Resident Jack VanLoan requested potassium iodide pills from the Newburyport, Mass., Health Department Tuesday.
(Photo by Bryan Eaton/Newburyport, Mass., Daily News)

CNHI News Service

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. - The local demand for radiation-blocking iodine pills has spiked since the Japanese nuclear power plant explosions, health officials report.

Newburyport is located on the Massachusetts coast only six miles from the Seabrook, N. H., nuclear power plant.

Bob Bracey, the city's health director, said he usually stockpiles about 1,000 potassium iodide pills, called "KI" tablets, but since the Japanese disaster has increased that to 5,000 to stay ahead of demand.

"We were lacking as far as not having enough pills," he said. "So we got a fresh batch."

He said the pills have a shelf life of three to five years or more if stored in a cool, dark place.

Potassium iodide pills help prevent the damaging effects of radiation by building up iodine in the thyroid glands. Exposure to high levels of radiation can lead to thyroid cancer.
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Details for this story were provided by the Newburyport, Mass., Daily News.