CHICAGO,
IL –U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today vowed to work in Congress
and with state legislators to reverse Governor Ryan’s irresponsible decision
that keeps life-saving potassium iodide pills away from Illinois families
living within ten miles of nuclear facilities. The federal government
has offered to provide Illinois, free of charge, these pills that help
insulate the thyroid gland from absorbing dangerous radioactive substances,
such as Iodine 131, that may cause cancer. Governor Ryan has so far
rejected the offer.
Last
month, Schakowsky urged Ryan to include potassium iodide pills in his comprehensive
nuclear accident/attack response plan. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
recently issued a rule requiring all states with reactors to consider the
use of the pills. Arizona, Alabama, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts
and Tennessee have already accepted the offer and are stockpiling potassium
iodide.
“The
Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a warning that Al Qaeda operatives
here in the United States may be planning attacks on any of the 103 nuclear
energy sites. Illinois is the most nuclear state in the country. Governor
Ryan, what could be your motivation for refusing to give Illinois families
a small, but essential, measure of protection in case our worst fears come
true?” Schakowsky asked.
“I
don’t understand why the Governor and his experts oppose the stockpiling
of potassium iodide pills. They argue that the people of Illinois would
feel a false sense of security. They think that families would actually
stick around if a major nuclear disaster, like Chernobyl or Three Mile
Island, ever takes place. They must not ‘trust’ the people of Illinois.
I say to the Governor: Give the people of Illinois some credit. They’re
going to take their pills and head for the hills,” Schakowsky added.
At
a news conference in Chicago, Schakowsky said she will work to pass H.R.3279,
common sense federal legislation that would require states to ensure that
homes and public facilities within 50 miles of nuclear power plants are
provided with potassium iodide pills. Illinois State Representatives Mary
K. O’Brien, Harry Osterman, Julie Hamos, and Sara Feigenholtz and State
Senator Carol Ronen, who joined Schakowsky at the event, announced their
intentions to introduce comparable legislation in the state legislature.
Dr.
Arthur Schneider, a member of the American Thyroid Association, also attended
the news conference, and spoke of the invaluable and effective protection
potassium iodide pills would provide to the thyroid in case of exposure
to radioactive materials.
“Scientific
evidence is clear on this subject: if you take your pill a few hours after
being exposed to radioactive materials, your chances of developing thyroid
cancer are slim,” said Schakowsky.
She
pointed to data gathered following the Chernobyl reactor accident.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), more than 1,000 children
suffered from thyroid cancer following the accident in Belarus, Russia
and Ukraine. But Poland did not see this dramatic rise in the number of
cases because officials distributed potassium iodide pills to millions
of adults and children following the disaster.
For
130 mg potassium iodide pills, the FDA recommends that adults 18
and older and women who are pregnant take one pill; children between the
ages of 3 and 18 be given ½ a pill; children under the age of 3
be given ¼ pill; and children under one month old be given 1/8 of
a pill. The FDA has concluded that side effects associated with potassium
iodide are minor and uncommon.
“It
is negligent of the Governor to turn down the federal government’s free
offer of potassium iodide pills, especially at a time like this.
These pills would help save thousands of lives and no one in Illinois living
near a nuclear power plant should be without them,” Schakowsky concluded. |