Ontario: Anti-Radiation Pill Debate Slows

By December 2015 it is said to be planned that the residents living nearby Ontario’s nuclear power plants will have access to free KI (anti-radiation) pills. The 10km radius around the nuclear plants approximates a quarter of a million people in the Greater Toronto Area. The KI pills are designed to help protect the thyroid gland in case of an accident involving a major radiation leak.

The pills are to be taken either immediately before or after such an incident, but it is not the KI pills causing the concern, it’s the access to them. Pre-distribution plans of the pills to the public are lagging. In conjunction with this is the proposed radius of those it may effect.

The need to expand the 10-km zone to encompass up to 50km is currently being argued. The Green Party want the zone to be expanded, using Fukushima’s disaster as a template. “It’s something that environmental organizations have been asking for but the government’s been dragging its feet…” said Schreiner, the leader for The Green Party, with it being noted that an evacuation of a 20km radius occurred in Fukushima. [1]

Considering that Switzerland distributed KI pills within a 50km radius of their nuclear plant; (which equates to 4 million Ontarians), only 800,000 pills have been stockpiled. A 1:5 ratio to its counterpart. “The way it’s written right now, it doesn’t meet international best practices, but it’s a good step towards it,’ states Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a nuclear analyst with Greenpeace.

But according to the Canadian Environmental Law Association, there is no excuse. “…We’ve had 30-plus years of making the pills available…instead the messaging that people have had is that the plants are safe and there’s nothing to worry about.” [2]

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[1] Keith Leslie, The Canadian News. (16 October 2014) “Anti-radiation pills to be given to neighbours of Ontario nuclear plants.” http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/anti-radiation-pills-to-be-given-to-neighbours-of-ontario-nuclear-plants-1.2056853 CTV News (Retrieved 29 October 2014)

[2] Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press. (23 June 2014) “Watchdog proposes radiation-fighting pills for Canadians close to nuclear plants.” http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/watchdog-proposes-radiation-fighting-pills-for-canadians-close-to-nuclear-plants-1.1881398 (Retrieved 29 October 2014)