|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Radiological Weapons I: FDA Revises Potassium Iodide Guidelines The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued new guidelines yesterday recommending the use of potassium iodide to reduce the risk of thyroid cancer from radiation exposure. The FDA said potassium iodide’s benefits outweigh its risks. The new recommendations, which are based on data taken from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Ukraine, supersede guidelines issued in 1978 and 1982 that were based on data taken after the U.S. nuclear attacks on Japan. (FDA release, Dec. 10). The new guidelines suggested that potassium iodide doses for children and infants should be lower than earlier recommendations (Federal Register, Dec. 11) and the FDA said potassium iodide would be more effective the sooner it is taken. Preferably, it should be taken before exposure to radiation. David Orloff, director of the FDA division of metabolic and endocrine drug products, said the report did not specifically recommend the drug should be stockpiled in communities closest to nuclear plants (see GSN, Nov. 29), but the need to take the drug before or soon after exposure to radiation implied it should be readily available to those at risk (Wald/Revkin, New York Times, Dec. 11).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
