While I trust that the fax from Grandpa's Pharmacy offering to sell me and my office staff much-sought-after potassium iodide at the bargain rate of $60 is well intended, I doubt that it will be necessary. Apparently, there's been a run on the supply in the US, especially on the West Coast.Potassium iodide can help to displace radioactive iodine from being taken up by the thyroid gland in the event of exposure to it, but would have to be taken at least 6 hours before exposure. Even given the US NRC recommending US citizens in Japan evacuate from within 50 miles of the troubled reactor, the exposure levels on the US mainland over 5,000 miles away is going to be just about nil. Overall, the smart money in avoiding exposure to radioactive iodine will be avoiding drinking milk from northeast Japan.
Some interesting reading on the subject:
- ProPublica has a nice reading list from a variety of news sources covering basic background, up-to-the-minute liveblogs and twitter feeds, and the public health aspects of radiation exposure.
- MSNBC (h/t to Boing Boing) shows a ranking of US nuclear power plants at risk for quake damage causing a core meltdown. (Hint: the most at-risk are not in California)
- For those concerned about TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it), Medscape has a very technical discussion of nuclear and radiologic decontamination including a discussion of potassium iodide. Who knew Mylanta and Maalox can help to reduce absorption of strontium and radium? (Dose: 100cc by mouth ASAP upon exposure)
- For an interesting and lighter side note, Slate discusses why there is so little looting going on in Japan right now.
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