Potassium Iodide Education Efforts To Highlight Dosage, Timing Of Use
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Public education efforts on use of potassium iodide (KI) during radiation emergencies will focus, in part, on when and how much of the OTC drug should be taken by residents living near nuclear power plants
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Public education efforts on use of potassium iodide (KI) during radiation emergencies will focus, in part, on when and how much of the OTC drug should be taken by residents living near nuclear power plants. Timing of use and dosage information will be distributed by power plants through regular mailings to neighboring residents and will be developed in cooperation with state and local agencies responsible for procurement and distribution of KI. States that have requested KI from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are expected to extend educational efforts to medical professionals, as well as schools, day care centers and nursing homes within the 10-mile radius of a nuclear power plant. Nine states have requested a collective 3.8 mil. doses of KI from NRC. In December, the commission offered to supply states one to two doses of KI for every person living within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant. If taken in time, KI blocks the thyroid gland's uptake of radioactive iodine, helping prevent thyroid cancers and other thyroid diseases. NRC regulations that took effect in April 2001 require "consideration be given to including KI as a protective measure for the general public that would supplement sheltering and evacuation" during a severe nuclear power plant accident. The commission left it to the states to determine whether to use KI in their emergency preparedness programs - an issue that has received heightened attention since Sept. 11. On Feb. 1, NRC awarded a two-year, $1.1 mil. contract to Anbex Inc. to supply approximately 6 mil. IOSAT tablets (130 mg), some of which already have been distributed to the participating states. In December, FDA updated a 1982 guidance on KI dosing (1 (Also see "Bioterrorism Preparedness Addressed On Capitol Hill, At FDA" - Pink Sheet, 17 Dec, 2001.), p. 5). However, IOSAT labeling still bears the dosing recommendations of the 1982 guidance. The Palm Harbor, Fla.-based company said FDA has not advised the firm to adjust the dosing directions in accordance with the new guidance. |