Local News - October 2002

KI pills: Evacuation is still best response

By ALICE SMITH, LTN Staff Writer

October 4, 2002 - Potassium Iodide pills that will soon be distributed to residents who live near McGuire Nuclear Station are not a substitute for evacuation, emergency management officials said.

Officials want residents to understand that the distribution of the pills — which protect the thyroid from one type of radiation — is not a cause for alarm, and is simply another part of the area’s emergency management plan.

“A lot of other states did it (distribute pills) before Sept. 11,” Susan Spake, emergency management director, said.

The reason North Carolina has just recently decided to make KI pills available is because the state has always held strong to the fact that in the unlikely event of a radiation leak, evacuation is the best method to prevent exposure, Spake said.

And officials maintain that in the event of an accident, residents should always evacuate the area as soon as possible.

“Evacuation is the best method to prevent exposure,” Spake said.

The KI pills are and have been available for emergency workers, Spake said.

If the general population evacuated, Spake said, emergency workers would still have to return to the area.

KI pills are available to them for this reason.

“We’ve always had KI tablets as part of the emergency plan,” Spake said.

Now, that part of the plan has been extended to residents.

The KI pills would be taken in the event that immediate evacuation were not possible.

If there were an ice storm, for example, and residents were prevented from leaving immediately, KI pills could be taken to prevent thyroid cancer from one type of radiation.

And that is all that KI pills do — protect the thyroid.

“That is the only thing it would protect,” Spake said.

The pills come in packs of two. The first pill should be taken within the first 4 hours of exposure, said Health Department director Maggie Dollar.

“We could get people out in a 48 hour period in the worst case scenario,” Spake said.

The Web site for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services offers an explanation of how KI tablets protect the thyroid gland:

“The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck. Thyroid hormones regulate the body's metabolism, facilitate normal growth and development, and control the functioning of many organs. The thyroid absorbs and stores iodine because it is essential for the production of thyroid hormones.

“Taking KI literally ‘fills up’ the thyroid gland with stable iodine, preventing it from absorbing radioactive iodine, which could cause thyroid cancer.”

The state health director will issue the warning to take the pills if an accident occurs. The Emergency Alert System will let residents know the pills should be taken and that the area should be evacuated, Spake said.

The pills should only be taken upon the instruction of the state department.

“Remember, this is not something you take now,” Dollar said. “There will be specific instructions from the EAS.”

People should not return to their houses to retrieve the KI pills if there has been a release, Spake said. KI will be issued to people at local shelters.

The pills should not give residents a false sense of security.

“That’s what we don’t want people to think,” Spake said. “Evacuation is most important.”

Officials also urge residents not to panic. An accident at McGuire is very unlikely.

“This is just another form of protection we’re offering citizens,” Spake said.

McGuire has an excellent track record on safety, Dollar said.

“This is no indication of any imminent disaster at McGuire,” Dollar said. “It is purely a safety measure.”

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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