Re: KI Inquiry

[Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 20:19 17.10.1996 -0500, you wrote:
>Mike,
>
>After Chernobyl KI was widely distributed in eastern Europe with very few
>reactions and no deaths that I am aware of.  In the US we routinely use
>iodized salt and KI would provide little additional protection so the
>benefit is questionable.  Likewise, Japan has a high iodine dietary intake,
>but I heard that Eastern European diets were iodine deficient, and it did
>make a big difference there... perhaps someone who was at the scene can
>verify this.
>
>Doug Turner <turners@earthlink.net>
>
===========================================================================

Doug,

To my knowledge only in Poland a significant number of people took iodine
tablets or solutions after the Chernobyl accident. I have no information
about reactions, which does not necessarily mean, that there were none. As
to the iodine concentrations in air after the Chernobyl accident in Poland
the use of iodine was sure not justified. The iodine concentration of
iodized salt and diet is much too low to block the thyroid in the case of a
severe accident. I do not know the concentration of iodine in salt, but in
the case of an accident iodine has to be taken up for blocking in the order
of 50 mg  a t   o n c e ! You are right that the diet for instance in the
Ukraine and Bjelorussia is low in iodine. This led to additional problems,
because not even a part of the uptake was blocked.

In Austria some years ago the distribution of iodine tablets to the public
was started. I do not know the amount of iodine per tablet by heart, but old
people (exceeding 40 or 45 ....) are not supposed to take tablets in case of
iodine contamination. The tablets were also distributed in schools and the
parents had to sign a form, where they had also to state, whether the child
was known to suffer oversensitivity to iodine and had to formally agree that
children would receive the tablets in case of an emergency - but only after
the authorities would recommend it. 

Oversensitivity to iodine is well known and it is also well known, that it
might lead to death - this knowledge has not been found in the aftermath of
Chernobyl, but existed a long time ago already. 

Franz
Schoenhofer
Habichergasse 31/7
A-1160 WIEN
AUSTRIA/EUROPE
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