Hawaii Health Officials Standing By With Anti-Radiation Medication

Rj Brown

If radioactive particles from the damaged Japanese nuclear power plant reach Hawaii, state Department of Health officials say they will have speedy access to a federal stockpile of anti-radiation medication.

"If there is a need for medication, should it rise to that level — we feel it won't — but should it rise to that level, we have already explored the availability of potassium iodide on island and we know that we have a good stock," Acting Health Department Director Loretta Fuddy told the Senate Health Committee Wednesday. "The other thing is that we have already looked into our federal stockpile, and if necessary, we can activate that and have medications here within 24 hours."

The DOH, state and counties say mass distribution of medication to the public would take place within 24 hours of receiving the pills from the Centers for Disease Control, which maintains a cache of medicines and medical supplies ready for deployment in the event of a public health emergency such as a radiological disaster.

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