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Supplements while in NRT

Old 04-04-2011, 09:43 AM
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Default Supplements while in NRT

Just curious what others may have heard or know about taking Potassium Iodine supplements prior to a NRT trip and while there on layover, i.e. preventative measure? So many conflicting reports on actual conditions there wrt food/water contamination, and with two major, and currently fragile economies hinged on the issue, I'm somewhat skeptical of the "all is well" speech coming from the company as well as the media on radiation levels in/around Tokyo. Custer had a similiar report to his folks just before Little Big Horn ya know...lol! :-)

Seriously though, anybody have any relevant facts/opinions on taking any supplements if going to NRT? Haven't asked Dr. K yet about these.
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Old 04-04-2011, 10:22 AM
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I just got back from NRT and took a multi-vitamin and fish oil while I was there. It can't hurt.

There are several web sites out there that are tracking radiation in Tokyo and crowd sourced results are pretty consistent at .1 - .2 micro-Sieverts around Narita and Tokyo.

Last week the arrivals were coasting in around Sendai and transiting Honsuhu to the west of Fukushima on the way to Narita. This week, we went R580-OATIS-FACER-JAMES-SWAMP which took us about 95 miles to the east of Fukushima at the closest tangent. Today we departed 34L and got an immediate turn to the southeast which kept us at least 100 miles south of Fukushima. Surface winds were 010/15 so I'd watch the radiation readings for sure. If you're a UA type, you'll be headed back downtown instead of staying in Naritaville.

To be safe, I'm skipping the local fish and dairy products for a while. Tanker bottled water to the hotel as it's soldout everywhere in town. Also, the downtown layover hotel is much better than the airport hotel for dampening earthquakes. There were two yesterday and I barely felt them, at the airport people were running for the door-frames, so hopefully you'll get better rest downtown.
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Old 04-04-2011, 10:54 AM
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Dr. K (FDX company doc) addressed this specific issue during a hub turn pilot (TV room) meeting this week. He didn't seem to be overly concerned about this type of radiation hazard at our distances from the source (he did say that plutonium is a MUCH higher risk).
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Old 04-04-2011, 11:46 AM
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I always thought plutonic relationships were more safe.
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Old 04-04-2011, 12:02 PM
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Originally Posted by kontrails View Post
Just curious what others may have heard or know about taking Potassium Iodine supplements prior to a NRT trip and while there on layover, i.e. preventative measure? So many conflicting reports on actual conditions there wrt food/water contamination, and with two major, and currently fragile economies hinged on the issue, I'm somewhat skeptical of the "all is well" speech coming from the company as well as the media on radiation levels in/around Tokyo. Custer had a similiar report to his folks just before Little Big Horn ya know...lol! :-)

Seriously though, anybody have any relevant facts/opinions on taking any supplements if going to NRT? Haven't asked Dr. K yet about these.
Dr. j is on the job:

Thyroid protection due to nuclear accidents and emergenciesIn 1982, the US FDA approved potassium iodide to protect thyroid glands from radioactive iodine involving accidents or fission emergencies. In an accidental event or attack on a nuclear power plant, or in nuclear bomb fallout, volatile fission product radionuclides may be released. Of these products, 131I is one of the most common and is particularly dangerous to the thyroid gland because it may lead to thyroid cancer. By saturating the body with a source of stable iodide prior to exposure, inhaled or ingested 131I tends to be excreted, which prevents radioiodine uptake by the thyroid. The protective effect of KI lasts approximately 24 hours. For optimal prophylaxis, KI must be dosed daily until a risk of significant exposure to radioiodine by either inhalation or ingestion no longer exists.

Emergency 130 milligrams potassium iodide doses provide 100 mg iodide (the other 30 mg is the potassium in the compound), which is roughly 700 times larger than the normal nutritional need (see recommended dietary allowance) for iodine, which is 150 micrograms (0.15 mg) of iodine (as iodide) per day for an adult.

Potassium iodide cannot protect against any other causes of radiation poisoning, nor can it provide any degree of protection against dirty bombs that produce radionuclides other than radioisotopes of iodine. See fission products and the external links for more details concerning radionuclides.

WHO Recommended Dosage for Radiological Emergencies involving radioactive iodine[25] Age KI in mg per day
Over 12 years old 130
3 – 12 years old 65
1 – 36 months old 32
< 1 month old 16

The potassium iodide in iodized salt is insufficient for this use.[26] A likely lethal dose of salt (more than a kilogram[27]) would be needed to equal the potassium iodide in one tablet.[28]

The World Health Organization does not recommend KI prophylaxis for adults over 40 years, unless inhaled radiation dose levels are expected to threaten thyroid function; because, the KI side effects increases with age and may exceed the KI protective effects "...unless doses to the thyroid from inhalation rise to levels threatening thyroid function, that is of the order of about 5 Gy. Such radiation doses will not occur far away from an accident site."[25]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services restated these two years later as "The downward KI (potassium iodide) dose adjustment by age group, based on body size considerations, adheres to the principle of minimum effective dose. The recommended standard (daily) dose of KI for all school-age children is the same (65 mg). However, adolescents approaching adult size (i.e., >70 kg [154 lbs]) should receive the full adult dose (130 mg) for maximal block of thyroid radioiodine uptake. Neonates ideally should receive the lowest dose (16 mg) of KI."[29]

SSKI (i.e., the solution of KI rather than tablets) may be used in radioiodine-contamination emergencies (i.e., nuclear accidents) to "block" the thyroid's uptake of radioiodine, at a dose of two drops of SSKI per day for an adult. This is not the same as blocking the thyroid's release of thyroid hormone, for which the adult dose is different (and is actually higher by a factor of 7 or 8), and for which KI anti-radiation pills (not a common medical treatment form of KI) are not usually available in pharmacies, or normally used in hospitals, or by physicians. Although the two forms of potassium iodide are completely interchangable, normally in practice the SSKI solution, which is the historical medical form of high dose iodine, is generally used for all medical purposes save for radioiodine prophylaxis. For protection of the thyroid against radioiodine (iodine-131) contamination, the convenient standard 130 mg KI pill is used if available. As noted, the equivalent two drops of SSKI may be used for this purpose, if the pills are not available.

wiki

Good luck finding any of these pills right now, it seems they are in very high demand, because nobody is alarmed or feels the need for protection.
Some reports indicate that about 8ML of tincture of iodine painted on the skin daily may be just as effective, but I cannot find any definitive studies.

Last edited by jungle; 04-04-2011 at 12:16 PM.
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