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Potassium Iodide Pills Available at Many Local IL Pharmacies
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) has announced plans to once again offer free Potassium Iodide (KI) pills to residents living within a 10-mile (16km) radius of the state’s six operating nuclear power plants. More than 60,000 homes within the Emergency Planning Zones (EPZs) of each plant are eligible for the pills, according to a statement posted at their website.
The nuclear power plants in Illinois are Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle and Quad-Cities.
IEMA has obtained 215,000 pills for the distribution at no cost from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
KI is a non-prescription drug used to protect the thyroid from radioactive iodine, which could be released during a nuclear power plant accident. The state of Illinois previously distributed KI pills to residents near nuclear power plants in 2002 and 2012.
“Pills that were previously provided to residents in these areas are nearing expiration,” said IEMA Director. “In addition, there likely are people who moved into the Emergency Planning Zones since the last distribution, and others may have added family members or lost their pills.”
The director noted KI only protects the thyroid gland from uptake of radioactive iodine, which could be released during a nuclear power plant incident. He said evacuation and sheltering in place are still the most effective ways to protect the whole body from radiation exposure…
To obtain the free pills, people living within the 10-mile EPZ of a nuclear power plant can download a voucher and a list of participating pharmacies at https://public.iema.state.il.us/KiProcessing/Ki or contact IEMA at 217-782-1326.
https://www.illinois.gov/ready/Press/Pages/070717.aspx
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