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Mahesh

03/09/22 21:50 PM IST

Anti-Radiation Pills

In News 
  • Recently, with fears of a nuclear disaster at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant growing, the European Union has decided to pre-emptively supply 5.5 million anti-radiation pills to be distributed among residents in the vicinity.
Radiation Pills 
  • Potassium iodide (KI) tablets or anti-radiation pills are known to provide some protection in cases of radiation exposure.
  • They contain non-radioactive iodine and can help block absorption and subsequent concentration of radioactive iodine in the thyroid gland.
Working of Pills 
  • After a radiation leak, radioactive iodine floats through the air and then contaminates food, water and soil.
  • While radioactive iodine deposited during external exposure can be removed using warm water and soap according to the World Health Organisation the bigger risk is inhaling it.
  • Internal exposure or irradiation occurs when radioactive iodine enters the body and accumulates in the thyroid gland.
  • The thyroid gland which uses iodine to produce hormones to regulate the body’s metabolism has no way of telling radioactive from non-radioactive iodine.
  • Potassium iodide (KI) tablets rely on this to achieve ‘thyroid blocking’.
  • KI pills taken a few hours before or soon after radiation exposure ensure that non-radioactive iodine in the medicine is absorbed quickly to make the thyroid full.
  • Because KI contains so much non-radioactive iodine, the thyroid becomes full and cannot absorb any more iodine either stable or radioactive for the next 24 hours.
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
  • It is located in south-eastern Ukraine and is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world.
  • It was built by the Soviet Union near the city of Enerhodar, on the southern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper River.
Source- Indian Express 

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