassium Iodide
Q: Quick Summary of FAQ.
A:
Documentation and details of the following (and much more) are below in the FAQ:
•
Radioactive Iodine (Radioiodine) is a major radioisotope constituent of both nuclear
power plant accidents and nuclear bomb explosions and can travel hundreds of
miles on the winds. Thyroid cancer attributable to Chernobyl
"...has been
documented up to 500 km from the accident site."
•
Even very small amounts of inhaled or ingested radioiodine can do grave damage
as it will always concentrate, and be retained, in the small space of the thyroid
gland. Eventually giving such a large radiation dose to thyroid cells there that
abnormalities are likely to result, such as loss of thyroid function, nodules in the
thyroid, or thyroid cancer. (Each year 12,000 Americans discover they have thyroid
cancer, though from various assorted causes, and about 1000 die from it.)
•
Chernobyl has shown, and continues to reveal, that the greatest danger from
radioiodine is to the tiny thyroid glands of children. Researchers have found that in
certain parts of Belarus, for example, 36.4 per cent of children, who were under the
age of four at the time of the accident, can expect to develop thyroid cancer.
•
Health experts now estimate that the greatest health concerns affecting the largest
number of people from a nuclear accident, or nuclear bomb explosion(s) anywhere
in the world, will likely be from the release of radioiodine that is then carried
downwind for hundreds of miles. While there will also be many other dangerous
radioisotopes released along with radioiodine, if they are inhaled or ingested they
are normally dispersed throughout a body and pose less of a risk than if they were
to be concentrated into one small specific area of the body, like radioiodine is in the
thyroid gland. So, as a plume or cloud of radioactive isotopes disperses with the
wind its danger also diminishes, but much less quickly so for radioiodine because
whatever little there is that's inhaled will always then be concentrated into that small
space of the thyroid gland. The
good news
is that taking either Potassium Iodide
(KI) or Potassium Iodate (KIO3) before exposure will saturate (fill up) a persons
thyroid gland with safe stable iodine to where there is no room for later uptake of
radioactive iodine. Once the thyroid is saturated, then any additional iodine
(radioactive or stable) that is later inhaled or ingested is quickly eliminated via the
kidneys.
•
The
bad news
is that after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl all available KI and
KIO3 supplies disappeared for months, almost overnight! The KI and KIO3 market
is very thin and current limited inventory will be quickly depleted in any nuclear
emergency occuring anywhere in the world.
•
Potassium Iodide (KI) and/or Potassium Iodate (KIO3) has already been stockpiled
by most developed countries for future nuclear emergencies, they figured it out after
Chernobyl, but here in the USA they've only just begun. (We just sold 300,000
doses to HHS Office of Emergency Prepardness.) However, very limited quantities
are available for individual purchase in the USA by the public. (Potassium Iodide
(KI) has long been recognized and approved by the FDA for sale for this purpose
without a prescription. Unfortunately, it is an over-the-counter (OTC) drug that's to
be found on too few counters here in the USA!)
Q: What is Potassium Iodide (KI)?
A:
Potassium Iodide (chemical name '
KI
') is much more familiar to most than they might
first expect. It is the ingredient added to your table salt to make it
iodized
salt.
Potassium Iodide (KI) is approximately 76.5% iodine.
For purposes of radiation protection the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) states in
COMSECY-98-016 - FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE ON POTASSIUM IODIDE:
"In 1978, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found KI "safe and effective"
for use in radiological emergencies and approved its over-the-counter sale."
Most recently (November, 2001) the FDA states in
Potassium Iodide as a Thyroid
Blocking Agent in Radiation Emergencies:
"FDA maintains that KI is a safe and effective means by which to prevent
radioiodine uptake by the thyroid gland, under certain specified conditions of use,
and thereby obviate the risk of thyroid cancer in the event of a radiation
emergency."
Q: How Does Potassium Iodide (KI) Pill Provide Anti-Radiation Protection?
A:
Going back to June 23, 1966, the
New England Journal of Medicine. Vol. 274
on
Page 1442 states:
"The thyroid gland is especially vulnerable to atomic injury since radioactive
isotopes of iodine are a major component of fallout."
Cresson H. Kearny, the author
of
Nuclear War Survival Skills
, Original Edition Published
September, 1979, by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a Facility of the U.S. Department of
Energy (Updated and Expanded 1987 Edition) states on
page 111
:
"There is no medicine that will effectively prevent nuclear radiations from
damaging the human body cells that they strike.
However, a salt of the elements potassium and iodine, taken orally even in
very small quantities 1/2 hour to 1 day before radioactive iodines are
swallowed or inhaled, prevents about 99% of the damage to the thyroid gland
that otherwise would result. The thyroid gland readily absorbs both non-
radioactive and radioactive iodine, and normally it retains much of this
element in either or both forms.
When ordinary, non-radioactive iodine is made available in the blood for
absorption by the thyroid gland before any radioactive iodine is made
available, the gland will absorb and retain so much that it becomes saturated
with non-radioactive iodine. When saturated, the thyroid can absorb only
about l% as much additional iodine, including radioactive forms that later may
become available in the blood: then it is said to be blocked. (Excess iodine in
the blood is rapidly eliminated by the action of the kidneys.)"
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) stated July 1, 1998 in
USE OF POTASSIUM
IODIDE IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE:
"Potassium iodide, if taken in time, blocks the thyroid gland's uptake of
radioactive iodine and thus could help prevent thyroid cancers and other
diseases that might otherwise be caused by exposure to airborne radioactive
iodine that could be dispersed in a nuclear accident."
Federal Register. Vol. 43
Friday, December 15, 1978, states in Potassium Iodide as a
Thyroid Blocking Agent in a Radiation Emergency:
"Almost complete (greater than 90%) blocking of peak radioactive iodine
uptake by the thyroid gland can be obtained by the oral administration of ...
iodide ..."
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements.
NCRP Report NO. 55.
Protection of the Thyroid Gland in the Event of Releases of Radioiodine. August, 1979,
Page 32:
"A major protective action to be considered after a serious accident at a
nuclear power facility involving the release of radioiodine is the use of stable
iodide as a thyroid blocking agent to prevent thyroid uptake of radioiodines."
The recently updated (1999) World Health Organization (WHO)
Guidelines for Iodine
Prophylaxis following Nuclear Accidents
states:
"Stable iodine administered before, or promptly after, intake of radioactive
iodine can block or reduce the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the
thyroid."
And, finally, the recently (November, 2001) released FDA
document Potassium Iodide
as a Thyroid Blocking Agent in Radiation Emergencies
states:
"The effectiveness of KI as a specific blocker of thyroid radioiodine uptake is
well established (Il'in LA, et al., 1972) as are the doses necessary for blocking
uptake. As such, it is reasonable to conclude that KI will likewise be effective
in reducing the risk of thyroid cancer in individuals or populations at risk for
inhalation or ingestion of radioiodines."
Q: Is this the
Magic
Anti-Radiation Protection Pill?
A:
Sorry, but there is no
magic pill
or medicine that will protect you from all radiation
sources. In fact, as already stated above
here
:
"There is no medicine that will effectively prevent nuclear radiations from
damaging the human body cells that they strike."
Also, the recently (November, 2001) released FDA document
Potassium Iodide as a Thyroid Blocking Agent in Radiation Emergencies
states:
"KI provides protection only for the thyroid from radioiodines. It has no
impact on the uptake by the body of other radioactive materials and provides
no protection against external irradiation of any kind. FDA emphasizes that
the use of KI should be as an adjunct to evacuation (itself not always
feasible), sheltering, and control of foodstuffs."
Potassium Iodide (and Potassium Iodate, KIO3) will provide a very high level of thyroid
protection, taken in time, for the specific radio-isotopes of iodine, which is expected by
many to cause the majority of health concerns downwind from a nuclear emergency. (And,
is the reason most all developed countries have stockpiled it.)
However, there are numerous other, and very dangerous, radioactive noble gases and/or
radioactive fallouts that can be associated with nuclear emergencies. You are still exposed
to inhale, ingest, or be radiated externally from any number of dangerous non-radioiodine
sources.
If you are ever directed to evacuate in a nuclear emergency, do so immediately, regardless
of whether you have taken Potassium Iodide (KI) or KIO3, or not.
Q: Radioactive Iodine: Bad News / Good News!?!
A:
The
"bad news"
first:
#1 -
Radioactive iodine (predominantly iodine-131) is a major radioisotope constituent in
nuclear power plants.
#2 -
There are 103 currently active commercial nuclear reactors and 39 operating
nonpower reactors in the United States. (434 worldwide as of 1998.) Additionlly, there
are numerous other nuclear processing and storage facilities worldwide with the
potential for accidents, too.
The, September 29, 1999, Tokaimura, Japan nuclear accident took place, not in a
nuclear reactor power plant, but in an uranium processing plant.
#3 -
Radioactive iodine (predominantly iodine-131) is also a major constituent of detonated
nuclear weapons.
#4 -
Radioactive iodine can not only travel hundreds of miles on the winds, but also still
remain health threatening even as other
radioisotopes are becoming dispersed
and diluted along with it and their
likelyhood of causing harm diminishes.
It is often overlooked that while there
will also be many other dangerous
radioisotopes released along with
radioiodine, if they are inhaled or
ingested they are normally dispersed
throughout a body and pose less of a
risk than if they were to be concentrated
into one small specific area of the body,
like radioiodine is in the thyroid gland.
As a plume or cloud of radioactive
isotopes disperses with the wind its
danger also diminshes, but always
much less quickly so for radioiodine
because whatever little there is that's
inhaled will always be concentrated into
that small space of the thyroid gland.
"...was detected in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Notably,
this increase, seen in areas more than 150 miles (300 km)
from the site, continues to this day and primarily affects
children who were 0-14 years old at the time of the
accident...the vast majority of the thyroid cancers were
diagnosed among those living more than 50 km (31 miles)
from the site."
NUREG-1633 points out an increase in thyroid cancer caused by radioiodine from
Chernobyl...
The recently updated (1999) World Health Organization (WHO
)
Guidelines for Iodine
Prophylaxis following Nuclear Accidents
states in its abstract regarding thyroid cancer
caused by the Chernobyl disaster:
"
This increase in incidence has been documented up to 500 km from the accident
site."
...and therefore...
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