RE: Potassium Iodide

["Dukelow, James S Jr" <jim.dukelow@PNL.GOV>]

I haven't been paying much attention to the KI thread on Radsafe, but I

would like to comment that I consider it scientific and regulatory

malpractice on the part of NRC, CDC, and HPS to not tell the public about

topical application of iodine-bearing antiseptics as an alternative method

of blocking the thyroid.  Experiments conducted by Kenneth Miller and his

colleagues at Penn State establish pretty convincingly that a few square

inches of antiseptic would load the thyroid with stable iodine.



Consider the advantages:



1)  wide availability, as close as the nearest drugstore or supermarket



2)  So you laid in a stock of KI pills.  The alarm goes up.  You're not at

home or you are at home and can't remember where you put those pills.  Do

you remember where you keep the antiseptic?  You are 50 miles from home.

What do you do now?



3)  Potassium is one of the more important cations in the body and the

consequences of messing with the bodies potassium levels can be pretty

severe.  No such problem with tincture of iodine or povodone.



Best regards.



Jim Dukelow

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Richland, WA

jim.dukelow@pnl.gov



These comments are mine and have not been reviewed and/or approved by my

management or by the U.S. Department of Energy.

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