A federal bid notice reveals that a Pentagon agency began stockpiling potassium iodide in 2012 due to its concerns over the Fukushima nuclear crisis, shedding light on why the Dept. of Health and Human Services is now ordering 14 million doses of iodide.

“The recent earthquake in Japan in March of 2011 and the resultant nuclear crisis has renewed interest in” potassium iodide, the Defense Logistics Agency said in a solicitation.

‘The recent earthquake in Japan in March of 2011 and the resultant nuclear crisis has renewed interest in” potassium iodide, the Defense Logistics Agency said in a solicitation.

The Defense Logistics Agency posted a solicitation on FedBizOpps in 2012 asking contractors for 75,000 packages of potassium iodide tablets because the ‘recent earthquake in Japan in March of 2011 and the resultant nuclear crisis has renewed interest in this item.”

‘The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency has submitted a MILSTRIP (Military Standard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures) for this item to ensure that critical operational forces are protected in the event of nuclear fallout,” the solicitation added.

Potassium iodide keeps radioactive iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid gland and therefore it is commonly taken in the event of a severe nuclear emergency, such as the […]

Read the Full Article