Potassium Iodide and Chernobyl

[Emil <kerremba@pilot.msu.edu>]

Dear collegues,
 Here is a little input in the discussion..
 During the 1986 accident it was a luck of the personal initiative and
 responsibility to make THAT decision to give KI right when accident has
 occured. KI was avalable but the decision to give it to the general
 population was made about three-four days after the accident when
 officials realized that it will be impossible to cover up the
results    of the catastrophy.
 The "officials" knew graditude of the disaster ealier and provided 
 their families with KI on time......Their is a lot of pain about KI
in   families whose children were in Chernobyl area in that time and did
not  get KI  on time. Obviously children's thyroid more vital to
RadioIodine  than adult's. I haven't met in there any adult person who
had any  thyroid abnormalities as a result of fallout but I am not MD
either. 
 It is hard to belive that it had happend 12 years ago.
 So KI  wasn't a technical or a financial problem rather it was        
a  a political and a cultural problem.
 
 "I was lucky", I was in college in that time and did not catch
 RadioIodine just Caesium and other staff from Mendeleev/Periodic
table   which was still around from the fallout, after two years.
 By the way persons who actually worked IN Chernobyl Zone, "liquidator",
 refer to Chernobyl accident as THE WAR  and time in the Chernobyl Zone
 has two dimensions before and after the war...
 
 I guess, by now everybody already has left for Minneapolice. I will
 see you guys in there, I am leaving on Sunday night after the
 football/soccer final!!
 best regards.
 Emil.