New nuke pills on order for region

[bananas]

http://www.charlotte.com/112/story/296456.html

New nuke pills on order for region
Distribution in works; KI tablets for thyroid from '01 likely still OK
KATHRYN THIER



Plans are under way to distribute pills to 1.4 million people in the Carolinas to protect them in a nuclear disaster, replacing ones distributed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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Known by its chemical symbol, KI, potassium iodide helps reduce the risk of thyroid cancer, which can be caused by radiation exposure. It was the No. 1 illness following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union.

A nuclear incident can create many other health risks, such as death from the blast or radiation exposure. Potassium iodide pills protect only against some thyroid cancers associated with a nuclear disaster.

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But it's important enough that the American Thyroid Association, a group of physicians and scientists, says everyone who lives or works within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant should have KI.

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