CNSC so-called 'anti-radiation' pill . . .

[Oscar]

Nuclear plants must give anti-radiation pills to nearby residents: regulator

[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nuclear-p ... -1.2796233 ]

New regulation comes in wake of safety review sparked by 2011 Fukushima disaster

CBC News, October 11, 2014 [ http://tinyurl.com/mw2h8kl ]

PHOTO: The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission published a new regulation requiring nuclear operators to pre-distribute potassium iodide pills to residents and businesses nearby nuclear plants, such as the one in Chalk River, Ont., shown above. (Canadian Press)

Residents and businesses near nuclear power plants must be provided with potassium iodide pills as a precautionary measure in case of an emergency, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission said Friday.

The pills, which must be preemptively distributed in conjunction with local governments, protect against nuclear exposure by preventing the human thyroid gland from absorbing radiation.

The measure was included as part of two new regulations published by the CNSC this week intended to “enhance regulatory requirements in nuclear emergency management” the watchdog’s website said.

Nuclear energy operators must provide the pills to “all residences, businesses and institutions” that could be at-risk of exposure from a radiation plume potentially released during an emergency.

While the specific area covered by this definition differs from site to site, it is generally a radius of between eight and 16 kilometres from a nuclear power plant.

Post-Fukushima pressure

In Canada, mass distribution of pills has already occurred in New Brunswick and Quebec, but not in Ontario, where the majority of the country’s nuclear power plants are located.

The CNSC had come under pressure from international environmental groups such as Greenpeace to improve safety standards in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. Many other countries have had a system of mandatory pre-distribution of potassium iodide pills for years.

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[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nuclear-p ... -1.2796233 ]

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EDWARDS: " . . . no such thing as an "anti-radiation" pill.

From: Gordon Edwards
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2014 8:37 PM
Subject: CBC: Nuclear plants must give anti-radiation pills to nearby residents: regulator

Background: October 11, 2014

Despite the headline (below), there is no such thing as an "anti-radiation" pill. Radiation damage cannot be undone by taking a pill. In fact there is no way of undoing radiation damage except by removing the damaged cells.

However, if non-radioactive iodine pills are taken BEFORE the body is exposed to radioactive iodine, the body's thyroid gland will readily absorb the non-radioactive iodine and satisfy its "hunger" for iodine -- so that when the radioactive iodine enters the body it will NOT be absorbed by the thyroid gland (or at least not to the same degree) and so the radioactive iodine will be excreted without taking up residence in the body.

This is important, because radioactive iodine can damage the thyroid gland and cause a number of health problems, especially in infants and children. After the Chernobyl accident, the World Health Organization has reported that about 6000 children in Belarus had to have their thyroid glands surgically removed because of radiation damage caused by the body's absorption of radioactive iodine.

If non-radioactive iodine pills are taken AFTER the radioactive iodine has been absorbed, it's too late for them to do much good. They have to be taken AHEAD of time -- but not too much ahead of time! So people have to know how and when to take these iodine pills in case of a nuclear accident, and that means they have to know when the radioactive iodine is going to be given off into the atmosphere by the crippled reactor.

Although iodine is given off as a vapour, it rapidly deposits on the ground in a solid form and is absorbed into various foodstuffs such as cow's milk and leafy plants, especially seaweed. The potential hazard from ingesting iodine-131 lasts for several weeks following a nuclear accident, so dietary restrictions are advisable.

In addition to radioactive iodine, there are dozens of other radioactive materials given off in the event of a nuclear accident (see http://www.ccnr.org/G-2_emissions.pdf , pages 3-6) Iodine pills offer no protection against these other radioactive materials, some of which concentrate in the bones, or the soft organs, or the blood, or the lungs. Nevertheless, iodine pills do help to protect people's thyroid glands if taken at the right time. This is particularly important in the case of infants and children, and -- of course -- for pregnant women.

Gordon Edwards, President
Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (CCNR)
http://www.ccnr.org

[Oscar]

Greens call for review of Ontario’s nuclear emergency plans

[ http://www.gpo.ca/media-release/greens- ... ency-plans ]

Submitted by Amy Watson on Wed, 2014-10-15 10:52

Queen’s Park - Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner called on the Liberal government to review Ontario’s nuclear emergency plans.

Last week the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) issued a regulation requiring nuclear stations to pre-distribute anti-radiation potassium iodide (KI) pills to residents within the provincially determined 10 km primary zone around Ontario’s nuclear stations. Mass distribution of KI pills out to 16 km has already occurred in New Brunswick and Quebec, but not in Ontario.

“Ontario’s nuclear emergency management plans are inadequate at best,” says Schreiner. “The Liberal government has dragged its feet on updating nuclear emergency plans since Fukushima. This puts public safety at risk.”

Schreiner believes the CNSC’s new requirement is laudable, but its effectiveness is undermined by Ontario’s failure to publicly review its nuclear emergency plans, especially the 10km primary zone, which was established before Chernobyl. The province, not the CNSC, is responsible for determining the radius of the primary zone.

The CNSC’s website cites research suggesting that the pre-distribution of KI pills should take place within a “30-mile (48 kilometre) radius of a nuclear power plant.” This is backed up by Switzerland’s evidence-based decision earlier this year to distribute KI pill to everyone within 50 km of a Swiss nuclear station. Four million Swiss citizens will receive KI pills this month.

“People’s safety is too important to make this stuff up on the fly,” says Schreiner. “An evidence based, public review of nuclear emergency plans is desperately needed. This is especially important when determining the radius of the primary zone and the distribution of KI pills.”

Research indicates such preventative measures can greatly reduce the accumulation of radioiodines in the thyroid gland, which is an important measure since thyroid cancer is one of the most frequently observed consequences of a nuclear disaster.

The GPO supports pre-distribution of KI pills to all residents living within 30 to 50km of the Pickering, Darlington and Bruce nuclear generating stations. And the GPO is calling on the government to conduct a public review of Ontario’s nuclear emergency plans. -30-

[ See more at: http://www.gpo.ca/media-release/greens- ... d6Yhm.dpuf ]

[Oscar]

Radiation protection pills delivered by end of 2015

[ http://www.thestar.com/business/tech_ne ... _2015.html ]

New rules from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission dictate that iodine thyroid-blocking pills must be delivered to homes and workplaces near nuclear plants by the end of next year.

By: John Spears Business reporter, Published on Tue Oct 14 2014

People living and working within 8 to 16 kilometres of a nuclear power plant should have radiation protection pills in their hands by the end of 2015, under new federal regulations.

But Durham’s Medical Officer of Health says it will be “very tight – extremely tight” to meet the deadline.

New rules from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission dictate that iodine thyroid-blocking pills must be delivered to homes and workplaces near nuclear plants by the end of next year.

The pills, often known as potassium iodide pills or KI pills, inhibit the thyroid gland from absorbing radiation.

Nuclear plant operators must pay the cost of buying and distributing the pills, but provincial and local health officials will be working out how to get them into the hands of tens of thousands of people from Scarborough to Clarington in time for the deadline.

Dr. Robert Kyle, Durham’s medical officer of health, said his unit already given stocks of pills to pharmacies and to institutions like schools, daycares, and police and fire departments.

“This is not a new business for us as a health department,” he said.

But now the pills will have to be given to individual homes and workplaces: “It’s a question of scale and scope rather than one of philosophy,” he said.

It won’t be simple, Kyle said.

“There are a lot of logistical issues that have to be sorted out: getting a supply of the KI pills; deciding the best way to get pills out to residences – I assume it will be by mail.”

The pills will have to be sent out with readily understandable directions in different languages, he added.

And someone will have to track new residents to make sure they get their pills.

The new rules also require pills to be stocked in institutions over a wide area beyond the immediate zones around the plants, he said.

“It’s a very tall order,” Kyle said. “It sounds like a year is a long time, but it may take a while to get this all planned and resourced.”

Toronto officials will also have to be involved, since eastern Scarborough is within 10 kilometres of the Pickering plant, he noted.

(Lenore Bromley of Toronto Public Health took a different tack, however, saying that distributing the pills is “not something that would fall within our domain.”)

Kyle said he hasn’t tallied up the number of residents within 10 kilometres of the Pickering and Darlington plants, but said “you may be talking about 100,000.”

Ontario Power Generation operates the Pickering and Darlington nuclear plants east of Toronto.

Company spokesman Neal Kelly said it has cost about $180,000 to buy and distribute pills to pharmacies and institutions under the old rules.

“Under this new regulation, there will be significant costs associated with public communications and delivery,” Kelly said.

He wouldn’t name a figure. OPG will have to foot that bill, but who does the work on the ground is still being worked on, he said.

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[ http://www.thestar.com/business/tech_ne ... _2015.html ]