New iodine tablets for communes near French nuclear power sites

New iodine tablets are to be distributed again to people living in French communes near nuclear power station sites, after authorities renewed the campaign.

Since September 15, residents living or people working within a 10 km radius of the Penly and Paluel nuclear power plants (Seine-Maritime, Normandy) have been receiving new free iodine tablets to use in the event of a nuclear plant accident. Pharmacies are now able to distribute the tablets.

The tablets can also be collected and dispensed by public establishments to make it easier for residents to get hold of them (if they are not able to get to a pharmacy).

How do the tablets help?

The iodine tablets are a purely preventative measure, and do not indicate that there is any health risk of living near the power stations under normal circumstances. 

They are a cautionary measure in case of an accident, in which radioactive iodine could be released into the environment. By ingesting stable iodine in the form of these tablets, the thyroid gland becomes saturated, and can no longer absorb or bind radioactive iodine. This would protect residents from complications, which can include thyroid cancer.

The tablets should only be taken in the event of an accident at the plants.

“To be effective, they should ideally be ingested a few hours before the passage of radioactive particles and gases and no later than eight hours afterwards,” said the l'Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (the French nuclear safety authority).

The tablets are ‘new’ because they will replace the previous set of tablets that were distributed which are now approaching their expiry date. 

The tablets should be kept in their original packaging, stored in a dry place and protected from light. Unused, out-of-date tablets should be returned to pharmacists for recycling. Iodine tablets (whether in-date or expired) do not provide any protection if no accident has occurred. 

‘Insufficient distribution’?

Some associations have claimed that the distribution of the tablets is “insufficient”. 

Seven groups including Sepanso Gironde, Greenpeace and UFC-Que Choisir have signed an open letter claiming that the distribution of tablets is too limited in scope, and should be extended to 20 km around the plants and also include the power plant of Blayais (Gironde).

“We are not catastrophising, but we are worried because part of the population risks not being covered,” said Patrick Maupin, a Sepanso representative.

“In the event of an alert tomorrow, some people would not have any tablets and others would be holding out-of-date ones”, he said, calling for “better communication about the importance of this drug without scaring people”.

“There is not enough information and ongoing prevention in this area,” he said.

The full list of communes within 0-10 km of the Penly plant:

Ancourt, Bellengreville, Canehan, Criel-sur-mer, Dieppe, Envermeu, Grèges, Martin-Église, Petit-Caux, Saint-Ouen-sous-Bailly, Sauchay, and Touffreville-sur-Eu.

The full list of communes within 0-10 km of the Paluel plant:

Auberville-la-Manuel, Bertreville, Bosville, Butot-Venesville, Cailleville, Canouville, Cany-Barville, Clasville, Crasville-la-Mallet, Criquetot-le-Mauconduit, Drosay, Gueutteville-les-Grès, Ingouville, Malleville-les-Grès, Manneville-ès-Plains, Néville, Ocqueville, Ouainville, Paluel, Pleine-Sève, Saint-Martin-aux-Buneaux, Saint Pierre-en-Port, Saint-Riquier-ès-Plains, Saint-Sylvain, Saint-Valery-en-Caux, Sainte-Colombe, Sassetot-le Mauconduit, Sasseville, Veulettes-sur-Mer, Vinnemerville, and Vittefleur.