Vine Cottage, Kington Lane, Thornbury, Bristol, BS35 1NA

01454-416778 sglosfoe@crumbly.plus.com

PRESS RELEASE

27 February 2004-02-27

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

FoE say iodine tablets should be distributed before an emergency

Friends of the Earth will be demonstrating and leafleting outside Boots in Thornbury on Monday 1 March at 1:45pm.

Friends of the Earth say the government and the nuclear industry should ensure everyone in the country has a supply of iodine tablets in case there is a nuclear emergency.

There are plans to distribute the tablets after an emergency, but Friends of the Earth say this would be too late. It could take a minute or two for radioactive iodine to reach Thornbury from Oldbury power station, and tablets could not be distributed that quickly. If radioactive iodine is released then anyone breathing the invisible gas would be at risk from thyroid cancer. Iodine tablets saturate the thyroid with natural iodine and prevent the radioactive iodine from being absorbed into the body. The tablets would only be effective if taken before the radioactive gas is breathed in.

Every citizen in the Republic of Ireland has received iodine tablets in case of a nuclear emergency, even though they have no nuclear power. Friends of the Earth say that they are taking a responsible view of the risks of a nuclear emergency in Britain affecting them across the Irish Sea. They say that with a nuclear power station on our doorstep, our risk is very much greater.

Radioactive iodine has escaped from nuclear power stations in this country in the past. In the 1950s there was a major release of iodine from Windscale in Cumbria.

Friends of the Earth spokesman Alan Pinder said “The risk of such a release from Oldbury is very small indeed. But the emergency plan to distribute the tablets after a nuclear event is not good enough. The authorities could easily and cheaply distribute these tablets, but they are worried about frightening us by admitting what could go wrong with nuclear power.”

After pressure from Friends of the Earth, iodine tablets are now for sale in packs of ten in Boots in Thornbury.

For further information please contact Alan Pinder on 01454-416778.