In 2002, Congress passed legislation directing the government to prepare for a nuclear emergency. Priority was supposed to be given to preventable threats, like exposure to radioactive toxins. This was especially true for protection from radioactive iodine, the most likely toxin to harm people if there is a nuclear emergency and one that can be neutralized. For decades, health experts around the world have known that potassium iodide (KI) can prevent the thyroid cancer that comes from exposure to radioactive iodine. This medicine is safe, effective, and cheap, no more than pennies a pill.

But today, seven years later, nothing has happened. Why? The Bush Administration was worried the public might question the safety of nuclear power if they learned KI was being stockpiled. Instead of following the directions from Congress and the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences, the Bush White House decided the best way to protect people who were or might be exposed is to evacuate them. Exactly how such evacuations could be implemented, to say nothing of how emergency personal, police and fire would be protected from radiation exposure, was never explained.

Today, millions of us are still at risk. The threat is unjustified. And, for most of us, it’s very preventable. What can you do? FIND OUT

Popularity: -0% [?]