Europeans are emptying pharmacies of iodine to protect against radiation after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and made veiled nuclear threats.
At the start of the February 24 attack on Ukraine, Putin euphemistically warned in a televised speech that he would use nuclear weapons if other countries intervened, reigniting Cold War fears of atomic destruction.
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A few days later, in a dramatic escalation, Putin announced that he was putting Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert in response to the West’s imposition of sweeping sanctions on his country.
“In the last six days, Bulgarian pharmacies have sold as much [iodo] how much they sold for a year,” said Nikolay Kostov, president of the Pharmacy Union. “Some pharmacies are already sold out. We’ve ordered new quantities, but I’m afraid they won’t last long.”
The World Health Organization recommends that children, pregnant women and people under the age of 40 take iodine, also known as potassium iodide, to protect the thyroid from radiation exposure after a nuclear accident. When taking potassium iodide, the substance blocks the thyroid gland from absorbing radioactive iodide, which can cause cancer.
After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, Japanese authorities encouraged people who lived nearby to take iodine. But stocking up on the pills can do people little good in the current climate.
The head of the Czech State Office for Nuclear Safety, Dana Drabova, warned on Twitter that iodine would not help in the event of a nuclear war, where people would potentially be exposed to unusually high levels of radiation.
“You ask a lot about iodine pills,” she wrote, “As protection from radiation when (God forbid) nuclear weapons are used, they are basically useless.”
Demand for iodine has also increased in Croatia, and doctors have warned people that the mineral poses health risks, Barron’s reported.
“(Iodine pills) can cause serious side effects,” reads a statement released by the Croatian Medical Chamber. The pills can adversely affect the function of the thyroid gland and cause allergic reactions, according to the financial news magazine.
Many people were given iodine after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, which sent a radioactive cloud across Europe.
The Russian military swept the contaminated site on the first day of the invasion and captured the decommissioned nuclear plant, disturbing the ground and increasing radiation levels in the area, according to the UN International Atomic Energy Agency.
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