RadioBanter - View Single Post - Govt. still recommends anti-radiation pills

July 12th 03, 04:28 AM

In article ,
says...

They are very effective towards protecting the thyroid gland, but only the
thyroid gland.

To say they are nonsense altogether is, well, nonsense.

Protecting my thyroid gland, and only my thyroid gland, doesn't seem like a
particularly successful or efficient means of shielding myself against
everything else high radiation can do to the entire body.

But we're not talking about high radiation. There is no defense
against that, except heavy shielding. However, in the event of
a nuclear attack or accident, only a relatively small number of
people will be exposed to such hard radiation. A much GREATER
number will be exposed to radioative isotopes that will be
scattered to Helen Back. And these will not be very dangerous
as long as the exposure is only external. It's if they are
internalized by being eaten, breathed, or drunk, and are
absorbed and made part of the body - where they can
irradiate the surrounding tissue and general all sorts of
cancers - that they're dangerous. The focus, therefore, is to
prevent absorption. Hence the potassium iodine pills; by
flooding your body with non-radioactive iodine, you prevent
your body and thyroid from absorbing any radioactive
iodine isotopes that come along later.

Don't do much for isotopes of other elements that might be
absorbed by other parts of your body, but at least it's a
BIT of protection...

FW