Democratic leaders are accusing the Bush administration of dragging its heels in providing potassium iodide to state and local governments for stockpiling and, in the event of a nuclear incident, distribution to people living within 20 miles of a nuclear power plant to prevent radioiodine-induced thyroid cancer.
In a November 9 letter to Jim Nussle, director of the Office of Management and Budget, the leadership of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce noted that 5 years has passed since passage of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2002, which mandated distribution of potassium iodide.
The letter also pointed out that in July, the White House transferred authority for the program’s implementation from the Department of Health and Human Services, which supported the distribution, to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which opposes expanding potassium iodide distribution outside the commission's 10-mile radius emergency planning zones.
"It is . . . [Full Text of this Article]
