Asked about the stock of iodine available in France by our colleagues of the Parisian (March 21 edition), Olivier Veran replied that it is “classified data” because “related to conflict issues”, but “I can tell you face to face that we have enough iodine to cover all the needs of the population if it were necessary”assured the Minister of Health.
With the war in Ukraine, the College of Pharmacists found a significant increase in requests for iodine tablets (Or potassium iodide) in pharmacies. Remember that iodine has the ability to “saturate” the thyroid gland, so as to prevent the fixation of radioactive iodine and therefore avoid the appearance of cancers of the thyroid..
But trying to get it is impossible. Moreover, iodine tablets are only useful in accidental situations on the instructions of the authorities. They don’t have no interest in being swallowed in preventionas recently recalled the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety. Self-medication could also be dangerous and cause possible thyroid and cardiac side effects.
A sufficient stock of iodine?
But the question that can legitimately be asked is whether the stocks are sufficient? And precisely, following Olivier’s interview Veran, the environmentalist François-Michel Lambert underlined on Twitter lack of transparency from the Minister of Health. He explains that he had in the past (in April 2020) questioned the Ministry of Health on French stocks of stable iodine tablets, used in the context of a nuclear accident and France’s supply policy in the event emergency.
The response from the Ministry of Health issued on November 23 was as follows:
“Strategic stocks (for distribution at any point in the territory, i.e. 60 million people) aim to have 130 million potassium iodide tablets: as of June 29, 2020, the stock of stable iodine tablets s ‘was about 95.7 million tablets.’
In short, if the French stock is still the same today, 34.3 million pellets would run out in the event of a nuclear incident.
Since 1997, the State, in conjunction with the Nuclear Safety Authority and the power plant operators, has organized regular distributions of iodine tablets to the populations residing around nuclear installations. For the others, in the event of a large-scale nuclear accident, stocks would be quickly dispatched on the territory. THE Criirad (Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity) regularly communicate the subject. In addition to the question of stocks, it is also the conditions of distribution and the associated logistics that could prove to be complicated.
Sources:
- Interview with Olivier Véran, Le Parisien, March 21, 2022.
- Demand for iodine tablets: what responses can be provided to the population?, National Order of Pharmacists, March 5, 2022.
- Taking stable iodine: Putting an end to received ideas, IRSN.
- File “stable iodine”, essential protection in the event of a nuclear accident but not a miracle solution, CRIIAD
Read also:
- Why is France sending iodine to Ukraine?
- Nuclear power plants: many residents have not removed their iodine tablets
