Post: Fang zhouzi: If Nuclear dust comes

Some people on the coast began to snap up and hoard salt. It is said that the leakage of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan will pollute the ocean and make salt unusable in the future. This worry is ridiculous. Even if a leak occurs, only the waters near the nuclear power plant are polluted. It is impossible for the whole ocean to be polluted. The nuclear material spreads to the Chinese waters and has long been diluted by sea water and can be ignored. To put it back, even if sea salt cannot be eaten in the future, there will be mineral salt available for backup.

Some people buy iodized salt because I heard that eating iodine can prevent radiation. Before the leaked radioactive substances (called Nuclear dust, in fact some gases) spread to China, we should first prevent it. This is unlikely. If Nuclear dust spreads to China 1 and two thousand kilometers away, and it is serious to the point where preventive measures need to be taken, Japan has long been a nuclear radiation area not suitable for human living.

If something is unlikely to happen, how can we deal with it? The radioactive activity of these dust is very low. If it is in vitro, it is unlikely to cause harm to the body. The key is to avoid sucking them into the body. Therefore, the preventive measures are similar to those for dealing with sandstorm. Close doors and windows at home and block Nuclear dust outside. Wear a mask when you go out (ordinary masks, but must be tight) to avoid inhalation of Nuclear dust during breathing. Wear strictly, avoid skin exposure to dust. When I got home, I took a bath, washed my clothes, and washed away the dust.

If Nuclear dust contains radioactive iodine, they will accumulate in the thyroid gland after being inhaled, causing damage to the thyroid gland and even causing thyroid cancer. At this time, you can take potassium iodine or potassium iodine tablets for prevention. The principle is to make the thyroid's absorption of iodine reach a saturated state, and it will not be able to absorb it when it encounters radioactive iodine. Therefore, the dose of iodine should be high (100 mg of iodine included, half for pregnant women and children over 3 years old, half for children under 3 years old, and half for newborn) in order to block the absorption of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland. Because iodine is metabolic, taking it too early does not work. Take iodine tablets several hours before inhalation, the thyroid absorption of radioactive iodine can be almost blocked. Even if iodine tablets are taken after just inhalation of radioactive iodine, the efficacy can reach 90%. However, due to the large quantity of iodine tablets, which far exceeds the human body's need for iodine (150 micrograms per day), side effects are large, so it is worth taking only when necessary. It is not recommended for people over 40 years of age. patients with thyroid diseases cannot take it either.

Those who buy and hoard iodized salt can't achieve the same effect by eating iodized salt, because the iodine content of iodized salt is very low, and only 20 ~ 50 mg of iodine, eat 2 ~ a day ~ 5 kg salt can reach the required dose. There are also people who hood up the amount of iodine (also known as the Chinese tablet). It is useless because a piece of iodine contains only 1.5 mg of iodine, and it takes six or seventy pills at a time to get enough dose. The iodine content of iodine-rich foods, such as kelp, is also very low. It is not realistic to prevent nuclear radiation by "therapeutic therapy.

Do not blame the general public for having no scientific knowledge. Even so-called experts, some of them have been spreading some ridiculous anti-nuclear radiation measures over the past few days. For example, a nuclear expert from Zhejiang University said that the neck should be protected in the case of nuclear radiation, because the human thyroid is the easiest to absorb iodine and is vulnerable to injury. It is recommended that people wear high-neck clothes or scarves. This seems to be because the thyroid gland absorbs iodine from the body, so it feels that the neck can be protected to prevent radioactive iodine from entering the thyroid gland.

Another member of the Radiation Protection Standards Committee of the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China believes that applying iodine to the neck would have a little protective effect, and even suggested using drinking a small amount of iodine for protection. Although iodine contains potassium iodide, it also contains single iodine, Which is corrosive and toxic, and cannot be drunk even if a small amount of iodine is used. Iodine can be slightly absorbed by the skin, enter the blood circulation, and then absorbed by the thyroid gland (so it is no difference to wipe it on the neck and other places ), however, such a small amount of iodine does not prevent the thyroid from absorbing radioactive iodine.

People are most eager to receive guidance from experts in the face of fear, while authoritative experts seem to advocate a method that is not only ineffective, but also harmful, people do not trust them in any way. In this case, it is better to learn more scientific knowledge and improve the ability of identification and self-protection.

2011.3.16.

(Xinhua Daily telecommunications .)