War in Ukraine and an ultimate fear nuclear conflict or accident some countries have set the alarms and some have activated plans to protect their populations. This situation FinlandSharing a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, the population under the age of 40 moved to Russia last week. potassium iodide tabletsa drug that prevents the absorption of radioactive iodine through the thyroid in the event of nuclear radiation. Stocks sold out in a few hours.
Apart from this advice, the Scandinavian country has had a comprehensive plan for decades to prepare its citizens for possible wars, nuclear accidents and natural disasters. and has a wide network. civil protection shelterslarge strategic reserves consumables and emergency protocols for unexpected situations of a different nature.
Other European countries also have contingency plans and different policies regarding stocks of iodine tablets. Proximity to the conflict zone greatly affects them, as in Finland, Poland, Romania or the Baltic countries. But most of them have no specific plans, at least not publicly available due to the war in Ukraine:
Spain: One million public pills… and the rest is secret
The Defense Pharmacy Military Center factory at the San Pedro military base in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid) produces 1,250,000 pills El Periódico de Catalunya from the Prensa Ibérica group confirms that government sources have a high concentration of potassium iodide, with a maximum of 65 milligrams per tablet.
However, this production, which is due in November, is not what is demanded in other European countries to protect themselves from radiation in the context of the war in Ukraine. Pills from Madrid will be distributed to the neighboring population of nuclear power plants. Ascó, Vandellós, Trillo, Garoña, Cofrentes and Almaraz because the existing iodine reserves of the Nuclear Contingency Plan will come to an end.
Distributing the pills will be the responsibility of Home Affairs through Civil Protection. And it will do so in the states of Tarragona, Guadalajara, Burgos, Valencia and Cáceres.
The new party will protect 625,000 people. Each tablet is half the dose; In some radioactive emergencies, each neighbor must take two of these pills until they reach 130 milligrams of saturation in the body, which inhibits the absorption of radioactive iodine.
There is another production of iodine pills “usual“In defense plans, Army sources admit without comment. But it is clear how many tablets are there and where they are hidden. hiddenIt’s part of the National Security System’s resource catalog.
The same sources leave without denying that Defense contains iodine pills among 11 tons of iodine pills. sanitary material It was sent to Ukraine last March by the General Health Inspectorate, when Europe was concerned about conflicts in the region. Chernobyl.
Much further from Zaporiya than Helsinki or Bucharest, in Madrid, Moncloa’s Department of National Security oversees the preparation of drugs, not the manufacture of pills. scams on the protective iodine. Try to distinguish what is circulating on social media and what is fear and Russia’s destabilizing propaganda.
Meanwhile, in Amazon some sellers agree with the statement “for radiation“Advertisement of iodine pills, which are essentially nothing more than a dietary supplement.” military manufacturing -explains its military source-. Those sold in stores and pharmacies have minimal concentration.” JUAN JOSE FERNANDEZ
France: Concerns about pill stocks
The French government practically did not comment on the use of iodine tablets in the event of a nuclear attack in the war in Ukraine. French authorities, trivialization The danger of the Russian Army using tactical atomic bombs. In his policy of deterrence, backed by the fact that France and other Western powers also have nuclear weapons, “The less we talk about it, the more credible we are,” he assured French President Emmanuel Macron last Wednesday. Interview for public television.
As a result, the French Executive hardly talked about iodine tablets. The last unpaid statements date back to March. Olivier Véran, Minister of Health at the time, said that “there is enough iodine to meet all the needs of the population” in the country. Despite this, there are doubts that this is true. According to the latest data, France had 95.7 million pills in 2020, although it covered the entire population it needed 130 million. ENRIC BONET
Italy: Not available in pharmacies, only available through the Government in case of disaster
The Italian people will not buy iodine pills to counter the effects of radiation in the face of a possible nuclear attack on Ukraine. Or at least not doing it en masse, as Roberto Tobia, current secretary of the Italian National Association of Pharmacists (Federfarma), recently reported. The evidence is that for the moment the issue barely entered public discussion and on the transalpine media agenda.
But, as Tobia explains, “in Italy, as in other countries, stock available one of these pills and extraordinary distribution plan also for pharmacies in a real nuclear alarm situation.” He said, “taking these pills now is a waste of time. meaningless‘ added Tobia after she stressed that it has side effects for the thyroid.
This drug is also not easy to obtain in Italy because it is normally a commercially available drug. not sold in pharmacies and if a state of emergency is declared due to a nuclear attack, the pills will be distributed first by the Civil Defense, the authorized ministries and the National Health Service. IRENE SAVIO
Germany: 190 million pills stored nationwide
Inside Germany There is no recommendation from the authorities for the public to purchase or store iodine tablets. The only public response from the government dates back to mid-March last. Ministry of Environment the country almost 190 million Iodine pills stored and distributed in 16 federal states of the country. The press release was issued in response to the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the danger of a nuclear disaster.
“For about a distance 100 kilometers distribution of iodine tablets is planned for persons up to 45 years old, pregnant women, children and adolescents in the immediate vicinity of a nuclear power plant,” the ministry note continues: Distance from Ukraine is not expected to be required to take iodine tablets. not recommended self medicine with high-dose pills. Self-medication with high-dose iodine tablets requires: health risks, but currently of no use. Iodine tablets can only be effective when taken at the right time.” ANDREU STRIP
Belgium: free tablets in pharmacies since 2018
Nuclear risk currently does not exist, even if the Belgian authorities, from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Federal Nuclear Control Agency, closely monitor the development of the situation in Ukraine. no advice to the population to include iodine tablets in the first aid kit, the drug used to protect the thyroid in case of radioactive contamination. Until four years ago, it was only recommended for those living in one area. 20 kilometers radius around nuclear facilitiesas well as those located in the Netherlands and France near the Belgian border.
“Our assessment is that the war in Ukraine had no particular impact, so there are no recommendations. Not necessary. Since 2018 Belgian citizens can go to the pharmacy. free tablets“, a spokesperson for the Belgian Crisis Center explains and noted: to concern Citizens and interest in including such pills in the emergency kit has grown since the Russian invasion last February 24, despite the 237 measuring stations where they did not detect an increase in radiation levels or nuclear events unconfirmed. .
According to the Belgian Pharmaceutical Association, 348,660 boxes of iodine tablets were distributed in Belgium in March alone. This figure has dropped significantly, but there are still many citizens who come to do it. drug collection. For example, 8,140 boxes were distributed in August and 2,900 more in September. Even so, there is no supply of any kind, and the authorities have substantial national stockpiles. 21 million tablets stored in the reserves of the civil protection center and in the reserves of wholesalers and pharmacies. “Even if all Belgians go to the pharmacy to buy pills, it’s okay,” they say. a Belgian nuclear and radiological emergency plan Includes nuclear accidents. Silvia Martinez