For years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has purchased enough KI to protect workers at nuclear facilities and people who live within a 10 mile range of a nuclear plant.  The Commission After Congress acted in 2002, KI was stockpiled in a 10 mile range around Nuclear power plants. The Bush Administration believed that for a range of 10 to 50 miles, the best policy was to destroy all food and water that might be affected, and evacuate every person who might be at risk. It is a policy that is as unworkable as it is scientifically dubious.

First, no one has ever explained how one goes about destroying all affected water.  And, as we have seen with the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, evacuation is no simple process. Here is one former federal official’s honest assessment:

“The United States is, at the moment, not well prepared to manage an [emergency] evacuation of this sort in the relevant time frame…The federal government currently lacks the ability to [rapidly] generate and broadcast specific, geographically tailored evacuation instructions.” Richard Falkenrath,  former deputy homeland security adviser and now a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Second, an evacuation policy does not address what will be done for the military and civilian personnel who will be needed to implement an evacuation order.  Police, the National Guard, and other first responders are all likely to be exposed to radiation.

Third, radioactive iodine is airborne.  Where it falls depends on the fickleness of the winds, not the number of miles traveled.  As was seen with Chernobyl, it can move great distances, as far as 500 kilometers from the site of the accident.

Fourth, if possible, KI should be taken as soon as there is a risk of contamination.  This is especially true for children and pregnant women.  The drug is most effective when taken prior to exposure, but anyone in a contaminated area can reduce the total amount of RAI they will absorb by starting KI administration as soon as possible, even after an initial exposure has occurred.  Because the danger from radiation is cumulative, daily KI dosing will prevent further RAI frm being absorbed and significantly increase thyroid protection.

Fifth, there is no guarantee that the only nuclear incident that could occur will be near an existing nuclear facility.  Dirty bombs could be exploded anywhere.  And, almost every urban area in the United States has a hospital that uses nuclear material for treatment of various diseases and conditions.  That material can be hijacked and exploded.  While it would not be a big bomb in terms of the blast area, its impact would be just as devastating.

There is one simple answer to this:  stockpile KI is sufficient numbers throughtout the country to protect every person at risk.

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