NBC Weapons: January 21, 2002

Archives

The Federal government has ordered the production and storage of 1.6 million doses of potassium iodide. The human thyroid gland collects iodine from food; the body needs trace elements of it. But in the event of nuclear fallout (or a "dirty bomb"), radioactive iodine in the air would be absorbed by the thyroid and (trapped inside the body) continue to cause radiation poisoning for weeks. By giving people (especially children) doses of potassium iodide, the thyroid will be flooded with iodine and not try to absorb any more, allowing the radioactive version to pass through with minimal harm.--Stephen V Cole

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close