Kindgo
Advanced Member
Member # 2
|
posted
Military stocking up on anti-radiation pills
Reuters News Service
web page
WASHINGTON - At the urging of the Bush administration, military commanders are quietly stocking up on anti-radiation pills and making plans to give them to U.S. troops should they be exposed to radioactive fallout from an attack or accident, according to documents and officials.
Suppliers of potassium iodide say shipments to the military have increased in recent months amid fears of war between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, and new terror threats against American targets including nuclear power plants.
One of the largest orders -- 134,400 potassium iodide tablets for 9,600 troops -- was shipped to the U.S. Army on May 28, according to records obtained by Reuters.
If taken immediately after exposure, the tablets have been shown to protect the thyroid gland from diseases caused by radiation.
A spokesman for U.S. Central Command said it was not distributing potassium iodide tablets to troops in Afghanistan and other South Asian countries, disputing the claims of several suppliers.
The Pentagon would not discuss its potassium iodide policy, which was outlined in an internal memorandum issued two months after the Sept. 11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 people.
In the memorandum, dated Nov. 19, 2001, William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, directed Army, Navy and Air Force commanders to assess the risk to troops and to develop "implementation plans on the use of potassium iodide."
"The U.S. military overseas, their families, U.S. civilian workers and contractors may be at risk from hostile actions and other events against nuclear power plants resulting in radioactive iodine release," wrote Winkenwerder, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's chief health adviser.
In November and in a follow-up memo issued on Jan. 24, Winkenwerder told the services that they "must ensure availability of supply" of potassium iodide.
He also provided the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force with guidance on how the tablets should be administered. It depends on whether the radioactive material is inhaled or ingested and on how long troops are exposed to a radioactive plume.
Winkenwerder put the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in charge of reviewing the plans.
"We will take appropriate action when we get the plans," said Peter Esker, spokesman for the institute.
The Pentagon would not elaborate.
"The policy memo speaks for itself," said James Turner, a Pentagon spokesman. "The commanders-in-chief, in any given part of the world, will assess the situation and will be responsible for providing appropriate material to their troops."
Underscoring U.S. fears that terrorists will try to use weapons of mass destruction, Winkenwerder announced Friday a separate policy to vaccinate some military personnel against anthrax and to stockpile the vaccine for civilian use.
POTASSIUM IODIDE ORDERS RISE
Between January and June of this year, the military purchased more than 400,400 potassium iodide tablets -- enough for at least 28,600 troops -- through the Defense Logistics Agency and the Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia.
That amount represents an 80 percent increase over the amount of potassium iodide purchased by the military during the January to June period in 2001, according to Defense Supply Center records.
The tablets were supplied by two companies -- Anbex Inc. and Carter-Wallace, which is now part of MedPointe Inc.
Potassium iodide orders surged after Winkenwerder's memo. In December and January alone, more than 303,000 tablets were purchased, enough for more than 21,700 troops. A 29,400-tablet order for 2,100 troops was filled by the Defense Supply Center on April 6, followed by the Army's 134,400-tablet shipment on May 28 for 9,600 soldiers.
The Defense Supply Center's figures do not include orders placed independently by the military services and their divisions, suppliers say.
The move to supply potassium iodide to troops and their families comes amid heightened fears that terrorists might attack nuclear power plants in the United States and abroad, or try to use nuclear or radiological weapons.
But potassium iodide's usefulness is limited since it must be taken almost immediately after exposure and only protects against absorption of radioactive iodine. The tablets offer no protection against other radioactive isotopes, which might be released by a "dirty" bomb and other radioactive weapons.
Despite these limitations, the military is not alone in stocking up on potassium iodide. The Department of Health and Human Services has purchased 1.6 million doses and plans to buy 5 million to 10 million more this year, officials said.
The Department of Veterans' Affairs has placed two large orders so far this year on behalf of HHS -- the first went to Salt Lake City in case of an attack on the Olympic Games.
The second order was placed within the last month for HHS' office of emergency preparedness, according to Veterans' Affairs. Officials would not disclose its destination.
Stored in secret warehouses, HHS' stockpile would be tapped in the event of a "catastrophe, man-made or otherwise, at a nuclear power plant," spokesman Bill Pierce said.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is also stocking up on the tablets as part of a program to make potassium iodide available to people living near nuclear power plants.
--------------------
God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
| IP: Logged | 
|
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[fie]](graemlins/fie.gif)
