BANGKOK, March 18 (UPI) -- Thailand began handing out iodine tablets free of charge Thursday to air travelers departing for Japan as a precaution against exposure to nuclear radiation.
Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said the pills were mostly being given to people heading for the Fukushima area, the Bangkok Post reported. Nuclear reactors there, damaged by the earthquake that struck last week, the tsunami that followed and a failure of cooling systems, have been leaking radiation.
Those flying from Japan to Thailand are being checked for contamination, officials say.
Jurin said the Government Pharmaceutical Organization plans to produce 15,000 iodine tablets, 5,000 of them in a children's dose.