[BigCheeseStick]

I've got a couple packs of Iosat on hand, but am wondering if it or ANYTHING is really going to help. As I'm looking at prices I see KI03 is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than KI, but the only information I've been able to find on KI03 is being diligently supplied by either a manufacture, or somebody trying to sell it. :/

Anybody familiar with how radiation effects the human body, how it's treated, or even have a source of information that doesn't stand to gain from sales of magic beans?

 

[Fuzzee]

I wish I knew more thinking about it, but it's one of those things I put on the back burner because I know if we get hit in a nuclear attack, I'm probably going to fry. I had some training on it, but only so much. Ole Lindsay says you folks over there are toast. Maybe it's time to take a long vacation.

Here's a nice article,

Radiation Biological Effects

 

[PaulS]

Iodine tablets are used to get certain isotopes out of your body - and they are very effective at doing so. They in no way increase your resistance to ionizing radiation or its effects on your body outside the digestive tract. If you are exposed to direct radiation it won't do anything for that other than make you emotionally feel better. Fallout is not particularly bad as long as you can shower and clean your clothes. Strontium 90 is a real danger and it comes from exposure to foods from metal containers that have been exposed to direct and indirect radiation. Unfortunately your iodine tabs won't help in that situation.

Best thing is to keep a minimum of 2 feet - 200 pounds per square foot - of dirt or sand between you and any radiation primary source. With air burst bombs you need to stay sheltered for three days - especially if it rains during that time.

 

[BigCheeseStick]

Supposedly FEMA has it written that all pharmacies are supposed to maintain a supply of Potassium Iodide to hand out in case of emergencies.

I asked around at a local drug store about all this and they said to wait till next week when their pharmacist in charge is back because "the guy is a genius, and into that prepping stuff. He'll be able to tell you anything you want to know." O.O Looking forward to it!

 

[roy]

Radion pill only work if you body needs iodine. Eat iodized salt and skip the pills.

 

[Nathan Jefferson]

I take this several times a week - not a bad idea for most people to do. Much more bang for your buck over the pills.

Iodine drops.

All the pills and the drops do is displace radioactive iodine to help prevent it causing damage, keep your body stocked and then flushed with more and you don't have to worry much about radioactive iodine. But there are still lots of other things to worry about!

 

[BigCheeseStick]

I spent half a dozen years in nuclear power plants back in the 1980's and did some work with guys at the Pantex plant in Texas as well. I can assure you, if you're worried about nuclear as your doomsday scenario, quit worrying. If a dirty nuke goes off or a conventional warhead, there isn't anything that's going to help you - you're dead. Those pills are just snake oil - a complete scam. If doomsday comes in the form of radiation, trust me, you are doomed and no chem suit, tape, or pill is going to save you. It may prolong the inevitable, but you won't want it to. We watched a lot of films on radiation poisoning back then in safety classes, and I've kept up with the industry since then - honestly, there's just nothing you can do in that scenario short of the old cold war bunkers as seen in "Blast from the Past." Sorry to be a wet blanket, but don't waste your money on those things.

You would know far more than me, but. Soviet submarine K-19 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia MOST of the crew lived to be old grey haired men with normal lives after long periods of heavy exposure. They musta did something right. :/

 

[Meangreen]

I spent half a dozen years in nuclear power plants back in the 1980's and did some work with guys at the Pantex plant in Texas as well. I can assure you, if you're worried about nuclear as your doomsday scenario, quit worrying. If a dirty nuke goes off or a conventional warhead, there isn't anything that's going to help you - you're dead. Those pills are just snake oil - a complete scam. If doomsday comes in the form of radiation, trust me, you are doomed and no chem suit, tape, or pill is going to save you. It may prolong the inevitable, but you won't want it to. We watched a lot of films on radiation poisoning back then in safety classes, and I've kept up with the industry since then - honestly, there's just nothing you can do in that scenario short of the old cold war bunkers as seen in "Blast from the Past." Sorry to be a wet blanket, but don't waste your money on those things.

This is true for many of the Biological and chemical weapons as well. Much of the training I have had, treatment listed for most was make them comfortable and treat for pain if possible. Not a lot you can do.
Here is some interesting tests that have been done.

The St Jo Program and Large Area Concept
The success of the first field tests only increased demand for more experiments. In response to an Air Force request, in 1953 the Chemical Corps created the St Jo Program and operatives staged mock anthrax attacks on St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Winnipeg. The bacteria were released from generators placed on top of cars, and local governments were told that "invisible smokescreen" were being deployed to mask the city on enemy radar. The next stage was to increase dispersal patterns, dispeThe St Jo Program and Large Area Concept
The success of the first field tests only increased demand for more experiments. In response to an Air Force request, in 1953 the Chemical Corps created the St Jo Program and operatives staged mock anthrax attacks on St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Winnipeg. The bacteria were released from generators placed on top of cars, and local governments were told that "invisible smokescreen" were being deployed to mask the city on enemy radar. The next stage was to increase dispersal patterns, dispensing particles from airplanes to find out how wide of an area they would affect. The first Large Area Concept experiment, in 1957, involved dispersing microorganisms over a swath from South Dakota to Minnesota; monitoring revealed that some of the particles eventually traveled some 1200 miles away. Further tests covered areas from Ohio to Texas and Michigan to Kansas. In the Army's words, these experiments "proved the feasibility of covering large areas of the country with [biological weapons] agents."
nsing particles from airplanes to find out how wide of an area they would affect. The first Large Area Concept experiment, in 1957, involved dispersing microorganisms over a swath from South Dakota to Minnesota; monitoring revealed that some of the particles eventually traveled some 1200 miles away. Further tests covered areas from Ohio to Texas and Michigan to Kansas. In the Army's words, these experiments "proved the feasibility of covering large areas of the country with [biological weapons] agents."

Got Duct Tape?: The Truths and Tales of Biological Warfare

 

[jimb1972]

Iodine is absorbed by the thyroid gland, all the potassium iodide does is flood your body with iodine 53 to keep the thyroid from absorbing the radioactive isotope iodine 131. If your thyroid absorbs the radioactive iodine it will continue to irradiate your body from the inside and increase the dose of radiation you already received initially. Probably not going to help in the case of a dirty bomb unless the radioactive material used in the bomb is iodine 131 (not gonna happen there are easier to aquire and more deadly materials out there) as far as I know iodine 131 is only produced in a fission reaction.

 

[BigCheeseStick]

Chernobyl survivor recalls deadly silence amid nuclear disaster

Key word "Survivor"...

"6,000 cases of thyroid cancer have been detected in the region affected by Chernobyl's disaster, reports USA Today." You know what prevents the thyroid absorbing the radiation, causing cancer? ... Yeah, the pills.

Believe what you like... The pills are $10 worth of documented insurance I'm willing to hopefully waste for lack of needing to use!

 

[jimb1972]

Chernobyl survivor recalls deadly silence amid nuclear disaster

Key word "Survivor"...

"6,000 cases of thyroid cancer have been detected in the region affected by Chernobyl's disaster, reports USA Today." You know what prevents the thyroid absorbing the radiation, causing cancer? ... Yeah, the pills.

Believe what you like... The pills are $10 worth of documented insurance I'm willing to hopefully waste for lack of needing to use!

Especially if you have kids, the age of the person exposed is very important children are much more likely to get thyroid cancer from exposure to iodine 131

 

[jimb1972]

K-19 was a neat movie, and yes, most of her crew did survive, but I'd bet the farm that a very large number of them died slowly from a host of ills that the Soviets never admitted were due to their exposure on K-19. And, not sure what Wiki says about it, but the heavily "crapped up" area of that sub was actually contained fairly well (honest, that's a nuke plant term - when somebody's been exposed, they're "crapped up"). Nuke reactors on subs and ships, even the old Soviet ones, were pretty well built over all.

Back when I was young, dumb, and stupid, I was doing nuclear security compliance work, contracted out to the NRC. It was the Reagan years and since the military wouldn't take me, it was as close as I could get. We got a lot of fantastic training and thought we were hot sh*t, but after a few years of being around that stuff, I had heard enough horror stories to convince me I did NOT want a career working around nuke plants or in nuke weapons facilities!

People have been known to survive everything but life itself, if you want to lay down and die if you are exposed that is your prerogative. I will fight to the bitter end, you are not defeated until you are dead or accept your defeat.

 

[PaulS]

Iodine poisoning can kill you too. There are treatments to help but it is also easy to overdose on that as well. I believe that Bromine is used to reduce the Iodine absorption but getting a balance is extremely difficult. Bromine is found in breads made with "enriched" flour. Iodine is available in table salt. Both sources can cause overdoses in people who use them.

I will stick to the non-iodized salt and my home-made bread.