Belgium has begun giving its 11 million citizens free access to iodine pills in the event of an accident at its ageing nuclear plants, while maintaining that there is no “specific risk”, The Guardian reports.
In the event of a nuclear disaster, iodine pills help reduce radiation build-up in the thyroid gland - the part of the body most sensitive to radiation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Belgium’s seven “creaking” nuclear reactors have sparked concern after several problems “ranging from leaks to cracks” and an “unsolved sabotage incident”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In previous years, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany have expressed their own worries with Belgium’s nuclear plants, adds the Guardian. The Dutch government ordered millions of iodine pills for its own citizens residing near the Belgian border.
The Belgian government has also launched a website available in the country’s official languages of French, Flemish and German to tell people what to do in an nuclear emergency.
However, interior minister Jan Jambon said these plans were preventative: “For now there is no specific risk with our nuclear plants.”
Benoit Ramacker, spokesman for the national crisis centre, said Belgium launched a series of nuclear accident emergency measures in 1991. Those measures have only been updated once since then, in 2003.
“Citizens must also prepare to help themselves the day something happens”, said Ramacker.
-
Schools: The return of a dreaded fitness testFeature Donald Trump is bringing the Presidential Fitness Test back to classrooms nationwide
-
An insatiable hunger for proteinFeature Americans can't get enough of the macronutrient. But how much do we really need?
-
Health: Will medical science survive RFK Jr.?Feature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. scrapped $500 million in mRNA vaccine research contracts
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
