Does anyone include potassium iodate tablets in there emergency supplies or bugout bag ? I went to 2 of my local pharmacys to ask about the tablets. The first place told me thay didn't stock it because the shelf life was only 1 month. The second place I went to said I needed a prescription. From what I read and see on TV I fear that it's not a question of if , but when and where a nuclear device or " dirty bomb " will be set off. I hope I'm wrong but I'd like to try to prepare for it. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this and what you are doing to prepare.

I'm not POSITIVE it's the same thing, (we sold only one box last year)- but at CVS back in the Pharmacy we stock something called ThyroSafe for fallout. No rx needed, and we've had the same stock for darn near a YEAR, so I HOPE it's got a longer shelf life than that!

I think it came from CVS, but if you ask your pharmacy staff they should be able to order some from the outside vendor and get it in the next weekday.

EDIT: I googled ThyroSafe, and it's Potassium IodIDE....if that's an acceptable substitute.

I purchased some from Iosat last year and the expiration dateis 6/2007 which is about 2 years+ shelf life

here is the link:
http://www.anbex.com/

According to what I've read so far (I'm not a doctor) the way I understand it is that keeping Potassium iodide is like keeping activated charcoal and syrup of ipecac: it's important to know the risks and when to take them. If you stock KI (potassium iodade) I'd say it's as much important to have a radio available to listen to emergency officials and the poison center phone number readily available because there's a risk of allergic reaction. I guess there's no concensus as to if everyone should stock some. It's probably a good idea to have some because in order to be effective it must be taken within 3 to 4 hours following exposure.

On the other hand KI only protects the thyroid gland against radioactive iodine and would be ineffective against other radioactive isotopes. In the case of a dirty bomb, radioactive iodine is unlikely because it's tough to obtain from well garded nuclear plants. It's easier to get low grade radiation material that doesn't release radioactive iodine from places like hospitals. On the other hand U.S. forces found diagrams of American nuclear power plants in Afghanistan along with training manuals that listed nuclear power plants as among the best targets to spread fear in the US. But they would have to use a large commercial airline crash to release radioactive stuff because the containment walls are made of concrete 2-5 feet thick with a steel lining...

In short I'm not an expert and can't give any recommendation but personally I would get some but I would also read as much documentation as possible such as this:
http://www.thyroid.org/professionals/publications/documents/thyrosafe.pdf

Other preparations could include knowing your blood type in case blood transfusions are necessary; having a family emergency plan that your whole family is aware of since phones and computers may not work after a real nuclear bomb detonation because of electromagnetic pulse, etc.

Good luck
Franky

Here is what I found http://www.nitro-pak.com/product_info.php/cPath/37/products_id/1127

It dawned on me recently there is a large nuclear facility not 15 miles from the house....I think some more research into this subject might behoove me!

http://www.nmcco.com/education/facts/security/crash_analysis.htm

Thanks for the article and website. That's reassuring.

Frankie

Yep..except when you consider that the last thing the Gov't would want out there is that they wouldn't. I just keep thinking about the unsinkable Titanic.

There had been impact studies done on the WTC. They just neglected to allow for fuel & fire. I wonder what they neglected to allow for on the NPPs?

Sue