Re: Potassium Iodide Comments - Need some help

[Shane Connor <webmaster@ki4u.com>]

Jim,

My reading of the literature provides support for the contention that 

Chernobyl

showed that there is indeed evidence demonstrating "...the relationship 

between

inhaled or ingested radioiodines and thyroid cancer."



Specifically, from the 1999 World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for

Iodine Prophylaxis following Nuclear Accidents in regards to thyroid cancer in

children, they state both...



"Evidence of a marked excess of thyroid cancer in children exposed to the

fallout from the Chernobyl accident has been established (1– 10). In the

most affected area in Belarus, the yearly incidence has risen close to

100 per million children, which is more than 100-fold compared to the

situation before the accident. It is now generally accepted that this excess

has resulted from exposure to the radioactive iodine released in the accident."



...and...



"In general, the potential benefit of iodine prophylaxis will be greater in 

the young,

firstly because the small size of the thyroid means that a higher radiation 

dose is

accumulated per unit intake of radioactive iodine. Secondly, the thyroid of 

the fetus,

neonate and young infant has a higher yearly thyroid cancer risk per unit dose

than the thyroid of an adult and, thirdly, the young will have a longer 

time span for

the expression of the increased cancer risk."



Also, that...



"The Chernobyl accident has thus demonstrated that significant doses from

radioactive iodine can occur hundreds of kilometres from the site, beyond

emergency planning zones."



...and therefore...



"...that stockpiling (KI or KIO3) is warranted, when feasible, over much 

wider areas

than normally encompassed by emergency planning zones, and that the 

opportunity

for voluntary purchase be part of national plans."



This WHO document includes references, reviewing professionals and 

organizations,

for all of the above and much more, that appears very comprehensive to this 

layman.



The pdf version of this complete WHO document is at...

http://www.who.int/environmental_information/Information_resources/documents/Iodine/guide.pdf 





An html version I put up for easier viewing by some is also here...

http://www.ki4u.com/WHO/guide_contents.htm



Best Regards,

Shane Connor, author of...

Potassium Iodide Anti-Radiation Pill FAQ

www.ki4u.com



At 10:10 PM 4/29/01 -0500, you wrote:

>Colleagues

>

>I'm trying to put the finishing touches on my comments to FDA regarding 

>their new draft guidance document on the use of potassium iodide as a 

>thyroid blocking agentin the event of a radiological emergency. For those 

>of you who were putting off commenting on this little gem, the comment 

>period expires at midnight on Monday, April 30.I

>

>I have repeatedly, over the past few years, called various federal 

>agencies to task when they try to use "data" from Chernobyl to "prove" the 

>relationship between inhaled or ingested radioiodines and thyroid cancer. 

>I sat through a presentation at the National Radiological Emergency 

>Preparedness (REP) Conference in Nashville, TN a couple of weeks ago, in 

>which the FDA representative repeatedly referred to the "irrefutable" 

>nature of the Chernobyl data. The draft guidance document includes the 

>following statement ... "The direct relationship between exposure to 

>inhaled or ingested radioiodines and thyroid cancer risk, if ever in 

>doubt, is firmly established in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl 

>accident. For the reasons discussed above, the Chernobyl data provide the 

>most reliable information available to date on the relationship between 

>internal thyroid radioactive dose and cancer risk. They suggest that the 

>risk of thyroid cancer is inversely related to age, and that, especially 

>in young children, it may accrue at very low levels of radioiodine exposure."

>

>Can anybody cite some hard, factual data that I can use in an attempt to 

>refute this statement?

>

>Thanks in advance for your help!

>

>Jim Hardeman

><mailto:Jim_Hardeman@mail.dnr.state.ga.us>Jim_Hardeman@mail.dnr.state.ga.us

>



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