Stock Up on Potassium Iodide, NY Governors Urge

Two former New York State governors joined with a group of prominent physicians and public health advocates to urge the state’s residents to stock up on potassium iodide, just in case there’s a disaster at of New York’s nuclear power plants.

Of particular concern is the Indian Point Energy Center, located on the Hudson River, roughly 30 miles from New York City.

“We cannot minimize the gravity of concern we would have if there was some kind of disaster,” said former governor David Paterson at a news conference about a new report on the effectiveness of potassium iodide (KI) as prophylaxis against radiation-related illnesses such as thyroid cancer.

Paterson was joined by his predecessor, Gov. George Pataki, along with Drs. James Hurley, Irwin Redlener and Eric Braverman–all three of whom are well known within the state’s public health and holistic medicine communities.

The group, under the AEGIS of Dr. Braverman’s PATH Foundation, issued the report which reviews the science on KI in preventing radiation-induced cancers and outlines weight-based dosing guidelines.

They hold that New Yorkers living within 50 miles of a nuclear plant ought to keep an emergency supply of KI in their houses, much as they would flashlights, batteries or canned goods. It is extremely inexpensive and, if taken within 2 hours of radiation exposure, at the right dose levels (1-2 mg per 10-pounds of body weight), highly effective in protecting the thyroid against radiation-induced damage, especially in children.

The authors note that relatively few people are aware of KI and even fewer of the millions who live near Indian Point keep it handy.

“This is not, in my view, about frightening people,” Gov. Patak insisted.“But we do have to be prepared.”

Dr. Redlener, a pediatrician and Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, believes that,
“In general the stability of nuclear power plants is not where it needs to be.” He added that state-level response planning for potential nuclear errors, to say nothing of individual emergency preparedness are, “beyond inadequate.”

He said federal funding cuts as well as political resistance are the reasons that KI is not already widely distributed as a matter of course in states that host nuclear power plants. He also claims that the nuclear power industry actively opposes KI distribution because many nuclear power advocates perceive that such a move would amount to an admission that there are potential health risks associated with nuclear power.

Jerry Nappi, a spokesman for Indian Point Energy Center, said he was unaware of any industry resistance to KI distribution. “If this gentleman has any specific examples, then I would be happy to comment on them,” he said referring to Dr. Redlener’s allegation.

Nappi stressed that the Indian Point facility consistently receives excellent safety ratings from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the PATH Foundation’s authors state that to the best of their knowledge there is no immediate threat of a nuclear disaster at Indian Point.

But in the long shadow of the Fukushima catastrophe, such government reassurances should not preclude intelligent and inexpensive precautionary measures.

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