United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20555

Phone 301-415-8200 Fax 301-415-2234

Internet:opa@nrc.gov

No. 98-109 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Wednesday, July 1, 1998)

NRC GRANTS PETITION TO REQUIRE CONSIDERATION

OF USE OF POTASSIUM IODIDE IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has decided to grant a petition requesting that the

agency amend its emergency planning regulations. The change would require that, as each

state develops the range of protective actions, consideration be given, as a supplement to

evacuation and sheltering, to the use of potassium iodide, as appropriate.

Potassium iodide, if taken in time, blocks the thyroid gland’s uptake of radioactive iodine

and thus could help prevent thyroid cancers and other diseases that might otherwise be

caused by exposure to airborne radioactive iodine that could be dispersed in a nuclear accident.

This action is not taken because of any new insights about risks associated with

operating nuclear power plants licensed in the United States, but rather in recognition of the

European experience during and following the Chernobyl accident. Some states may find the

use of potassium iodide appropriate as a supplemental protective action under certain local

conditions.

The petition was filed by Peter G. Crane, an NRC staff attorney who took the action as

a private citizen.

The NRC staff will now proceed to develop proposed revisions to its regulations to

implement the Commission’s decision. In a June 26 memorandum to its staff, the Commission

said the explanatory text for the proposed rule changes should include a statement to the effect

that state and local decision makers, provided with proper information, may find that the use of

potassium iodide as a protective supplement is “reasonable and prudent” for specific local

conditions.

To assist state and local decision makers, an NRC staff-developed paper, “Assessment

of the Use of Potassium Iodide (KI) as a Public Protective Action During Severe Reactor

Accidents,” will be issued for public comment and may be submitted to scientific journals for

publication. The NRC staff will also issue a brochure containing clear, definitive information to

help state and local planners reach an informed decision as to whether potassium iodide is an

appropriate protective supplement for them.

The current federal policy on potassium iodide, which was published in 1985,

recommends that it be stockpiled and distributed to emergency workers and institutionalized

persons during radiological emergencies. It does not recommend requiring pre-distribution or

stockpiling for the general public.
In July of last year, the NRC voted to endorse the draft federal policy on potassium

iodide being considered by the Federal Radiological Preparedness Coordinating Committee.

(The FRPCC is the coordinating body in charge of federal policy on emergency planning around

nuclear power plants.) That policy offered to fund the purchase of potassium iodide for states

at their request. The Commission noted that the federal government is stockpiling potassium

iodide, near major metropolitan areas, for use in mitigating the consequences of potential

terrorist use of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

In its June 26 memorandum, the Commission directed its staff to work with other

relevant agencies to ensure that there are established procedures to enable the national

stockpile of potassium iodide to be effectively used by states that wish to draw from the national

supply in the event of a severe nuclear power plant accident.

This potassium iodide would be available to any state for any type of radiological

emergency at any time. If a state wished to have its source of potassium iodide close at hand,

the federal government would fund the purchase.

###