Lower Hudson Valley counties not concerned about nuke pill delay

Emergency officials in the Lower Hudson Valley say a federal delay in distributing potassium iodide pills to residents within 20 miles of a nuclear power plant hasn't affected residents' abilities to get the protection against a possible radiological release from the Indian Point plants in Buchanan.

The federal government already has distributed enough of the tablets, commonly called KI, to take care of the 4.7 million people who live within 10 miles of the nation's 103 working nuclear plants.

Congress, however, set a 2003 deadline for the Bush administration to distribute the pills to the more than 17 million other people who live within the 20-mile radius, and federal officials acknowledged Monday that they won't be able to do so until early in 2006.

So far, close to 200,000 doses of KI have been distributed in Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties through special events, local schools, municipalities, and even 4-H fairs.

Whether the 10-mile radius needs to be expanded is up for debate, local emergency officials say, but they will continue to provide as much of the thyroid protection as possible.

"It is absolutely more than we need to do," said Adam Stiebeling, Putnam's deputy commissioner of emergency services. "Basically, we have a planning standard of 10 miles. The prophylactic medication requirement with potassium iodide should not be greater than the planning area. Based on the science, a 10-mile planning zone and the administration of KI in that planning zone is acceptable."

The once-a-day pills are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and must be started within four hours of exposure to radiation. Thyroid cancer would be a leading health concern, particularly among children, in the event of a radioactive iodine leak caused by an accident or a terrorist attack.

Because the pills are recommended only for people 40 and younger, who are more likely than older people to get thyroid cancer, not everyone would need them.

Robert Claypool, director of the emergency preparedness planning office at the Department of Health and Human Services, acknowledged the government was behind schedule.

Claypool blamed bureaucratic indecision during the past two years about which agency — HHS or the Homeland Security Department — should be in charge of the federal government's stockpile of drugs and antidotes for anthrax, smallpox and other diseases.

The dispute was resolved this year in favor of HHS.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission paid $2.1 million to distribute KI — which can cost about 18 cents per tablet — to 21 states, agency spokesman Neil Sheehan said.

New York was one of the first states to accept the pills and to date has received 1.2 million 130 mg tablets and 288,000 65 mg tablets. The smaller tablets are for children. Officials from the state Emergency Management Office said yesterday that they were waiting for direction from their federal counterparts before creating any additional distribution strategies.

Dan Greeley, Rockland's top nuclear emergency official, said his county opted from the start to make the pills available to all residents, regardless of how close they live to Indian Point, and would continue to do so. Westchester officials said they would continue to make the pills available as needed and would increase the number distributed when the federal government calls for that.