Is it worth stocking up on iodine tablets: in Poltava Oblast there is a stir in pharmacies

After the news of a possible terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Poltava, there has been a rush to purchase potassium iodide. However, experts emphasize that none of the scenarios at the ZNPP require the use of iodine for preventive purposes.

As of today, there is no reason to take iodine tablets or solutions, as stated by the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety. Experts point out that the unwarranted consumption of potassium iodide tablets poses health risks. Ingesting iodine tincture, Betadine, or Lugol's solution can cause serious mucous membrane burns and poisoning.

Iodine prophylaxis is the process of saturating the thyroid gland with stable iodine to prevent the absorption of radioactive iodine isotopes and mitigate radiation exposure. Radioactive iodine is only produced when the nuclear power plant is operational, generating electricity. The last operating unit of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was shut down in September 2022. This means that the ZAEZ units have been inoperative for at least 9 months and have not been producing electricity during this time.

Iodine-131 is the isotope of iodine with the longest half-life, approximately 8 days. Other radioactive iodine isotopes have even shorter half-lives. This means that since the shutdown of the ZNPP reactors, at least 34 half-life periods of iodine isotopes have passed. Consequently, the activity of this isotope of iodine in the last shut-down reactor at the ZNPP has decreased by billions of times compared to September 2022.

Therefore, iodine prophylaxis makes sense only when there is a real threat of radioactive iodine entering the body. In this case, iodine does not exist at the ZNPP, so iodine prophylaxis is unnecessary.

Taking potassium iodide in these conditions is not only futile but also harmful.

The decision to take iodine is made by local executive authorities based on radiation forecasts and information provided by the operating organization of the nuclear power plant, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

As a reminder, President Zelensky recently reported a threat of a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.