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.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Foreign affairs
Magnitsky case: How Switzerland failed to investigate Russian millions
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
This content was published on
The Swiss army has deployed troops to the Upper Valais village of Saas-Grund, an area of which was buried over the weekend by mudslides.
Initiative for Switzerland to back nuclear weapon ban launched
This content was published on
The Alliance for a Nuclear Weapons Ban has launched a popular initiative for Switzerland to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Swiss film director faces backlash over AI-written screenplay
This content was published on
Complaints from film fans over the use of AI has led Prince Charles Cinema in London to cancel the premiere of The Last Screenwriter.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.