Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Windsor, Photo by Mark Brown, WindsorNewsToday.ca.Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Windsor, Photo by Mark Brown, WindsorNewsToday.ca.
Windsor

Health unit to distribute K.I. pills in Essex soon

It's the Town of Essex's turn to get new K.I. pills to protect residents if there's an event at the Enrico Fermi 2 Nuclear Generating Station.

Over the past weeks, the Windsor Essex County Health Unit has distributed potassium iodide pills in Amherstburg and LaSalle.

Starting on October 9, those in Essex can get a new batch of the pills that protect the thyroid from absorbing harmful radiation.

"K.I. pills block the thyroid from absorbing radioactive iodine, which may be released during a nuclear emergency," said a release from the health unit. "K.I. pills would help to prevent the development of thyroid cancer."

On October 9, residents can pick them up at any Essex fire station between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

They're available again on November 2 at the Harrow and Colchester South Community Centre and the Essex Centre Sports Complex from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Any resident in Windsor-Essex can pick up K.I. pills at the health unit or by going to its website.

Like LaSalle, Essex falls within the secondary zone around the American nuclear power plant.

"While the level of risk has not changed at Fermi 2, the regulatory framework for Canadian nuclear installations has been updated," said the health unit. "The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has mandated that all residents within the primary zone of a nuclear installation have K.I. pills available in their homes. While Fermi 2 [in Ohio] is not regulated by the CNSC, the health unit and the Town of Essex want the residents living within the primary and secondary zones of Fermi 2 to be as prepared as all other Canadian residents."

The pills should only taken when instructed by the Medical Officer of Health.

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