Illinois Nuclear Site

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) joined the growing number in Congress demanding that there be a sufficient stockpile of KI (potassium iodide) pills to protect the public.  Similar calls to the Obama Administration have come from Rep. Young, Rep. Bilirakis and Rep. Markey.  Last year, thirteen Florida representatives, led by Rep. Young and Rep. Wasserman-Schultz, made the same request.

At a forum in Chicago, the senators grilled nuclear industry officials about what they are doing to ensure the safety of those who live in Illinois.  The state has 11 reactors. Joseph Klinger, assistant director of the state Emergency Management Agency, told the senators there would be a review of the stockpile of pills that help prevent radiation-induced thyroid cancer and the evacuation zones.

There has been no similar commitment from the Obama Administration.  Unlike Mr. Klinger, no one from the White House or HHS has even acknowledged the issue.  Is it indifference?  Ignorance?  Whatever the reason, the Administration’s failure to act is no longer just unacceptable.  It’s dangerous.

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Congressman Young

Frustrated with the refusal of the Obama Administration to act, Representatives Bill Young (R-FL) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have sent another letter demanding that the Secretary of HHS report back how she intends to correct the federal government’s failure to stockpile KI (potassium iodide). The Congressmen and eleven other bipartisan members of the Florida delegation made similar demands in June 2010. Since then, the tragedy in Japan has underscored what happens when the government is unprepared for a nuclear emergency.

“The ongoing nuclear tragedy in Japan should be a wake-up call to this Administration. We are in a unique position to act before there is a tragedy on our own soil,” the Congressmen said. “There is simply no excuse for failing to stockpile all necessary preventive measures, including KI, especially if the public may be required to remain in areas that could be contaminated until evacuation plans can be implemented.”

The Congressmen expressed frustration with the Administration’s refusal to act. “We realize that you take seriously your obligation to protect the American public’s health and safety; however, indifference and inattention are no longer an acceptable response,” they observed. “The time has come for the Department and the White House to act.

Congressman Bilirakis

A copy of the letter can be found here: KI3rdletter

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Even the nuclear crisis enveloping Japan isn’t enough to wake up an indifferent Obama Administration.  The massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan on Friday also created a crisis at the country’s nuclear power plants.  Damage at the sites was extensive, and repair work was impeded by at least one massive explosion.  Radioactive gas leaks have been reported, with radiation 1,000 times higher than normal levels.  In response, the Japanese government has imposed a massive, military-led evacuation, clearing people away from at least two of the plants.

Despite the tragedy unfolding in Japan, the United States remains unprepared.  The country does not have enough of even the most basic countermeasures, such as potassium iodide or KI, which would be needed to protect the general population from a nuclear emergency.  Last June, 13 bipartisan representatives from Florida wrote HHS Secretary Sebelius, asking her to begin stockpiling KI at sufficient levels needed to protect the general public, as suggested by the National Academy of Sciences and required by Congress in the Bioterrorism Act of 2002.

To date, some eight months later, not only has the Administration refused to address this dangerous oversight.  It hasn’t even answered the letter.

Click here to see the letter: Delegation letter to Sebelius

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