potassium iodide

["J. J. Rozental" <josrozen@netmedia.net.il>]

Radsafers, 

This release seems to be important to those studying this subjected.
To read the complete text use:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NUREGS/SR1633/sr1633.html#_1_28

J. J. Rozental
josrozen@netmedia.net.il
Israel
=================================================
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
                     Office of Public Affairs
                       Washington, DC 20555
              Phone 301-415-8200   Fax 301-415-2234
                       Internet:opa@nrc.gov
                                 
No. 98-126
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                                                            
                             (Friday, July 24, 1998)
                                 

        NRC REQUESTS COMMENTS ON DRAFT DOCUMENT ASSESSING
          USE OF POTASSIUM IODIDE DURING A SEVERE REACTOR ACCIDENT


     The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment on a draft NRC
report which eventually will be used to produce an information brochure
about the
possible emergency use of potassium iodide by residents in the vicinity of a
nuclear power plant.

     The report is entitled  "Assessment of the Use of Potassium Iodide as a
Public
Protective Action During a Severe Reactor Accident" (NUREG-1633).   Potassium
iodide is a substance that can be used,  if taken in time after a severe
reactor accident,  to block the thyroid gland's absorption of radioactive
iodine and reduce the risk of thyroid cancer and other diseases.   

     This document examines the effectiveness of using potassium iodide for that
purpose in several different accident scenarios. It also reviews the
experience of other countries in using the drug, including its distribution
in Belarus and Poland in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl accident.  

     Comments on the report are due by September 15.  They should be
submitted to
Aby Mohseni, Division of Incident Response, Office for Analysis and
Evaluation of
Operational Data, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC,
20333-0001, e-mail asm@nrc.gov, telephone 301-415-6409.  The report will be
published in final form after comments have been evaluated.  Some time
thereafter, the NRC staff will develop a brochure based on the report to
assist State and local emergency planners in reaching an informed decision
on whether to use potassium iodide in the event of a nuclear accident.

     The Commission directed publication of the draft report and development
of the
brochure when it recently decided to  amend its emergency planning
regulations to
include the use of potassium iodide as a supplement to evacuation and
sheltering of
the public during severe nuclear power plant emergencies. 

     Copies of draft NUREG-1633 may be obtained by writing to the Reproduction
and Distribution Section, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop OP-137, Washington, DC 20555.  The document
is also available electronically on NRC's home page on the internet, at
http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/NUREGS/indexnum.html.

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