Monkey pox? The number of cases of the disease worldwide is increasing, the first deaths have been recorded. The disease has also spread beyond gay communities, affecting even children. Other countries have already started vaccinating people at risk,[1][2] thereby slowing down the epidemic; we are still sitting and quietly waiting to get”donation“from the European Commission.[3] What is the Minister of Health talking about? About iodine tablets…

Corona virus? Now about 25 people die every day on a “gentle” wave. During the entire epidemic, we organized a kind of national harakiri-party, stupidly refusing to vaccinate. What does the Minister of Health do? “Hope“[4] (!) to make the next vaccination campaign a success, and until then send us to the family doctor for our… iodine tablets!

Does Minister Rafila say anything about the pollution caused by burning waste? About lack of blood for transfusion? About hospital corruption?

no His main concern, his main project as a minister, seems to be the distribution of potassium iodide. I wonder why?

But let’s first see what is there with radioactive iodine and already known iodide tablets. I will briefly outline the main information, and in more detail you can familiarize yourself with the materials indicated at the end of the article. Ago:

1. There are several types of iodine atoms. Ordinary iodine, the one we find in iodized salt, in betadine, or in mr. pills. Rafila is called Iodine 127, with an abbreviation ¹²⁷I. Ordinary iodine is stable, that is, it does not disappear over time. If you put 10 g ¹²⁷And in a small bottle (and you keep it closed…), all 10 g will last you 30 or more than 3000 years.
2. There are other types of iodine atoms, some lighter and some heavier ¹²⁷I. All of this is radioactive. From a chemical point of view, they behave in the same way as regular iodine, but they are unstable over time and turn into another element very quickly. For example, if you put 10 gr ¹³¹And in a small bottle, after 8 days you will have only 5 g of iodine, the rest turns into xenon (non-radioactive). After another 8 days, the amount will be halved again, so you only have 2.5 g of iodine left, and so on until the original amount is gone. Pretty quickly, instead of iodine, you will have only xenon. This duration is called the half-life, and it varies from one type of atom to another.
3. Iodine 131 is produced in large quantities in nuclear reactors, but decays quickly. In the event of a nuclear accident within a few weeks, ¹³¹I is one of the main pollutants, but with a short half-life, it becomes insignificant after 3-4 months.
4. The thyroid gland needs iodine to function normally and takes this element from the body, regardless of the version (normal/stable or radioactive). The concentration of iodine in the thyroid gland is much higher than in other parts of the body.
5. If ¹³¹It accumulates in the thyroid gland, irradiates it and there is a risk of developing thyroid cancer, especially in children. Thyroid cancer is treatable, and in many cases the cure is complete.[5] After the accident at the Chernobyl NPP, there was a significant increase in cases of thyroid cancer in children in the areas adjacent to the NPP, but almost all were treatable, and there were very few deaths. In the event of an accident at Fukushima, radiation exposure was negligible.[6]
6. ¹³¹Those released as a result of a nuclear accident can enter the body in two ways: airborne and digestive. In the first case, it is about inhaling air contaminated with iodine vapors, in the second – about eating contaminated food. The relative importance of these two pathways varies depending on the distance from the accident site: in a radius of about 20 km around the affected reactor, the absorption of radioactive iodine is more likely to be through the air, and at a greater distance, the consumption of food. to be the most important pollutant.
7. When I say “contaminated food” I mean especially fresh milk obtained from animals that grazed on contaminated pastures. why Animals graze on a relatively large area, and iodine is concentrated in milk.[7] Other fresh foods can also be contaminated, but the main danger is milk.
8. The main measure of protection for those who are at a distance of more than 20 km from the accident site is do not eat food from the contaminated area! Especially fresh milk… (if the milk is stored – pasteurized UHT or made from cheese – for at least four months, it can become good for consumption. Why? The radioactive iodine disappears, and with it the risk of radiation is greatly reduced.. (Of course, there may be other long-lived contaminants, so laboratory tests will be needed to verify the safety of dairy products, but that’s another story.) Cases of thyroid cancer after Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union were caused by administrative disorganization that allowed the consumption of fresh milk from animals that grazed on contaminated territory.
9. Prophylactic administration of iodine, usually in the form of potassium iodide tablets, is used to saturate the thyroid gland with normal iodine so that it no longer captures radioactive iodine entering the body. This is a standard measure, but one that applies only when there is significant risk pollution of ¹³¹I. Although potassium iodide is usually harmless, serious side effects can still occur in newborns or people with certain metabolic problems. The risks increase when the population becomes hysterical and does not receive adequate information…
10. It happens that iodine tablets are given to people prematurely, but exclusively for those who are in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear plant! In the United States, iodine tablets are distributed as a preventive measure only for those within 16 km (10 mi) of the reactor. In fact, this measure meets the recommendations of the American Thyroid Association (abbreviated ATA in English). ATA also recommends stockpiling potassium iodide in the next loop, particularly in the area between 10 and 50 miles (16-80 km), the stockpiles are located in the management of the government, not the population![8] A separate case is Switzerland, where about 60% of the population receives preventive pills, but the criterion is the same: distance from the power plant. Switzerland is a small country that has 5 nuclear power plants and most people live near one. The distance threshold was 20 km, in 2015 it was increased to 50 km.[9] Again, Switzerland is a special case, it has a well-educated, well-informed and well-organized population and a long history of civil defense. Let me remind you that more than 100,000 Swiss people keep their army submachine gun at home, and until 2007 they also had cartridges for it?[10]

I am convinced of this doctor Rafila knows the above very well. And then, why does he insist? Minister Rafila about the ridiculous measures to distribute potassium iodide tablets to almost everyone?

Several questions arise:

1. The availability of some stocks of potassium iodide tablets is a mandatory measure for Romania; not because of the situation in Ukraine and because we have a nuclear power plant in Cernavoda (50 km from Constanta and 150 km from Bucharest) and another, Bulgarian, in Kozludua (60 km from Craiova and 200 km from Bucharest). The Ukrainian plant from Zaporizhia is much further away, more than 500 km from Iasi, 600 km from Constanta, 750 km from Bucharest and almost 840 km from Cluj. Were there no reserves of potassium iodide? in state reserves, military warehouses or elsewhere? If not, why? If so, why is this order made late to Antibiotice Iași? Read the whole article and comment on Contributors.ro