The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.
Some people who live or work near the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Harford County could be eligible to receive free potassium iodide tablets. 138984-26-6
The Harford County Health Department on Tuesday announced the free tablets will be made available at a community event to people who live or work within 10 miles of the power station. The event is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 4 at North Harford High School. Both adult and child doses will be made available.
The tablets are distributed to people as part of preparation for a potential emergency event involving the power station.
"Community KI Distribution is an initiative to supplement the county emergency plans in the event of an incident where radiation is released from the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station," Harford County Health Department Public Health Emergency Coordinator Lisa Swank said in a statement.
According to the health department, KI is a salt of stable, not radioactive, iodine, which is an important chemical needed by the body to make thyroid hormone. KI works by blocking radioactive iodine from entering the thyroid. Once absorbed by the thyroid gland, the gland becomes "full" and cannot absorb any more iodine, either stable or radioactive, for the next 24 hours.
"While evacuation will remain the primary strategy by which to safeguard the public, the KI will offer citizens a way to protect their thyroid, which is a vital hormone gland that plays a major role in the metabolism, growth and development of the human body," Swank said.
Iodized table salt should not be used as a substitute for KI because it does not contain enough iodine to block radioactive iodine from getting into the thyroid gland, health officials said.
Residents who have previously received KI tablets should discard their old, expired KI tablets and are strongly encouraged to get new tablets. The proper disposal of KI is by throwing the tablets away in the household trash. Do not flush them down the toilet or sink.
For more information, call the Harford County Health Department's emergency preparedness program at 410-877-1028.
Potassium Humate Shiny Crystal Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.