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Radioactive Iodine-131 Fallout Blanketed Nearly the Entire U.S. in Gov't Nuclear Tests

Winds carried the fallout far and wide. From Nevada to New York, Montana to Mississippi—every corner of the continental U.S. was blanketed. It wasn’t a localized tragedy. It was a national exposure event. Ironically, doctors today intentionally use I-131 to treat patients with certain thyroid conditions, including hyperthyroidism and differentiated thyroid cancer. Unlike background radiation, I-131 is a manmade, high-risk isotope. Once released into the environment, it contaminates grass, then cows that eat the grass, then milk that children drink. It doesn’t take much.

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 Radioactive iodine : A dangerous and short lived fission product

Iodine 131 is a radioisotope with a very short period (half-life) of 8.02 days, making it highly radioactive. Frequently used in small doses in thyroid cancers therapies, it is also one of the most feared fission products when accidentally released into the environment.

Articles of Interest

Characteristics of exposure to radioactive iodine during a nuclear incident

During a nuclear accident, numerous products of nuclear fission are released, including isotopes of radioactive iodine. Among them is iodine-131, with a half-life of 8.02 days, which emits β radiation. For decades, it has been effectively and safely used in medicine. However, in the event of a nuclear accident, uncontrolled exposure can have harmful biological effects. The main sources of internal contamination with iodine-131 are contaminated air, food and water. The most exposed organ is the thyroid gland, where radioactive iodine accumulates via the Na+/I− symporter (NIS). NIS does not distinguish between radioactive iodine isotopes and the stable isotope iodine-127, which is essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormones.

Europeans are so scared of a nuclear attack they’re panic buying iodine tablets

“Taking [potassium iodide] more often than recommended does not offer more protection and can cause severe illness or death,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control warns. The tablets work by saturating the thyroid with iodine for 24 hours, blocking the intake of highly radioactive iodine-131 that would otherwise be readily absorbed by the organ through contaminated air, food, or water. In the event of a nuclear accident or attack, the tablet’s 24-hour effect provides valuable time to seek shelter from this unstable iodine isotope. Itself a by-product of nuclear fission, iodine-131 begins to decay after just eight days.

Exposure of the American People to Iodine-131 from Nevada Nuclear-Bomb Tests

As the NCI was preparing to release its report, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council (NRC) to initiate an independent assessment of the public health and medical implications of the iodine-131 (sometimes referred to here as I-131) doses received by the American people and to identify steps that might be taken in response. After consultation, the IOM and the NRC agreed to establish an expert panel to undertake this assessment beginning in October 1997. This report presents the results of that study.

Get the Facts about Exposure to I-131 Radiation

Among the numerous radioactive substances released in fallout, there has been a great deal of concern about and study of one radioactive form of iodine--called iodine-131, or I-131. I-131 collects in the thyroid gland. People exposed to I-131, especially during childhood, may have an increased risk of thyroid disease, including thyroid cancer.

How Iodine Pills Can—and Can’t—Help Against Radiation

While the pills can be very effective at preventing thyroid damage, they don’t protect any other part of the body—and they’re not effective against other radiation hazards, including electromagnetic rays and fallout particles that penetrate the body. “It’s not a silver bullet,” Geist says. “If you're downwind of a surface burst of a nuclear weapon, the pills are only going to make you marginally safer than you otherwise would be.”

Iodine-131 half-life and reality

The Iodine-131 undergoes beta decay. This is what makes it radioactive. The faster it decays the more radiation it gives off per unit time. Yes the material disappears faster than something with a longer half-life, but its speed of decay means that it is hotter.

Radioactive Iodine 131: A CBRN risk not to be overlooked

Nuclear power plants operate on the principle of nuclear fission, which is the process where heavy atomic nuclei (Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239) are split into smaller nuclei when bombarded by neutrons. This reaction releases a large amount of energy and also produces various radioactive elements, known as fission products, such as Cesium-137, Strontium-90, or Iodine-131.

Radioiodine – the success story of Nuclear Medicine

The use of iodine-131 (131I), discovered in 1938 by Glenn Seaborg and John Livingood at the University of California, Berkeley, has been the success story in nuclear medicine. It has the advantage of emitting both gamma and beta rays, the former enabling imaging for diagnosis and dosimetry and the latter being valuable for molecular radiotherapy.

Radionuclide Basics: Iodine

Iodine (chemical symbol I) is a chemical element. There are 37 known isotopes of iodine, and only one is not radioactive (Iodine-127). Most radioactive forms of iodine are produced as a byproduct of a fission reaction from either nuclear weapons testing or nuclear power plants. Some forms of radioactive iodine are manufactured for use in medicine. Iodine-129 and I-131 are the most commonly used radioisotopes and will have the greatest impact on the environment if released.

The Iodine 131 Experiment in Alaska

In 1956 and 1957 the U.S. Air Force's Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory conducted a study of the role of the thyroid gland in acclimatizating humans to cold, using iodine 131.

Thyroid cancer a hazard from radioactive iodine emitted by Japan’s failing nuclear power plants

One of the most abundant substances in the cloud of radioactive steam released by a failing nuclear power plant is iodine-131—a radioactive form of the element, iodine, that is found throughout nature. Iodine-131 poses a special health risk because of its cancer-causing effect on the thyroid gland.

U.S. Atomic Tests in 50's Exposed Millions to Risk

Atmospheric nuclear bomb tests in Nevada from 1951 to 1962 exposed millions of American children to large amounts of radioactive iodine, a component of fallout that can affect the thyroid gland, the National Cancer Institute said today. The releases were larger than earlier estimates, and at least 10 times larger than those caused by the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine.

Why Iodine Tablets Come Out When Radiation Threatens

Iodine tablets can prevent the absorption of radioactive iodine for up to 24 hours, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The amount of iodine you can get from iodized salt or your regular diet isn't enough to protect you.

Resources

I-131

Iodine-131 (I-131) is a radioactive isotope of iodine with a half-life of approximately 8 days. It decays by beta emission and gamma radiation, making it useful for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. I-131 is produced artificially in nuclear reactors as a fission product of uranium or by neutron irradiation of tellurium.

CDC

Iodine-131 (I-131) is produced commercially for medical and industrial use. Its main purpose is to diagnose and treat cancers of the thyroid gland. Large amounts of external exposure can cause burns to the eyes and skin. Internal exposure can affect the thyroid gland, a small organ located in the neck.