The city of
Aachen issued iodine tablets to its 150,000 residents and the surrounding
population due to fears of nuclear leaks from Belgium’s Tihange nuclear power
plant, the BBC reports.
The city
issues coupons exchangeable for pills that reduce the threat of thyroid cancer
after a release of radiation. The pills are issued for individuals aged 3 to 46
in a different dosage. Over 500,000 people have been advised to stock the
pills, suggesting the population must have them at their disposal in case of an
emergency.
The highly
unusual issuance of pills has been authorized by the state of North
Rhine-Westphalia, although it is not linked to a specific case of leakage that
has been publicized. Such pills are centrally stocked and issued in cases of
emergency.
Belgium’s
Tihange 2 and Doel 3 ageing nuclear reactors have been shut down repeatedly for
security reasons, including water leaks and micro-cracks in some reactor units.
They are scheduled to close in 2023 and 2025 respectively. Belgium’s federal
nuclear agency (AFCN) has repeatedly offered assurances that radiation can’t
leak out.
In February
2016, Aachen sued the Belgian Electrabel company that owns the 40-year old
Tihange plant. In April, the German government urged Belgium to bring forward
the decommissioning of the reactors, although Belgium covers 50% of its
electricity needs from nuclear energy and is not ready to replace the
6,000-megawatt capacity of the dangerous plants.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/aachen-issues-iodine-pills-scaling-preparations-belgian-nuclear-leak/