Advisory  RCP Notice 2020-01: Potassium Iodide (KI) for communities surrounding the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

Date:	01/15/2020
Referenced Sources:	Potassium Iodide (KI)

Potassium Iodide (KI) for communities surrounding the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Climate and Environmental Health’s Radiation Control Program provided the following information to communities within the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ), Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket:

• Potassium (KI) is a protective measure to minimize uptake of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland in the event of a release of radioactive materials from an operating nuclear power plant.
• The Pilgrim Nuclear Plant ceased operating on May 31, 2019. As of August 2019, there is no longer a risk of exposure to radioactive iodine from the plant. As a result, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency informed the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that KI is no longer necessary. Given this, DPH will not replenish KI for the communities in the Pilgrim EPZ, Cape Cod, or Islands.
• Potassium iodide is a salt and can be safely disposed of in municipal solid waste. It does not require prior treatment or disposal through a pharmaceutical take-back program.

If you have questions on this notice, please contact Mario Iannaccone, Emergency Plan Supervisor for the Radiation Control Program, at 617-242-3035.

FEMA Potassium Iodide Exemptions

Click to page: https://adams.nrc.gov/wba/

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