TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) –
An explosion at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Plant along with the recent exposure of uranium rods, increasing the risk of radiation, have stoked fears of an eventual nuclear meltdown.
Safety concerns, however, extend far beyond Japan; many Tucsonans have been taking precautions by purchasing iodine pills, which protect against radiation by filling the thyroid gland, which is especially vulnerable.
A handful of popular vitamin stores in Tucson that KGUN9 News called Monday afternoon were all out of stock of potassium iodide, a more potent form of iodine, after many customers became worried over the possibility of a meltdown at a nuclear power plant in Japan following the tsunami.
"We have been hearing about and having a lot of people coming in and asking us for iodine or potassium iodide," said Kindra Perrea, the manager at Warehouse Vitamins on Broadway Blvd. "I'm a bit surprised because it is quite far away, but at the same time because of the wind and weather patterns you never know."
Some vitamin stores are even starting waiting lists for customers insistent on purchasing potassium iodide, and many eBay sellers are taking advantage of the shortage in certain areas, demanding as much as $400 for the pills.
However, Aubrey Godwin, the Director of the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency told 9 On Your Side that Tucsonans have little reason to worry about the potential catastrophe thousands of miles away in Japan.
"The very little material being released has to go a great distance and it'll get diluted before it gets here, so probably no one will be able to detect it," said Godwin. "When you get down to the bottom line, they have not had a massive release of radiation."
Godwin said in the event of meltdown, there is another way to minimize danger: to stay in house, turn of the air conditioner or heater and wait until the plume of radiation passes or disintegrates. The effects of radiation depend on the amount of exposures, ranging from nausea to stomach problems to ultimately death.
An explosion at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Plant along with the recent exposure of uranium rods, increasing the risk of radiation, have stoked fears of an eventual nuclear meltdown.
Safety concerns, however, extend far beyond Japan; many Tucsonans have been taking precautions by purchasing iodine pills, which protect against radiation by filling the thyroid gland, which is especially vulnerable.
A handful of popular vitamin stores in Tucson that KGUN9 News called Monday afternoon were all out of stock of potassium iodide, a more potent form of iodine, after many customers became worried over the possibility of a meltdown at a nuclear power plant in Japan following the tsunami.
"We have been hearing about and having a lot of people coming in and asking us for iodine or potassium iodide," said Kindra Perrea, the manager at Warehouse Vitamins on Broadway Blvd. "I'm a bit surprised because it is quite far away, but at the same time because of the wind and weather patterns you never know."
Some vitamin stores are even starting waiting lists for customers insistent on purchasing potassium iodide, and many eBay sellers are taking advantage of the shortage in certain areas, demanding as much as $400 for the pills.
However, Aubrey Godwin, the Director of the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency told 9 On Your Side that Tucsonans have little reason to worry about the potential catastrophe thousands of miles away in Japan.
"The very little material being released has to go a great distance and it'll get diluted before it gets here, so probably no one will be able to detect it," said Godwin. "When you get down to the bottom line, they have not had a massive release of radiation."
Godwin said in the event of meltdown, there is another way to minimize danger: to stay in house, turn of the air conditioner or heater and wait until the plume of radiation passes or disintegrates. The effects of radiation depend on the amount of exposures, ranging from nausea to stomach problems to ultimately death.
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