MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –
Source: Republic of France in FrenchThe French Republic has issued the following statement:
Since 1997, preventive and free distributions of stable iodine tablets have been organized for people living near a nuclear facility. A new distribution campaign is being set up from September 2024. It is aimed at people living in a municipality located:
within a radius of 10 kilometers around a nuclear power plant; within a radius of 5 kilometers around other civil or military nuclear installations.
To find out if you are affected by this distribution campaign, you must indicate your address in the “know the risks near me” section of the Géorisques website, then click on “access detailed information”. If you are concerned, a “2024/2025 iodine campaign” banner will be present on the page. You are therefore invited to withdraw a number of boxes of tablets adapted to the size of your household, free of charge from a pharmacy partnering with this distribution campaign. You do not need to provide any supporting documents.
Please note
If your workplace is located in an area affected by this stable iodine distribution campaign, your company manager is responsible for supplying the tablets.
Establishments open to the public receive withdrawal vouchers allowing them to obtain a supply of stable iodine tablets for the people they welcome.
When to take stable iodine tablets?
In the event of a major accident, some nuclear facilities may release radioactive elements into the atmosphere, particularly radioactive iodine, which increases the risk of developing thyroid cancer. Taking stable iodine protects your thyroid gland against the effects of radioactive iodine.
You should only take stable iodine when instructed to do so by the prefect. Information is disseminated via public service media and loudspeaker vehicles. Having stable iodine tablets at home is a precautionary measure; it allows you to save time when iodine intake is ordered.
Taking stable iodine tablets concerns everyone, but in priority people whose thyroid is most sensitive to the effects of radioactive iodine:
newborns; persons under 18 years of age; pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The number of tablets to take varies depending on the person’s age; the dosage appropriate for each situation is indicated in the leaflet.
Please note
Tablets distributed from 2024 are valid for 10 years. During this period, they must be stored in their cardboard packaging, protected from humidity and at room temperature.
If you have iodine tablets from previous campaigns that have expired, you can return these boxes of expired tablets to the pharmacy.
Attention
Stable iodine tablets do not protect against releases of other radioactive elements for which sheltering or evacuation is the only protection.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.