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THE DEPARTMENT OF Health won’t be reissuing iodine tablets.
Homes across the country were sent the tablets in 2002 in case of a nuclear emergency, with a particular focus on the Calder Hall (Sellafield) and Chapelcross reactors in the UK.
Iodine tablets are designed to counteract radioactive iodine.
They were issued across Ireland amid fears of a terrorist attack on the Sellafield site, which is just 180 kilometres from the Louth coast.
The 2002 batch – 14.2million tablets at a cost of €630,000 – expired in 2005.
They will not be getting replaced, the Department says, because the threat of a nuclear meltdown has receded and taking them wouldn’t do anything, anyway.
The threat of an accident at a nuclear facility abroad involving the release of a large quantity of radio-iodine has very much receded in recent years.
The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) carried out a detailed analysis of different accident scenarios and concluded that, even in a worst case scenario, the use of iodine tablets would not be justified in Ireland. Given the above the Department does not propose to reissue iodine tablets.
The RPPI report found that at the Wylfa plant in Wales, the closest active plant to Ireland, only residents closer that three kilometres were given the tablets. It is 114km from Ireland.
So if not consuming a decade-expired tablet, what should you do? The EPA says you should go indoors, stay there and turn on your TV or radio to be kept informed.
Staying indoors if advised and avoiding contaminated foodstuffs after the emergency has subsidised, are by far the most effective ways of reducing your radiation dose from all radioactive materials.
Which is handy to know.
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There’s more important legislation needed at this time. Hogan is right to put it on the back burner. The last thing we need is more regulations that will inhibit growth.
And as long as the USA and China are out of any deal, it’s pointless in Ireland cutting back. Our contribution is a drop in the ocean. Why should we restrict ourselves while the rest of the world will plough ahead regardless?
Cutting emissions will come about naturally as we seek to change our sources of fuel to renewables.
Why should we restrict ourselves while the rest of the world will plough ahead regardless?
that was a bad business decision and they’ve rightly suffered from it. What it shows is that there’s always a competitive market in these areas to allow the best ideas to become the most popular ones. Fuel efficiency is more popular now than ever. Car companies are investing billions in innovating to find the next breakthrough technology. We don’t need government intervention to push this. It’s happening anyway!
What did the Greens do for us ? Let me think …. That’s right carbon no stealth tax..
Not this rubbish again. What ever happened to those po-faced, do-gooder gob*****s known as the greens. If you’re still worried about the great con that is global warming you really need to go shove yourselves where the sun don’t shine.
The evidence is mounting for climate change. Read the big science journals and you’ll see. People burying their heads in the sand is what caused the economic crisis. Its a mistake we can’t afford to repeat.
Lou, go educate yourself and find out how much the environment is worth to us in terms of health, economy, food production and funnily enough employment. Climate deniers have been thoroughly discredited even as recently as a report mentioned in The Journal last week.
I am not a po-faced, do-gooder gobexpletive but I am green and I am extremely concerned about the change in climate. Should I call you a corrupt, ignorant, climate denier and mainstream party follower then?
Lou, about 99% of the scientific community (the guys who know what they’re talking about) indicate antropogenic driven climate change is happening. now.
I think there is better things to be worrying about now rather than the green party tryin to get attention again,the worlds super powers should cut there emissions first before we a population of 4 million go down that route,the green party got there way with carbon taxes which are ridiculous given the harsh winters were getting,people can’t afford home heating oil cos of these gombeens that were in power
Are you happy that we continue to spend billions each year importing fossil fuels when we have some of the most plentiful renewable energy in Europe? Do you deny energy efficiency cuts business overheads and home heating bills? It’s possible to enhance the economy and tackle climate change at the same time. I don’t think Phil Hogan is the man to bring this about.
Are you for real? Heating oil has not gone up in price because of carbon taxes, noticed any wars in the middle east lately? Heard anything about the cost of extracting oil increasing as we have to go deeper to get at it? I know who the gombeens are and it certainly isn’t the Green Party.
A country of four million with not enough heavy industry to fit in a kettle should not consider climate change of pressing importance. A good covering of old-fashioned dirty industries would absorb a lot of the unemployed and generate business for SMEs.
we have one of the worst per capita GHG emissions in the EU, look at our ag sector and transport sector. Because of the importance of agri in this country and its sensitivity to the climate we should indeed look to the importance of climate change and embrace it in legislation.
How long was Gormley a Minister before finally getting round to printing a Bill on climate change?
Seems a fairly daft comparison, given that.
Gormley was tackling climate change from the moment he became minister, but new legislation takes frustratingly long to implement.
Ommm look up carbon tax budget 2010,there you will see kerosene oil 6.5 percent and gas 7 percent,petrol and diesel bout 5 cent per litre,so do your homework before you shoot your mouth off at me!!!!fool
James, the problem isn’t the carbon tax though it is the cost of the product in the first place. I pay it too when I heat my home same as everyone else but I have no problem with paying it. I’d prefer not to rely on fossil fuel though.
There are many things wrong with the system in Ireland that are far more damaging to our pockets than a small Carbon tax. Like it or not we have to start becoming more responsible for environmental impact.
Ommmmmmmm ……as I said. Go shove yourself where the sun don’t shine. Recycle your nonsense somewhere else coz were all stocked up on crazy around here.
yes indeed you appear to fill a large part of that quota
Ommm first it was hole in the ozone layer,then global warming now climate change,humans impact a very little percentage of this,sorry to burst your bubble but we are a planet that revolves around the sun like the rest of the planets,of course the world is goin to heat up and cool down I cycles,this industry in worth billions to the worlds governments preaching bout carbon footprint,all the supposedly called scientists are funded by the governments to preach this crap cos it’s worth billions to them!!
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