Why did North Carolina decide to distribute potassium iodide pills?
The decision to request KI from the NRC is the result of a review of the issue by a committee of public health, emergency management and radiation protection officials. The committee reviewed information about the effectiveness of KI in preventing thyroid cancer resulting from a release of radioactive iodine. Research after the Chernobyl nuclear accident showed that children in the affected area who received KI after the radioactive release did not develop thyroid cancer, while those who did not receive KI had a high rate of thyroid cancer. The committee determined that it would be prudent to distribute KI to people in the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ). Should evacuation be delayed following a nuclear accident or other incident involving the release of radioactive iodine, KI would be readily available to individuals at greatest risk of exposure to radioactive iodine.
