People living within a 50km radius of Swiss nuclear power plants will receive a fresh stock of iodine tablets over the coming weeks and until next April.
The government has purchased 12 million packs of iodine tablets. The budget for the iodine distribution campaign is CHF34 million of which CHF11 million will be financed by the nuclear power plant operators, who will pay CHF 1.22 million a year into government’s general fund from 2021 to 2029.
The Army Pharmacy is the only administrative unit of the government to hold Swissmedic authorisations for the manufacture, import, wholesale and export of iodine tablets. It is also responsible for their acquisition, storage, distribution and disposal.
For distribution, it collaborates with the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and Swiss Post. Potassium iodide tablets can be stored for a maximum of ten years. They must be replaced and disposed of properly after this period.
These tablets may only be taken on the orders of the authorities, in particular the National Emergency Operations Centre (CENAL). These tablets prevent the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid gland, thereby preventing the development of thyroid cancer. The tablets should only be taken in the event of a serious nuclear accident in which radioactivity is released.
Fewer at risk
The majority of the cantons of Bern, Jura, Fribourg and Neuchâtel are no longer affected. This is because most inhabitants are no longer part of the compulsory distribution radius, as the Mühleberg power plant, which was decommissioned in 2019, is currently being dismantled. The preventive distribution area will now only cover a 50 km radius around the nuclear plants Beznau I/II and Leibstadt in canton Aargau, as well as Gösgen in canton Solothurn.
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