Radiation emergency planning is what needs to be done at the time when everyone says ‘stop being alarmist, it will never get that bad’. However, as someone who lived on the perimeter of the atomic weapons establishment (AWE Aldermaston) I have grown accustomed to having a plan then forgetting about it and hoping it will never be needed. Because I practice functional medicine which is all about prevention being better than cure, there are certain things I have done for my family that I would like to share with my clients at this stage. If I am being alarmist, I apologize, but better that than telling you afterwards what you ‘could’ have done while you are in hospital with thyroid cancer.
At the time of writing there is a great deal of uncertainty about the degree of risk posed by the Russian occupation of both the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants. What is known is that the nuclear workers in Zaporizhahia are being held at gunpoint. More alarmingly, there is footage of daily ‘shelling’ of the nuclear plant including 10 hits today on the office where several radiation sensors were damaged and on the fire station. I don’t know what the difference is between that and ‘bombing’, but that is the current word in the media and I’m sure neither is any good when it happens in the fire station, which is the first point of contact in the event of a disaster… to make matters worse, there seems to be a veiled threat from the former Prime Minister of Russia who has just announced that ‘nuclear accidents can happen in the EU too’. On 3 August 2022 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was ‘completely out of control’.
Radiation Emergency Planning Before the disaster
Get a supply of potassium iodide. This is for use the moment you hear that a cloud of radiation is heading in your direction. The iodine will enter your thyroid gland and receptors will take up the ‘good’ iodine rather than the ‘bad’ radioactive iodine from the nuclear cloud. It can be taken up to 3-4 hours post exposure but longer than that and the chances are that your thyroid has already been exposed.
The reason for doing this is that the thyroid gland is particularly vulnerable to radiation. Taking 140mg of potassium iodide (a HUGE dose by normal standards) will help to protect you from thyroid cancer that could develop six months or more post exposure. It does not offer any protection from any other radiation damage, but it is such a cheap and quick win at this early stage.
Please remember that in general, vegans tend to have low iodine and should always look for foods that have extra iodine in, BUT BE AWARE that too much of a good think is also bad! Too much iodine is also harmful to the body, so please do not take large doses ahead of time, it will not help you. Nor should you take iodine supplements for a prolonged period of time.
Advance Preparation for exposure to radioactive cloud
- Ensure you have a supply of potassium iodide for 140mg per person to take as soon as you hear about the incident and not later than 3-4 hours post exposure.
- Keep plenty of canned and dried foods in your house because fresh crops may have been contaminated.
- Consider stocking up on Juice Plus Encapsulated fruit, vegetables and berries and on the meal replacement shakes. These will keep in your cupboard for much longer than fresh fruit and veg!
- Keep long life milk and orange juice in your cupboard for children’s lunch boxes, your regular cup of tea etc.
During Exposure to the radioactive cloud
- Remain indoors.
- Close all windows and doors, block out all draughts.
- Radioactive material will tend to accumulate on the roof and exterior walls, so try to stay as ‘central’ in the building as you can to reduce immediate exposure.
- Try to shield yourself from the source. Stay as far away from it as possible, minimize exposure and if you have any protective clothing, then wear that.
- If contamination levels are extremely high, you may want to consider using thick plastic sheeting (aluminium foil is also an option) that you tape up with duct tape around doors, windows and air ventilation bricks.
- The 3 main principles to bear in mind are:-
- Time
- Distance
- Shielding from ionizing radiation
- Clay filled ‘sandbags’ offer better protection than regular earth because it is more dense, so you could use this at the bottom of doors.
The aftermath of Radiation or Nuclear Emergency
Radioactivity in Drinking Water
The World Health Organisation has produced a booklet entitled Management of Radioactivity in Drinking Water that you can download by clicking on this link.
You may want to consider getting a water purification system for your home, although I am not sure how effective this is against radiation. I am contacting the company I refer to and will update this post when I hear back from them.
Food Supplies
Because cows and sheep graze in fields that will have been contaminated, you may want to avoid eating those meat products.
Crops will have also been exposed, so it is a good idea to have access to canned and dried foods that you have in your cupboards prior to the event.
My family ad I have taken Juice Plus encapsulated fruit and vegetables for a number of years because of the phytionutrients and nutritional benefits they bring. Taking the fruit, vegetable and berry capsules gives you 30 varieties every day so not only is this a good health supplement to take in general, but during times of food shortage or disasters such as the Covid-19 pandemic, they provided a lifeline to many people. In Italy, where the outbreak was particularly bad, Juice Plus was able to obtain a license to continue deliveries during lockdown because it was regarded as part of the essential food supplies that people needed.
A more affordable alternative to the capsules is the Complete Meal Replacement Shakes which comes in a powder form that you add to milk. If you do not make your own hemp or soy milk, then in an emergency situation I would recommend having UHT milk in the cupboard. This is a great solution for anyone on a tight budget as it works out at around £1.30 per meal which is an awful lot cheaper than a ‘meal deal’ from a supermarket!
A more affordable alternative to the capsules is the Complete Meal Replacement Shakes which comes in a powder form that you add to milk. If you do not make your own hemp or soy milk, then in an emergency situation I would recommend having UHT milk in the cupboard. This is a great solution for anyone on a tight budget as it works out at around £1.30 per meal which is an awful lot cheaper than a ‘meal deal’ from a supermarket!
Children’s lunch boxes
Following the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, my mother stopped my little brother from having milk in school and she gave him orange juice instead. At the time, people laughed and she was the only one doing it, but now that is known to be sound advice.
