Local News - October 2002

Tablets to be distributed

By ALICE SMITH, LTN Staff Writer

October 7, 2002 - County health officials will hand out Potassium Iodide tablets Saturday, Oct. 19 and Tuesday, Oct. 22.

Residents living within the 10-mile emergency planning zone around McGuire Nuclear Station are not required to accept the pills, but they are encouraged, Maggie Dollar, health director, said in a press release Friday.

“This is purely a safety measure, one part of our county’s total emergency preparedness plan,” Dollar said. “Evacuation is still the most effective protection method. KI won’t protect your whole body, but it will protect the thyroid.”

The pills will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Denver United Methodist Church, East Lincoln Community Center and Hills Chapel United Methodist Church.

The KI planning team — made up of volunteers from the East Lincoln Betterment Association, the Red Cross, East Lincoln Recreation Department and Emergency Management — organized and will assist with the distribution.

There are approximately 8,000 households in the 10-mile EPZ, Dollar said.

“We are asking that one adult member of each household pick up the tablets for the entire household,” Dollar said.

Officials are expecting a large amount of traffic, and East Lincoln and Denver volunteer firefighters will assist with parking and people flow. The sheriff’s office will assist with traffic flow.

The health department is working with local pharmacies and encouraging them to stock KI pills to sell to the general public outside the EPZ who want them.

If there were a threatened or actual nuclear release, evacuation remains the best course of action, Dollar said. KI is not a replacement for evacuation.

KI protects the thyroid gland from one type of radiation. If there were a nuclear release, it would likely contain many types of radiation that may affect additional organs in the body.

KI is considered safe for most people to use, but it can cause minor side effects, such as gastrointestinal disturbances or rashes.

People allergic to iodine should not take KI, and anyone unsure should talk to their doctor.

The KI tablets should not be taken unless directed by public health officials.

Next week, the health department and Emergency Management will establish a hotline with information on the KI and the distribution sites.

More information is available at the Mecklenburg County Health Department’s Web site at www.meckhealth.org. A list of pharmacies that will make KI available to the public will be listed here as they become available.

For information on the county’s Emergency Management plan, call 704-736-8511. For questions about McGuire Nuclear Station, call 704-382-8333.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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