Hafizzz
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Russians Rush for Iodine Pills
Russians Rush for Iodine Pills - WSJ.com
MOSCOWIn Russia's Far East near Japan, residents bought up pills to ward off radioactive isotopes, and military units prepared to evacuate towns on concerns of nuclear fallout, even as the government insisted that radiation levels in Russia remain at safe levels.
The country's flagship airline, OAO Aeroflot, said it would check incoming aircraft from Tokyo for radiation at its hub in Moscow. Meanwhile, Russia's nuclear chief complained to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that his atomic experts, including a veteran of the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago, haven't been permitted to enter Japan.
Russian military units stationed on the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which are disputed with Japan, prepared for a possible evacuation because of the nuclear threat, only days after they were warned about the tsunami. The military also said it would help evacuate civilians from the islands, Interfax reported.
Japanese officials appeared to have regained some control of Japan's troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Tuesday afternoon, at least for now, after spikes in radiation levels that followed a new explosion at one reactor and a fire at another earlier in the day put the nation on high alert.
As Russia and Ukraine prepare to mark the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl in April, many residents recall how little information the Soviet authorities released for days following the accident.
Some Russians living close to Japan decided not to wait for government warnings, and many visited pharmacies to buy iodine pills, believed to prevent the body from absorbing radioactive isotopes.
"There has definitely been a run on these kinds of medicines in the last two days," said a salesperson at a pharmacy in Vladivostok, adding that it had completely ran out of iodine tablets.
Dosimeters, which measure exposure to radiation, were also selling more quickly than usual.
"Yes, people are buying pharmaceuticals in the drugstores and dosimeters," said Alexei Rasputny, a reporter from the Novaya Gazeta newspaper in Vladivostok, Russia's main port on the Pacific. "But nobody is leaving, nobody is talking about that."
An emergency official in the Kuril Islands said that the "people who were evacuated in connection with the tsunami have already returned home some time ago."
Russia's easternmost regions reported steady radiation levels of between nine and 13 micro-Roentgens per hour, well within safe levels, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry. The wind in Sakhalin was blowing from the north toward Japan, opposing any release of radioactive materials.
Russia so far doesn't see a need to evacuate its diplomatic personnel from Japan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Nuclear fears prompt rush for pills in B.C.
Nuclear fears prompt rush for pills in B.C. - British Columbia - CBC News
British Columbians spooked by ongoing explosions at Japan's quake-damaged nuclear plants are making a run on pharmacies, hoping to boost immunity to any potential radiation drift.
But the provincial government, health officials and pharmacists themselves are encouraging people to stand down from stockpiling potassium iodide, saying no health risks exist.
"There is definitely a panic," said pharmacist Cristina Alarcon, at Hollyburn Medicine Centre in West Vancouver.
"If we had a similar situation here it may be advisable, but in this case, how big is the ocean? I think it's a little bit ridiculous."
Medical authorities have used potassium iodide the compound KI in radioactive iodine-contamination emergencies before, such as nuclear accidents, to block any uptake by the thyroid.
But that's not necessary here, say officials.
No health risk, says MD
B.C.'s Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall issued a notice Monday saying it would take five to six days for winds to carry nuclear particles across the Pacific, and by that time any radiation would have dispersed into the atmosphere.
"The consumption of iodide tablets is not a necessary precaution as there is no current risk of radiological ... exposure," Kendall said in the release.
"Even if radiation from Japan ever made it to British Columbia, our prediction based on current information is that it would not pose any significant health risk."
On Sunday, the B.C. minister for public safety also sent out a statement declaring the public need not fear exposure.
Yet at the pharmacy where Alarcon works, people started making purchases in the form of purple-coloured liquid starting on Saturday, while a colleague at a Vancouver pharmacy told her they've run out of stock having received a dozen requests on Monday alone.
"They were calm but just wanting to protect themselves," Alarcon said, noting pharmacies have also been contacted by the health ministry advising them there is unwarranted alarm around the situation.
If taken improperly, the compound could be a risk in itself, Alarcon added.
Health Canada, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and international authorities continue to monitor events in Japan.
Danger in northern Japan
By Monday night, Japanese officials said radiation was spewing from the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in country's northeast.
The development prompted the Japanese government to tell people within 30 kilometres of the plant to stay indoors to avoid exposure as levels were considered high enough to harm human health.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from around the nuclear plant which is the area where any leaks would have their main impact, said the B.C. ministry of health.
"In the event that there is a significant release of radioactive iodine 131, the main impact would be on populations within the vicinity of the reactor in Japan," the ministry said.
Japanese police updated the official death toll from the twin disasters of a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami to more than 2,400 people dead early Tuesday, with thousands more still missing.
I guess the country that will suffer the most is China since the majority of the Chinese population is living on the Eastern part of the country which is so close to Japan.
