Should I Take Radiation Protection Pills?

Every day Fairewinds Energy Education receives many questions. The big question in the New Year is: “Should I take a ‘radiation pill’ to combat the radiation being given off by the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi?” First, lets start by defining a radiation protection pill is and what it does. A radiation protection pill is usually called potassium iodide because it consists of potassium iodide KI which is the scientific notation for this molecule consisting of the elements potassium (K) and iodine (I). Unfortunately, potassium iodide only protects against one type of radiation, radioactive iodine. It does not protect against the hundreds of other radioactive isotopes released in nuclear meltdowns.

How does a potassium iodide (KI) pill work?

Your thyroid routinely absorbs iodine (I), non-radioactive iodine that is! Natural [non-radioactive] iodine is added to ordinary table salt to help give your thyroid gland the iodine it needs to function correctly.

During a nuclear accident or meltdown like those at Fukushima Daiichi an enormous amount of radioactive iodine is emitted for 90-days and then it is gone from the environment, unless there is a new meltdown. When radioactive Iodine (I) is being released during a nuclear accident or meltdown, and at that time only, it is important to prevent your thyroid from absorbing the radioactive iodine, so it is a good idea to take potassium iodide (KI) pills. These pills will saturate your thyroid with good non-radioactive iodine and prevent the radioactive iodine from being absorbed.

To be effective, the KI pills must be taken shortly after the beginning of an accident. That way the good, non-radioactive iodine gets to your thyroid before the radioactive variety arrives.

How long should I take KI? Shouldn’t I continue forever since radiation lasts for 250,000 years? Two words of caution:

• Radioactive iodine has a half-life of 8 days, so it completely decays away [dissipates] in 90 days or less. Taking KI pills for more than 90 days is a waste of money and is also potentially very dangerous to your health.
• KI pills can have negative health side effects in some people and should not be taken unless a severe nuclear accident is in progress near where you live. We considered using KI in Vermont after the Fukushima accident, but chose not to because the risks outweighed the potential benefits. See side effects.

Many countries stockpile potassium iodide pills near nuclear facilities or nuclear weapon target areas in order to protect public health and safety. In case there is a nuclear accident or nuclear war, the pills can quickly be distributed to protect peoples’ thyroid glands. Unfortunately, after the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi, even though KI was readily available nearby, Japanese government officials did not release most of it in time to help or at all due to conflicting orders by different branches of government.

Stockpiling KI pills in the US has been an issue with the NRC for decades. Former NRC attorney Peter Crane was a hero when he petitioned the NRC to take action. It is only suggested that nuclear facilities, states, or communities near by, stockpile KI in case of an accident or meltdown. More...

Finally, there is no protection against the hundreds of other radioactive isotopes released following an accident or meltdown. White protective suits worn by the workers at Fukushima prevent hot particles from touching the workers’ skin. The gamma rays from the radiation on the site pass right through the suits and irradiate the workers. Moreover, the radiation plume moving offsite knows no boundaries and will meander wherever the weather pushes the radioactive plume, thus impacting many people considered outside the radiation path, until they have been exposed. Unlike oil or chemical fires that smoke and may been seen for miles, radiation cannot be seen, so people do not know they are being exposed.

Lastly, some medical doctors are working on ways of helping people recover from some radiation exposures. For example, Dr. John Apsley in Seattle, Washington, has been working with cancer patients to help them recover from medical radiation. He has applied that methodology to the possibility of radiation exposure from the Fukushima Daiichi triple meltdown. Fairewinds Energy Education has listed his book on its website booklist: Fukushima Meltdown & Modern Radiation: Protecting Ourselves and Our Future Generations Dr. John Apsley, 2011. Dr. Apsley explains the health risks of nuclear power with emphasis on the implications of the Fukushima incident. He presents ways to protect and detoxify our bodies from the harmful effects of radiation.

Tokyo 2020: Q&A with Arnie Gundersen

FW facebook

By Fairewinds Administrator Samantha Donalds

After Saturday’s announcement that Tokyo had won the 2020 Summer Olympics bid, we thought it would be timely to post an old video on our Facebook page about radiation levels in Tokyo: The video, Tokyo Soil Samples Would Be Considered Nuclear Waste In The US, was first posted after Fairewinds’ February 2012 trip to Japan.  Since reposting this video on Facebook Monday morning in the wake of the Olympics announcement, the video has been seen by more than 10,000 people, shared by 200, and has sparked significant discussion on our Facebook page (including a few good “20-20 vision” jokes), along with some excellent questions. I sat down with Fairewinds Chief Engineer Arnie Gundersen to discuss some of the issues and questions raised during the past few days by our viewers and followers. Ultimately, it is clear to us that Saturday’s Olympic Committee announcement has officially changed the conversation about Fukushima Daiichi.

Q: The Fukushima Daiichi triple meltdown was in 2011, and your Tokyo soil samples were from 2012.  Do you think the Tokyo area is unsafe now, and do you think it will still be unsafe in 2020?

A: It’s crystal clear to me and to other scientists that the people in Tokyo and throughout Japan received high radiation doses during the months following the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011. The data from a full year later, as seen in our 2012 video, clearly shows that much of that radiation had fallen and remained in unanticipated locations throughout Tokyo. Over time the radiation has been carried off with rainfall directly into Tokyo Bay; and indeed radiation levels in Tokyo Bay continue to increase. Data from air filters in Japan indicates that additional radiation, well above background levels still remains in the air, and it is unclear what the situation will be in 7 years.

Q: Is this decision to host the 2020 Olympics in Japan a good thing for the Fukushima Daiichi cleanup and for Japan? So far the Japanese government has been downplaying the risks of Fukushima radiation and not taking cleanup very seriously. Do you think that the Japanese politicians will start taking the cleanup seriously now that Japan has an international event to host on the horizon?

A: I think hosting the Olympics in 2020 is an attempt by the Japanese to change the topic. I don’t think people around the world are going to care until 2020 approaches. There is a seven-year window for the Japanese government to work to make Tokyo a showcase for the entire world to view. I think the Japanese government wanted to host the Olympics to improve the morale of the people of Japan after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Unfortunately, it’s taking people’s attention off of the true cost of the accident, in terms of both money and public health. The radiation fallout in Tokyo and throughout Japan has been politicized by the Abe administration.Good Japanese scientists are simply afraid to measure what is in the environment as a result. Look at Fairewinds Demystifying Nuclear Power blog post by Art Keller. Keller details mismanagement of the cleanup, uncalibrated equipment that garners exceptionally low radiation readings, and a severe lack of training in radiation cleanup and monitoring for the Japanese personnel involved in the cleanup and radiation monitoring efforts.  What’s important is that we get good science to measure throughout Japan not just Tokyo, and good scientific inquiry should move forward without political influence.

Fairewinds Viewer Question: Although its impossible to tell where things will be seven years from now, what would Arnie’s advice be for anyone (athletes, press, builders, merchants, etc.) who has to make a commitment soon to participate in Tokyo 2020?

A: No one can say, because this is seven years in the future, that is simply too hard to predict. The environment will still be polluted in seven years, but it is impossible to currently determine by how much or whether the contamination would be enough to harm visitors who are only in Japan for two weeks. I will say that when I was in Tokyo in 2012, I was careful only to eat food from the southern islands and Australia. However, that was one year after the accident, not nine years. Good science during the next seven years is the key to making this determination.

Also, there is a huge difference between being in Tokyo for two weeks versus living there continuously.  Many people in Japan are being exposed to detrimental levels of radiation day in and day out for many years, so we should be much more concerned about the public health of the people living in Japan for extensive periods rather than the possible exposures for short-term visitors.

Q: Some people on our Facebook page said they didn’t think the 2020 Tokyo Olympics wouldn’t ultimately take place. As one commenter said, “Tokyo will be a ghost town by then.”  What do you think?

A: Fukushima Daiichi poses many problems and we have not heard the end of them. It’s not clear how future events will affect the rest of Japan.  The triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi is the largest industrial catastrophe in the history of the world, and the radiation releases are ongoing. Currently, no valid methodology is being applied to lessen these releases, nor is the proposed ‘ice wall’, which is more than two years out, a valid technology.

Fairewinds Viewer Question: Given the rate of radionuclide decay, what is risk of hot particles, rad-dust inhalation, etc. in 7 years? And how does the exertion of athletes in peak performance affect the likelihood of internal contamination from radionuclides?  

A: Cesium has a half-life of 30 years, which means it stays in the environment for 300 years. What’s more important is how much cesium the rain washes into Tokyo Bay, and we need good science to measure that.

Fairewinds Viewer Question: Is the air at Tokyo more dangerous than the air in London? Especially when one knows radioactive things can get re-airborne, such as radioactive pollen, black radioactive dust, etc?

A: Believe it or not, this is a question we are asked often; not necessarily the comparison between London and Tokyo, but the question of where it is safe to live. We answered that question on the FAQ page of our website, and we are reposting our answer to that here:

We cannot legally give specific advice on where it is safe to live or travel.  Every region has its own unique health and safety problems, nuclear and otherwise, and it is not within our area of expertise to evaluate specific geographic risks.  For more information on this topic, you can watch our 2011 interview with Dr. Steve Wing for a discussion on geographical risks and the problem of relocating. On our Fairewinds book list, we recommend “The Enemy Within: The High Cost of Living Near Nuclear Reactors” by Jay Gould, and “Living Downstream: A Scientist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment” by Sandra Steingraber.

Related Material

Fairewinds Video: Tokyo Soil Samples would be Nuclear Waste in the US 

Libbe HaLevy interview with Arnie Gundersen: Olympic Insanity + If Gundersen were in Charge at Fukushima

Fairewinds FAQS: We answer questions about health concerns, radiation exposure, radiation testing, and more.

Fairewinds Video: TEPCO Believes Mission Accomplished & Regulators Allow Radioactive Dumping in Tokyo Bay

Demystifying Nuclear Power Blog Post by Art Keller: Cleanup From Fukushima Daiichi: Technological Disaster Or Crisis In Governance?

Japanese Street Art exhibit at the Japanese Foreign Correspondents Club addresses Fukushima Daiichi, government cover-up, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Fairewinds releases leaked Southern California Edison Email

Fairewinds Associates was sent a leaked Southern California Edison email informing San Onofre employees it is against company policy to leak documents to Fairewinds.

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Subject: Fw: CLARIFICATION REGARDING RECENT NEWS COVERAGE OF OUR PLANT STATUS Subject: CLARIFICATION REGARDING RECENT NEWS COVERAGE OF OUR PLANT STATUS To: All SONGS Employees and Contractors

Yesterday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) posted additional data on its website regarding our steam generator tubes for Units 2 and 3. This has generated an additional news cycle regarding our plant's status. Specifically, the data reflects the type and amount of tube wear we have found on the steam generator tubes. The request for more information about the tube wear came from the public at our June 18 Augmented Inspection Team exit meeting with the NRC. The data includes various types of wear, and shows that most of the wear was less than 20 percent, which is far below the required plugging limit of 35 percent, and the majority of the wear is related to support structures.

While this is the first time this data has been released to the general public, it is the exact same data we have been providing to the NRC and our industry experts all along as we have conducted our inspections, analyses and our root cause evaluations. It provides the basis for our conservative decision-making and our approach moving forward for the repair plans.

Also yesterday, Friends of the Earth (FOE) released another study by Fairewinds Associates regarding issues with our steam generator tubes as compared to the industry. It is disheartening to see they are using "a leaked Southern California Edison document" as part of their source data, which is our first root cause evaluation for the Unit 3 steam generators. It is unfortunate, as this document is a critical piece of our return-to-service plans that are still being evaluated and challenged. As a reminder, it is against our company policy to release company documents to the media or other third-party stakeholders.

The station is in the middle of performing some additional inspections in the Unit 2 and 3 steam generators, and we will be conducting some equipment tests in Unit 2 soon. Each of us has an important role to play every day as nuclear professionals and must maintain our focus on our work. My congratulations to the station for a successful auxiliary boiler test and for the excellent work in maneuvering Unit 2 down through mid-loop. Safety always will be the first guiding principle behind all the work we do. With this in mind, we will always be successful. I'm proud to be a part of this team.

Pete

Japanese Legislative Task Force Calls Fukushima Daiichi Triple Meltdown A Man-made Disaster

Head investigator Kiyoshi Kurokawa speaks to politicians

The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, the first independent investigation commission in the 66 years of Japan’s constitutional government, released a 630-page report July 5, 2012. This special report, that was delivered to the Japanese Diet (Legislative body), analyzes the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi and is highly critical of Japan’s governmental organizations and Tokyo Electric in the events that led up to the catastrophe. The report said,

“[the] accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant cannot be regarded as a natural disaster. It was a profoundly manmade disaster – that could and should have been foreseen and prevented. And its effects could have been mitigated by a more effective human response.”

If you are a viewer of the Fairewinds’ website, this admission by Japan’s Diet should come as no surprise to you. In October 2011, Fairewinds released a video entitled Nuclear Oversight Lacking Worldwide (See Video Below). Later in February 2012, under contract with Greenpeace, Fairewinds wrote The Echo Chamber: Regulatory Capture and the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster.

Nuclear Oversight Lacking Worldwide from Fairewinds Energy Education on Vimeo.

Fairewinds applauds the Independent Investigation Commission for their honesty is assessing the real root cause of the Fukushima Daiichi catastrophe. This catastrophic triple meltdown can no longer be called an accident because it was manmade and completely preventable. Fairewinds notes that these same manmade nuclear safety issues and engineering flaws are worldwide in the nuclear power industry, and are not limited to nuclear power generation in Japan.