UPDATE: U.S. health officials release dosage recommendations on iodide tablets

Area pharmacies and health food stores are being flooded with customers wanting to buy potassium iodide tablets to mitigate potential negative effects if radiation from nuclear explosions in Japan were to travel to the West Coast, staff members say.

"We've had phone calls and questions all day long since Monday," said Arte Whyte, supplements specialist at in Healdsburg, on Wednesday. "We're out of stock right now, and I have a waiting list for my next shipment."

At the Healdsburg pharmacy, staff said customers have been asking about the tablets for the last two days, but the pharmacy does not stock them.

"I'm not worried," said Pharmacy Technician Patricia Schaffer-Adams of the Larkfield-Windsor area. "If it was something a little closer, I would be."

Some Bay Area health officials are advising people that the threat of radiation exposure is not there, and that people should avoid taking the potassium iodide tablets.

Potassium iodide tablets are given to people exposed to excessive radiation to block absorption of radioactive iodide.

"Using potassium iodide when inappropriate could have potential serious side effects such as abnormal heart rhythms, nausea, vomiting, electrolyte abnormalities and bleeding," according to the California Department of Public Health.

On Tuesday, Bay Area health leaders in Contra Costa County issued a notice  saying there appears to be no risk at present to area residents from radioactivity leaking from damaged reactors in Japan.

"Given the thousands of miles between here and Japan, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not expect to find any harmful levels of radioactivity in Hawaii, Alaska or the West Coast," according to the statement.

Sonoma County health officials are directing residents to their website, which offers similar information.

The California Department of Public Health also has published "Frequently Asked Questions" about radiation, citing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission saying there's no danger to California from Japan's nuclear emergency and advising against taking potassium iodide.

Whyte said the potassium iodide tablets work by saturating the thyroid gland, which would normally absorb toxic radioactive iodide, with non-toxic iodide compounds so that there is no room left for the gland to absorb the radioactive material.

But Whyte said it is not necessary to saturate the thyroid gland in advance.

He said he is telling customers that "the issue is not there now, and if it did become an issue, it would not take a lot of time to stock up [the body's stores of non-radioactive iodine]," he said. "It only takes about 12 to 24 hours, depending on the person."

Whyte said if people do decide to take potassium iodide as a preventative treatment against radioactive iodine absorption, U.S. health officials are recommending 50 to 100mg for adults anywhere from 48 hours before and up to eight hours after a potential radiation exposure.  

"This is not a per-day dosage," Whyte said.  "I still think it to be a high dosage, but they are the officials."

He said people should be conservative and not use the tablets every day because "a consistently high dosage can lead to goiter and other  thyroid diseases," he said.

Whyte said he was expecting a new shipment of the tablets Thursday, and he said has placed orders with two backup distributors in case the first shipment falls through.

"We should definitely have more in by Saturday," Whyte said.

Meanwhile, he said, people should take the usual steps to keep their immune systems strong, such as eating healthy food, getting enough rest and exercise.

If people want to build up their bodies' iodine stores naturally as a preventative step, they should add more seaweed to their diet, such as in salads and soups, he said.

"The big thing is not to be overly concerned," Whyte said.

Whyte said the potassium iodide tables generally sell for $7 to $10 a bottle. If there is a shortage on the distribution side, the prices could go up, he said.

Other advice from Bay Area health officials is to "get prepared in the event of an emergency."

Preparedness tips can be found at http://www.cchealth.org/topics/emergencies/.

On a national level, technology is being used to enhance preparedness.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency  said Tuesday it is installing additional radiation monitors in the Western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, and in Guam. The agency has monitors already in place in California, including one in San Francisco, whose readings are accessible to the public at http://www.epa.gov/cdx.

Reactors in a nuclear power complex 140 miles northeast of Tokyo have leaked radiation in the wake of the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan Thursday night California time.

The quake and the resulting tsunami knocked out the reactors' cooling systems, and resulting explosions, fires and overheating of fuel rods at the power plants have sent radiation into the atmosphere. Japanese authorities so far have not been able to bring the disaster under control, spawning fears of a partial meltdown and a much larger release of radioactive materials.

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