MIAMI, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Last month the Nuclear Regulatory Commission offered to states pills to guard against thyroid cancer in the event of a terrorist attack on nuclear power plants, an offer that has brought acceptances from only two of the nearly three dozen eligible states.
"They're not exactly knocking the door down," NRC spokeswoman Rosetta Virgilio said. "Thus far, Massachusetts and Maryland are the only states that have formally notified the NRC of interest."
In response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the NRC offered to provide two tablets of potassium iodide for each resident living within 10 miles of a nuclear plant. The offer went out to 32 states with nuclear generators, to two states with borders within 10 miles of another state's nuclear generator, and to an Indian community near a plant in Minnesota.
Federal officials say potassium iodide tablets, known as KI, have been effective against thyroid cancer, one of the most common diseases caused by radiation. State emergency management officials, however, are afraid of a false sense of security because there are many more possible diseases that could be caused by an attack on a nuclear power plant.
Mike McDonald, who heads Florida's radiological emergency preparedness program, said he is concerned the pills will produce apathy. He said if people see it as a magic bullet, they may not be as willing to flee their homes as they would normally be.
McDonald insists the most reliable way to cut the impact of nuclear terrorism is evacuation, and nobody is arguing with that. Emergency management officials in the areas of the state near nuclear facilities -- at Homestead, Hutchison Island and Crystal River -- have said they agree with McDonald.
Virgilio also said the NRC agrees that evacuation is the best course.
"It (the pill) clearly only protects the thyroid. It certainly wouldn't protect against any other ailment," she said, "Certainly evacuation and sheltering is preferred. It's not a magic pill. If the state issues an order for evacuation, that would be best."
McDonald also said there is a logistical problem with distributing the pills. Officials would have to decide whether to hold stockpiles in warehouses, or distribute them to each household. In the latter case, proper dosage and timing could become a problem.
Bill Parizek of the Florida Department of Health said discussions are under way, and nobody knows how long it will be before a decision will be made by the Health Department and the Division of Emergency Management.
Officials in Illinois, which has 11 reactors, more than any other state, has recommended to Gov. George H. Ryan that he turn down the offer.
Mike Sinclair of the Illinois Nuclear Protection Agency said he has a whole host of reasons, including his agreement that resulting complacency might hinder evacuation.
"What about all the other isotopes out there? They are potentially more dangerous," Sinclair said. "If you take the protection against thyroid disease and don't evacuate, you're right where you were before."
He said the state's 29 years of experience with the threat of nuclear disaster has resulted in an effective warning system. He said that may not be the case in other states, and the right decision for them might be to accept the pills.
Sinclair also pointed out that although the pills are free, distribution by the states will be expensive and if they don't get to the people in the danger zone right away, they are of little help.
Florida has a small stockpile for use by emergency workers and other people who cannot evacuate, such as prison inmates. Several other states have taken a similar approach.
The American Thyroid Association favors distributing the pills to people within 200 miles of power plants, not the 10 miles suggested by the NRC. It says their effectiveness has been proven, mainly in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in the Soviet Union in 1986.
Sinclair said there are those who don't believe Chernobyl provided enough proof.
"We don't think it's a solid conclusion," he said.
He said a lot of the illness in the Ukraine resulted from contaminated food and water, and Illinois has plans in place to prevent that. He said in Poland, where the pills were used, there might not have been enough radiation to cause thyroid cancer anyway.
The tablets saturate the thyroid gland to the point it can no longer absorb radioactive iodine. Side effects include upset stomachs and rashes. Other less likely side effects include facial swelling, shortness of breath and joint pains.
Bids went out recently to companies for manufacturing the tablets. The pills already are available on the Internet for as little as 25 cents a tablet.
Standard dosage is one tablet a day for as long as the threat exists. The pills have a shelf life of about five years.
Pennsylvania has the second most nuclear plants with nine and is still wrestling with the problem. Spokeswoman April Hutcheson said one of the concerns of officials there is the dosage.
"It's a 14-dose regimen and the NRC is offering two days," she said. "Also it is not supplied in children's dosages, so we have to figure out how to get it to children and how to stockpile it."
