Seven iodine storage facilities provide emergency care

Seven iodine bearings ensure supply in an emergency

21.03.2011

Many people are afraid that in the case of a nuclear accident in Germany not enough iodine medicines will be available. Since the dramatic events in Japan in many pharmacies in Germany iodine-supplementing funds are almost sold out. Should Germans take precautionary iodine supplements or are there enough medicines available in the event of a reactor accident??

Iodine tablets are sufficiently available
Should a reactor accident actually occur in Germany, enough high-dose iodine tablets are available to the population. The Federal Office for the Environment and Radiation Protection refers to this in another press release. In addition, the drugs that are commercially available in pharmacies are not designed for prophylactic use to protect against radioactive iodine-131. The actual iodine medicines are high-dose, with means from the pharmacy consumers would have to take the hundred-fold amount at once, in order to achieve a preventive protective effect. Accordingly, the supplements from the pharmacy in this regard are ineffective.

Central warehouses control emergency care
There are a total of seven central stores for iodine tablets in Germany. Three of these federal warehouses are located in Bavaria. For example, a total of 9 million iodine tablets are stored in the Lower Bavarian camp Roding. Should it actually come to a serious reactor accident in Germany, the emergency warehouses will be controlled by the central warehouses.

Iodine does not protect against radiation sickness
Many people believe iodine protects against radioactive radiation. For this the general practitioner med. Frank Steller opposite „Heilpraxisnet“: „High-dose iodine tablets only protect against the radioactive iodine-131 as a preventative measure. It prevents the storage of particles in the thyroid gland.“ Contamination can only be prevented if the remedy was taken in advance, the physician added. From a current intake „I advise urgently, it threatens serious health risks“. Iodine does not protect against all other radiation diseases. The World Health Organization currently does not expect any real danger for the rest of the world. However, the situation could be critical for the Pacific region and for the eastern part of Russia. Due to the great distance to Japan, there is currently no danger for people in Europe or Germany, according to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection.

Jod deposits are a relic from bygone times
The iodine storage facility in Roding is located under a school in an underground complex. In this complex is also an emergency clinic for emergencies, if the medical care through regular hospitals is no longer guaranteed. The camps are a relic of the Cold War, when East and West were still irreconcilable. At that time, the federal government put the centers to be equipped in a military-initiated nuclear war.

The central warehouses have a relative humidity of 60 percent. The optimal storage of the tablets is ensured by a room temperature of 10 to 16 degrees Celsius. The administration and distribution is the responsibility of the German Red Cross (DRK). The employees are responsible for the adequate storage and control of the stocks. If an emergency occurs, the distribution is controlled by the THW technical aid organization, the Red Cross and authorities. An employee of the central warehouse told the Bavarian radio station: "There is a precise distribution mode of how many tablets should be delivered in the individual regions in the case of individual incidents in the nuclear power plants.“ Various organizations are then tasked with the distribution. An independent storage of iodine is therefore not necessary. (Sb)

Also read:
How dangerous is radioactive radiation?
Iodine tablets in Germany inappropriate
Health: long-term consequences of radioactive radiation
What meltdown or super-GAU mean?
Radioactive Radiation: Health Effects

Picture: Birgit H.