Japanese nuclear power plant safety spurs sales of potassium iodate |
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The massive earthquake and tsumami that have devastated Japan and caused radioactive releases from the Fukushima nuclear generation facility have prompted a spike of sales of potassium iodate and potassium iodide tablets worldwide, Meaghan Ringwelski reported on Yahoo! News.
While there is a degree of truth to those statements, the reality is a little more complex.
Potassium iodide, whose chemical formula is KI, is a very common type of salt. When ingested, it saturates the thyroid gland; in turn, the thyroid is unable to absorb any more iodine for about 24 hours. Radioactive iodine has been released from the Fukushima plant explosion; by taking potassium iodide, those who may have been exposed to the radiation can shield their thyroids from harmful radioactive iodine. Radioactive iodine can cause damage; thyroid cancer may also occur. It is believed that radioactive cesium may have also been released, too; potassium iodide tablets do not shield against the effects of that substance.
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