Illinois Will Buy Pills In Case Of Nuclear Accident

June 26, 2002
BY LISA EISENHAUER, Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Illinois announced Wednesday that it would buy a stockpile of 350,000 thyroid-protecting potassium iodide pills.

In a nuclear accident, potassium iodide blocks the gland's adsorption of cancer-causing radioactive iodine. The state's Department of Nuclear Safety plans to hand out two, one-day doses to the estimated 180,000 people in the state who live within 10 miles of its six nuclear plants.

"The priority under our state and local emergency response plans continues to focus on the
prompt evacuation of the public," agency Director Thomas Ortciger said. "However, we recognize
that some people living near the nuclear plants may want KI pills for peace of mind."

KI is the chemical name for potassium iodide.

On Wednesday, the Post-Dispatch reported that Illinois and Missouri had yet to take up an offer of free pills from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Patti Thompson, spokeswoman for the state agency, said the state didn't want to "jump through all the hoops" required by the federal commission's offer. That would include incorporating the handout of the pills into its overall response plan and getting that plan approved by the NRC, she said.

Thompson said the $70,000 cost of the pills will come from money that the state collects from its nuclear plants for oversight.

The pills won't be made available to any residents in the St. Louis area because the closest nuclear plant, in Clinton, is about 125 miles away.

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