CHERNORBYL
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On April 26, 1986, the nuclear reactor at the Russian Chernobyl Nuclear Station exploded.
It was the world's worst nuclear power accident, and it scattered radioactive iodine over thousands of square miles throughout Europe.
Fortunately, much of the affected area was sparsely populated, and even more fortunate was the fact that the Soviets had large stockpiles of KI available (from old civil defense supplies) which they distributed within hours to people living close to the reactor.
As a result, people in the Pripyat region near Chernobyl were protected and there has been no increase in thyroid cancer in this area.
Farther away from the reactor, though, distribution was much less thorough. As a result, by the year 2000, over 11,000 known (and possibly many unknown) cases of a rare form of childhood thyroid cancer appeared, and the actual total number of case expected by the year 2010 is unknown.
Yet in Poland, where 18 million people were given KI following the accident, no increase in thyroid cancer related to Chernobyl has been seen.
Chernobyl proved that massive accidents were possible, and that optimistic assumptions by the NRC and the nuclear industry that radioactive iodine could not escape were clearly wrong.
Follow-up studies have also demonstrated that the decision by the Russian, Polish and other governments to administer stored KI had been correct, and that stockpiled KI, issued immediately after an accident was as valuable as the experts had predicted.
This was unequivocally stated by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in a study following Chernobyl, where they reported that,
"Although the accident occurred at 01:24 ... Russian authorities reported it would be impractical to wake people ...
The time from 02:00 to 08:00 was spent in emergency planning and obtaining and distributing KI tablets for issuance to individuals at 08:00.
The Russians were apparently well prepared for large-scale distribution of KI tablets to the general public. ...
Thousands of measurements of I-131 (radioiodine) activity in the thyroids of the exposed population suggest that the observed levels were lower than those that would have been expected had this prophylactic measure not been taken. The use of KI by the Pripyat population in particular was credited with permissible iodine content (less than 30 rad) found in 97% of the 206 evacuees tested at one relocation center. It is also important to note that no serious side effects of KI use have been reported."
Other countries also took large amounts. In the Scandinavian countries, for example, where the governments had long kept stockpiles of the drug, a large amount of KI, some of it 10 years old, was quickly consumed. No increase in the rate of thyroid cancer due to Chernobyl have been reported.
These actions undoubtedly saved hundreds of thousands from cancer and other thyroid problems.
While the Soviets deserve criticism for many of their actions regarding the Chernobyl incident, their emergency response plans, and their provisions and preparation for the health and safety of their citizens, were noteworthy.
By comparison, the US government's actions at Three Mile Island, though well motivated, lacked supplies and planning; were confused; contradictory; and needlessly dangerous to millions of people.
But despite the Chernobyl experience, US policy makers continued to fight KI stockpiling, with the NRC making the baffling statement that,
"The apparently successful use of KI by the Soviets does not alter the validity of US policy that ... stockpiling KI for use by the general public should not be required."