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text version :10/02: AOL News: FDA OKs Antidote for 'Dirty Bomb'Attack
I really don't know why the AOL link didn't work, I forwarded it as a
function of their service. I hope this cut and paste works a little better if you
are having trouble.
Dave Lawrence
Montclair NJ
FDA OKs Antidote for 'Dirty Bomb' Attack
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - A German company won U.S. approval Thursday of a ``dirty
bomb'' attack antidote - a compound long used as the artist's pigment Prussian
blue.
The Food and Drug Administration had called in January for drug companies to
seek permission to manufacture pill forms of Prussian blue, considered for
decades a treatment for exposure to certain forms of radioactive cesium and
thallium. But until now, national stockpiles of Prussian blue pills have been
limited, and bought from overseas.
The FDA's action Thursday clears a German company to sell its version here,
with the brand name Radiogardase, potentially making it easier to stockpile
more in case of a terrorist attack.
Radioactive cesium and thallium are commonly used, at low doses, in medical
treatment and diagnosis. But high levels can be deadly, and they are among the
materials that officials worry might be used in a ``dirty bomb'' - a device
that isn't nuclear but that uses conventional explosives to disperse radioactive
material.
The FDA evaluated reports of Prussian blue's use after some accidental
radioactive exposures. The mineral compound bound to the radioactive chemicals in
the gut to speed the body's elimination of them.
Side effects include constipation and upset stomach.
Radiogardase is made by HEYL Chemisch-pharmazeutische Fabrik GmbH & Co. of
Berlin.
10/02/03 23:08 EDT
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