Japan update and packages

Japan update and Japanese packages Dr. Stuart B. Weiss   Information UPDATE March 17, 2011  SUBSCRIBE: Click button at bottom or send email to: sbw1@MedPrepGroup.com Quick update and an interesting question about packages from Tokyo I received an interesting question today about concerns employees in the US have when receiving packages from Tokyo. So I reached out to a reliable nuclear expert to find out if people should be concerned.     Current Situation summary: Problems continue at the Fukushima Daiichi facility. Restoration of electrical power to the site is still being worked on. Off-site electrical power has not been available at the site since the earthquake and Tsunami on March 11. Restoring electrical power to the water pumps would significantly help cool things down. Helicopters are being used to drop water onto the reactors and spent rod pools. One interesting item mentioned by the nuclear expert is that the explosions seen on television are not close to the pumps and valves and besides blowing the tin roof off the building might not have done much other damage. So if they can get the water flowing, things will improve. Here is additional information from the Nuclear Energy Institute for this morning: Reactor 1's primary containment is believed to be intact and the reactor is in a stable condition. Seawater injection into the reactor is continuing. Reactor 2 is in stable condition with seawater injection continuing. The reactor's primary containment may not have been breached, Tokyo Electric Power Co. and World Association of Nuclear Operators officials said on Thursday. Access problems at the site have delayed connection of a temporary cable to restore off-site electricity. The connection will provide power to the control rod drive pump, instrumentation, batteries and the control room. Power has not been available at the site since the earthquake on March 11. Reactor 3 is in stable condition with seawater injection continuing. The primary containment is believed to be intact. Pressure in the containment has fluctuated due to venting of the reactor containment structure. TEPCO officials say that although one side of the concrete wall of the fuel pool structure has collapsed, the steel liner of the pool remains intact, based on aerial photos of the reactor taken on March 17. The pool still has water providing some cooling for the fuel; however, helicopters dropped water on the reactor four times during the morning (Japan time) on March 17. Water also was sprayed at reactor 4 using high-pressure water cannons. [Reactor 4 was already shut down for maintenance prior to the earthquake]  Reactors 5 and 6 were both shut down before the quake occurred. Primary and secondary containments are intact at both reactors. Temperature instruments in the spent fuel pools at reactors 5 and 6 are operational, and temperatures are being maintained at about 62 degrees Celsius. TEPCO is continuing efforts to restore power at reactor 5.    ANALYSIS:    According to the expert I spoke with today, the cause of the increase in background radiation in Tokyo is thought to be from radioactive gases not particulate matter. Whatever particles have been released from the Fukushima plant would settle out on the ground long before reaching Tokyo. So there is no risk of being exposed to significant radiation from boxes or packages coming from Tokyo. Of course, if you are receiving packages from places closer to Fukushima, there is more risk of actual particles being in the box. ADVICE: So here is my advice to you at this point: Make sure that someone keeps watching this situation.  Assure employees that packages from Tokyo are safe at this time. Packages from areas closer to Fukushima are more significant. I have reached out to experts about these types of packages and what, if any, monitoring can be done to ensure safety. I'll send an update when/if I hear any definitive.       MedPrep Consulting Group is internationally recognized as a leader in pandemic, disaster and business continuity planning, training and exercising.     Stuart Weiss, MD, CBCP is the CEO of MedPrep Consulting Group. For more information, visit www.MedPrepGroup.com Stuart Weiss, MD, FACEP, CBCP MedPrep Consulting Group LLC 212-875-8888 sweiss@MedPrepGroup.com

Japan and Potassium Iodide

Radiation and Potassium Iodide Dr. Stuart B. Weiss   Information UPDATE March 16, 2011  SUBSCRIBE: Click button at bottom or send email to: sbw1@MedPrepGroup.com People on the west coast of the US and Canada are snapping up Potassium Iodide pills and solutions, should you? We haven't sent out a general mailing to this list in over a year but I thought now might be a good time due to the ongoing events in Japan and the fear it is causing in the US and Canada.     Current Situation summary: All four reactors at the Fukushima Daiini facility are shut down safely and cooling operations are being maintained. The problems are at the Fukushima Daiichi facility. Restoration of electrical power to the site was under way as of 6:00 a.m. EDT today. Off-site electrical power has not been available at the site since the earthquake on March 11. Reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the plant are being cooled with seawater mixed with Boron. There is some level of uranium fuel damage at all three units, and containment structure damage is suspected at reactor 2. Before the earthquake, reactor 4 had been in maintenance mode and was completely defueled. Attempts to provide cooling water to the used fuel pool at reactor 4 by helicopter were not successful. Preparations are being made to inject water into the fuel storage pool using a high-capacity spray pump. There have been two fires inside the reactor containment building at reactor 4, but they have been extinguished. Although the reactor containment building at Unit 4 was damaged, the primary containment vessel remains intact. According to Reuters, the United States is urging its citizens within 80 kilometers (50 miles) of Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plants to evacuate or remain indoors. The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo had previously recommended U.S. citizens to take similar action if they were within 50 kilometers of the facilities. The United Kingdom is also urging its nationals in Tokyo and north of Tokyo to leave the area. Radiation levels in Tokyo, 150 miles to the south, are elevated but still below levels considered dangerous to human health. The situation is still unstable and evolving in the Fukushima Daiichi facility. There has been a spike in purchases of Potassium Iodide (KI) pills and solution (SSKI) in communities in the West Coast of the US and Canada as reported in multiple media sources.  ANALYSIS:    The situation in Japan continues to evolve and our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Japan as they go through this difficult crisis. I want to focus on the issue of the radiation risk to people in the US and the use of Potassium Iodide. With 5000 miles of ocean separating the US and Japan, the risk of ANY significant amount of radiation coming to the US from Japan is almost zero. Something extremely bad (i.e. a huge prolonged radioactive material release) would have to occur and even then, the risk is still low. We are exposed to radiation everyday in our normal lives from our environment, it is a part of living on Earth and our bodies cope with this low level of radiation. So while it is understandable that people would be apprehensive about something like radiation which you cant see, smell or taste, the fear that people in the US would be affected is unfounded right now. So what does Potassium Iodide have to do with this? One of the early materials that is released from a reactor accident is radioactive Iodine. This material gets into the air, food or water and can be absorbed by our body. Once inside our body, the Iodine is absorbed by the thyroid gland and sits there causing thyroid damage and thyroid cancer. Our thyroid gland absorbs Iodine all the time to make thyroid hormone and it can't tell the difference between normal Iodine and radioactive Iodine. So the idea of Potassium Iodide is to "fill up" the thyroid with normal Iodine so it doesn't want to absorb any more Iodine that comes into our body (radioactive or normal). You have to fill it up quickly which is why people have to take Potassium Iodide within several hours of a reactor accident. Potassium Iodide only protects the thyroid gland and nothing else so if you are exposed to huge doses of radiation, you would still get sick. Potassium Iodide has side effects like any other medication. In a nuclear emergency, the benefits of taking it outweigh the risk of any possible side effects. In the US right now, there is NO RADIATION RISK from Japan so the benefits of taking it are zero and risks of side effects are still there. Side effects range from mild stomach upset to life threatening allergic reactions. You are also susceptible to thyroid problems. That is why people in the US should not be taking Potassium Iodide unless prescribed by a doctor for another problem. So the bottom line is if you want to buy Potassium Iodide to keep in your home, go ahead. It is an over-the-counter medication in the US. But don't take it unless advised to by public health and keep it and all medications away from young children. Don't spend hundreds of dollars on buying it either, there is no crisis in the US (some media are reporting price gouging for Potassium Iodide, it is a cheap medication). Lastly, this does not apply to any employees or families in Japan. Depending on where they live and how old they are, recommendations are different and they should be following the local public health guidance. ADVICE: So here is my advice to you at this point: Make sure that someone keeps watching this situation.  Discourage your employees from buying and taking Potassium Iodide at this time. Consider publishing some information for your employees. The CDC has good information on Potassium Iodide.        MedPrep Consulting Group is internationally recognized as a leader in pandemic, disaster and business continuity planning, training and exercising.     Stuart Weiss, MD, CBCP is the CEO of MedPrep Consulting Group. For more information, visit www.MedPrepGroup.com Stuart Weiss, MD, CBCP MedPrep Consulting Group LLC