Posted by Jess
29 Mar 2011
We are on the email list for the U.S. Embassy in Japan and have been getting messages regularly from the embassy on the situation here and what we should be doing. This was a recent message:
U.S. Embassy Warden Message to U.S. Citizens: March 26, 2011
Availability of Potassium Iodide Tablets
As a precautionary measure, the U.S. Embassy is continuing to make potassium iodide (KI) tablets available to private U.S. citizens who have not been able to obtain it from their physician, employer, or other sources. We do not a recommend that anyone should take KI at this time. There are risks associated with taking KI. It should only be taken on the advice of emergency management officials, public health officials or your doctor. For more information about KI, see this fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control, http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/ki.asp, or contact your doctor.
At this time, the tablets are available ...with instructions. Allotments of KI tablets will be provided only upon presentation of a valid U.S. passport. U.S. citizens may obtain an allotment for each family member’s valid U.S. passport presented....An allotment of tablets will also be made available to a U.S. citizen for his/her non-citizen immediate family members upon presentation of satisfactory evidence of the relationship.
...
Safety of Tap Water
The United States Government advises American citizens that, in accordance with guidelines that apply to water in the United States and based on analysis of tap water samples for radioactive iodine on March 24, 2011, the water in Tokyo is safe for drinking. U.S. Government officials are consulting with health experts and radiation experts, in both the United States and Japan, and are continuously monitoring the situation. If more information becomes available, we will share it with you on the Embassy Web site.
And so today I skipped out of work for an hour to head to the embassy to pick up my KI tablets. For the record, I don't anticipate ever having to take it. But if there is ever an email that comes that says "if you have potassium iodide, now's the time to take it" I wouldn't want to be the one who said, "oh shoot, I knew I forgot to do something!"
The embassy experience was interesting, since we haven't been to the embassy before for anything official. When I entered, I was screened like at the airport. I had to take out my phone and camera, which was funny, because I was actually carrying 3 phones. The security guard laughed at me. Then after it was scanned, it went into a basket and I was giving a number so I could pick them up later. I get it - no pictures at the embassy.
The process was simple. There was a tent set up, I signed a form, they scanned my passport and gave me the pills. And I can take pictures at home. So this is what the tablets look like, if you're curious. There are 7 tablets here, each compartment in the package is about the size of a dime.
They are attached to a fact sheet. The tablets each work for 24 hours, so this is 7 days worth. Potassium iodide does not stop you from getting iodine radiation in your body, but it helps protect the thyroid gland from taking up the poisonous iodine if you are exposed. It doesn't protect against cesium or plutonium - the other two radioactive substances of concern here right now.
So that's the story of the KI tablets. And I'm sure I'll never have a blog post that talks about the day I took them, but just in case...
Kanpai!
Jess
29 Mar 2011
We are on the email list for the U.S. Embassy in Japan and have been getting messages regularly from the embassy on the situation here and what we should be doing. This was a recent message:
U.S. Embassy Warden Message to U.S. Citizens: March 26, 2011
Availability of Potassium Iodide Tablets
As a precautionary measure, the U.S. Embassy is continuing to make potassium iodide (KI) tablets available to private U.S. citizens who have not been able to obtain it from their physician, employer, or other sources. We do not a recommend that anyone should take KI at this time. There are risks associated with taking KI. It should only be taken on the advice of emergency management officials, public health officials or your doctor. For more information about KI, see this fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control, http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/ki.asp, or contact your doctor.
At this time, the tablets are available ...with instructions. Allotments of KI tablets will be provided only upon presentation of a valid U.S. passport. U.S. citizens may obtain an allotment for each family member’s valid U.S. passport presented....An allotment of tablets will also be made available to a U.S. citizen for his/her non-citizen immediate family members upon presentation of satisfactory evidence of the relationship.
...
Safety of Tap Water
The United States Government advises American citizens that, in accordance with guidelines that apply to water in the United States and based on analysis of tap water samples for radioactive iodine on March 24, 2011, the water in Tokyo is safe for drinking. U.S. Government officials are consulting with health experts and radiation experts, in both the United States and Japan, and are continuously monitoring the situation. If more information becomes available, we will share it with you on the Embassy Web site.
And so today I skipped out of work for an hour to head to the embassy to pick up my KI tablets. For the record, I don't anticipate ever having to take it. But if there is ever an email that comes that says "if you have potassium iodide, now's the time to take it" I wouldn't want to be the one who said, "oh shoot, I knew I forgot to do something!"
The embassy experience was interesting, since we haven't been to the embassy before for anything official. When I entered, I was screened like at the airport. I had to take out my phone and camera, which was funny, because I was actually carrying 3 phones. The security guard laughed at me. Then after it was scanned, it went into a basket and I was giving a number so I could pick them up later. I get it - no pictures at the embassy.
The process was simple. There was a tent set up, I signed a form, they scanned my passport and gave me the pills. And I can take pictures at home. So this is what the tablets look like, if you're curious. There are 7 tablets here, each compartment in the package is about the size of a dime.
They are attached to a fact sheet. The tablets each work for 24 hours, so this is 7 days worth. Potassium iodide does not stop you from getting iodine radiation in your body, but it helps protect the thyroid gland from taking up the poisonous iodine if you are exposed. It doesn't protect against cesium or plutonium - the other two radioactive substances of concern here right now.
So that's the story of the KI tablets. And I'm sure I'll never have a blog post that talks about the day I took them, but just in case...
Kanpai!
Jess
10:20 AM |
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