Army pharmacy supplies population with iodine tablets
Until April 2024, the Army Pharmacy will replace iodine tablets in all households as well as in businesses and public institutions within a radius of 50 km around Swiss nuclear power plants. This was recently announced by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).
According to the FOPH, the precautionary distribution affects all households, businesses and public institutions within a 50 km radius of the Beznau I/II (AG), Gösgen (SO) and Leibstadt (AG) nuclear power plants. To ensure the safety of the Swiss population, the federal government had purchased twelve million packs of iodine tablets. The budget for the distribution campaign is reported to be 34 million francs. 11 million francs of this would be covered by the nuclear power plant operators, who would pay 1.22 million francs a year into the general federal coffers between 2021 and 2029.
The distribution area
A interactive map of Switzerland shows which geographical areas are entitled to tablets. Outside the 50-kilometer area around Swiss nuclear power plants, the cantons ensure appropriate storage of potassium iodide tablets so that the entire population can be supplied with them in an emergency, the FOPH writes.
The Mühleberg (BE) nuclear power plant, which was taken off the grid in 2019, is currently being dismantled. Households, businesses and public facilities within the 50-kilometer radius were therefore no longer part of the mandatory distribution area. For the municipalities concerned, the completion of the cantonal stocks is currently underway.
Distribution in collaboration with FOPH and Post
The Army Pharmacy, as the only federal administrative unit with Swissmedic licenses for the manufacture, import, wholesale and export of medicines, is responsible for procurement, storage, distribution and disposal, he said. From October 2023, it will replace the current purple packs with orange packs.
The distribution is to be completed by the end of April 2024 and will cover all private households as well as businesses and public institutions in the defined areas around the nuclear power plants mentioned. The Army Pharmacy is working with the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and Swiss Post as its logistics partner.
A precautionary protective measure
Potassium iodide tablets may only be taken on the orders of the authorities, in particular the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), the media release emphasizes. The tablets can be stored for a maximum of ten years and must then be replaced, it further states.
According to information, iodine tablets prevent radioactive iodine from being absorbed into the thyroid gland and developing thyroid cancer. Taking them is intended only in the event of a serious nuclear power plant accident involving the release of radioactivity.
