Comment to CNN regarding KI (confessions of a dual citizen)

[Erin Niven <nivenes2@yahoo.ca>]

Dear Radsafers,



CNN Headline News is currently airing this statement:



POTASSIUM IODIDE FIGHTS THYROID CANCER – A COMMON

REACTION TO RADIATION EXPOSURE



This misinformation must have struck a raw nerve with

me, because my reaction was strong enough to submit a

comment immediately to the CNN web site (I consider

that the American in me).  However, I now think my

letter may have been too ‘nice’ (and that must be the

Canadian in me).  



I rarely compose letters to the media, so I am posting

my letter below for your viewing pleasure.  For those

of you more versed in the matter or more experienced

in addressing the media, you may wish to write to CNN

yourselves at http://www.cnn.com/feedback/.



Sincerely,

Erin Niven



P.S. – just after sending my comments to CNN, an

advertisement for ‘Atomic Twister’ aired.  I changed

the channel.









*******************************************************

I find myself appalled, yet again, by the

misinformation concerning radiation that you present

to the public.  You are currently airing the following

text on your program, CNN Headline News:



POTASSIUM IODIDE FIGHTS THYROID CANCER – A COMMON

REACTION TO RADIATION EXPOSURE



If you had researched the topic appropriately, you

would find that this statement is blatantly wrong. 

Potassium iodide does not ‘fight’ thyroid cancer, nor

is it a ‘common reaction’ to radiation exposure.  As

you will most likely be posting information about

radiation in the weeks and months to come, I kindly

suggest you start your search with the U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission web site at http://www.nrc.gov/

for future information concerning radiation safety.



Having done so myself, I quote the following

information for your reference

(http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/regulatory/emer-resp/emer-prep/potassium-iodide.html):



“Potassium iodide, if taken within the appropriate

time and at the appropriate dosage, blocks the thyroid

gland's uptake of radioactive iodine and thus reduces

the risk of thyroid cancers and other diseases that

might otherwise be caused by thyroid uptake of

radioactive iodine that could be dispersed in a severe

reactor accident.”



Your web site claims you are “among the world's

leaders in online news and information delivery” and

that you rely on a “global newsgathering team of

almost 4,000 news professionals.”  I consider your

careless posting of this misinformation a form of

negligence and a great disservice to the public.  If

you are attempting to be a media leader, I encourage

you to include amongst your team of professionals a

Health Physicist or similar radiation safety expert.





Sincerely,

Erin Niven, M.Sc. Health and Radiation Physics

Ph.D. Candidate, Medical Physics













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