Starting in October, anyone living within a 10-kilometre radius of the Pickering Nuclear Plant will receive a pack of potassium iodide (KI) pills that help prevent thyroid cancer caused by exposure to radioactivity.
“It fills up your thyroid with iodine and therefore, if you ever get exposed to radioactive iodine, it can’t get into your thyroid and it prevents thyroid cancer,” said Ken Gorman, Durham region’s director of environmental health.
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Anti-radiation pills to be given to neighbours of Ontario nuclear plants
More than 200,000 homes and businesses near the plant will receive kits containing the pills and a brochure explaining how to administer the treatment. Each package contains enough pills for one family.
Surge in iodide pill orders after false alarm at Pickering nuclear power plant
By Allison Jones The Canadian Press
Posted January 14, 2020 10:14 am
Updated January 14, 2020 3:48 pm
WATCH: People that live, work or study close to a nuclear power stations are often asked to take potassium iodide pills in the event that radiation is accidentally released. So how do they work? – Jan 13, 2020
TORONTO – Ontarians placed more than 32,000 orders for iodide pills in the two days following a false alarm about an incident at Pickering Nuclear Generating Station.
There are normally between 100 and 200 orders per month, according to Ontario Power Generation.
But after an alert warning of an unspecified problem at the nuclear facility was sent in error Sunday morning, there were 32,388 orders placed over that day and Monday.
In Ontario, potassium iodide (KI) pills are distributed to residents within 10 kilometres of a nuclear facility; others living within a 50-kilometre radius of one can order them through a website called preparetobesafe.ca. In New Brunswick – the only other province with an operating nuclear power plant – the distribution radius is 20 kilometres.
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The pills help protect the thyroid gland and reduce the risk of cancer if radioactive iodine is released into the air in the unlikely event of a nuclear emergency, according to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. They saturate the thyroid gland with non-radioactive iodine and prevent radioactive iodine from being absorbed.
“The thyroid gland will absorb iodine that is in a person’s bloodstream; it cannot tell the difference between radioactive iodine and non-radioactive (stable) iodine,” the CNSC says.
“The absorption of radioactive iodine can be prevented by taking KI before or soon after its release into the air…. Over time, the radioactive iodine will undergo radioactive decay and be harmlessly excreted in urine.”
The risk of side effects is “extremely low,” according to the preparetobesafe website, which is operated by Durham Region, the City of Toronto and OPG. Rare and mild side effects include gastrointestinal issues or hypersensitivity reactions, and people with thyroid disorders are at a greater risk of side effects.