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This page provides updated information about this important topic.ĬDC also has updated its Guidelines for Handling Decedents Contaminated with Radioactive Materials (cdc.gov). KI is a protective measure that is useful in limited situations. This page provides information to people who are breastfeeding about what to do in a radiation emergency. In a radiation emergency, mothers who are in the affected area might be exposed to radiation and may also be internally contaminated if they eat, drink, or breathe in radioactive material.
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How to Feed Your Baby in a Radiation Emergency In addition, two webpages on the Radiation Emergencies site have been updated with additional information: These videos, along with a number of other videos on radiation emergency topics, are located on our Radiation Emergencies website at Educational Videos - Protective Actions, Pharmaceutical Countermeasures, and Health Effects. When the thyroid absorbs high levels of radioactive iodine, it can increase the risk of thyroid cancer in infants, children, and young adults many years after exposure.
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In some radiation emergencies, usually nuclear power plant accidents, radioactive iodine may be released into the environment and enter the body through breathing or eating. In this example, the jar is the thyroid, the blue marbles are the KI, and the green marbles are the radioactive iodine.ĬDC has two short videos that show this on its website at Facts About Potassium Iodide (KI) | CDC.
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If you then pour green marbles over the jar, there will not be room and they will just spill out. Think of filling a jar with blue marbles. This happens because the thyroid has already absorbed the KI, and there is no room to absorb the radioactive iodine. When a person takes the right amount of KI at the right time, it can help block the thyroid from absorbing radioactive iodine. For KI to work, a person must take it before or shortly after exposure to radioactive iodine. The thyroid is a gland in the neck that plays an important role in many body functions. Chang (Medical Officer and Expert in Medical Treatments for Radiation): KI and radioactive iodine are both types of iodine. Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, CDCĭr.
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