War in Ukraine: What are anti-radiation tablets? Do they really work?

The world, especially Europe, is watching every second of the Ukraine-Russia war. A growing sense of fear comes from Europe's largest nuclear plant located in Ukraine and occupied by Russian forces. Fighting near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has intensified fears of a nuclear accident.

The European Union is giving Ukraine over five million anti-radiation tablets in preparation for a major nuclear accident emanating from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Already, people living within 30 km radius of the nuclear power plant are being handed out the pills as a precaution. 

New satellite imagery of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, taken today (29 August) by 📸 @Maxar. Damage to roof of a building next to reactors; APCs positioned along a road; brush fires pic.twitter.com/vSSLF3eYpB

— Mike Eckel (@Mike_Eckel) August 29, 2022

But, what are anti-radiation tablets and does it really stop the impact of radiation? 

To understand what anti-radiation tablets are and why they are being distributed in fear of a nuclear leak or accident, we need to understand what a nuclear attack does to the body. 

The immediate impact: A nuclear explosion accompanied by a blast wave can kill you very painfully. When the US bombed Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki, tens of thousands of people immediately died. The half-burnt bodies of victims piling up soon after. 

Nuclear mushroom over Hiroshima and Nagasaki .

76 years ago the atomic bombs "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These explosions were so terrifying that no one else in the world dared to use nuclear weapons. pic.twitter.com/nYWwaxKSkq

— tartary and antiquity (@AndTartary) August 27, 2022

The radiation: Once the first wave of horror is over, then comes decades of radioactive impact. Exposure to radiation leads to damage to body cells, cancer, and other disabilities; the impact of which will be seen years after the nuclear attack or an accident.    

How does radiation affect your body? The human body is iodine-greedy. The thyroid gland in our neck needs iodine to produce hormones. A lack of iodine in people is associated with even intellectual disabilities. 

You must have heard of iodine in table salt. That's the main source of iodine for us under normal circumstances. But there are different versions of iodine on the planet.

The difference is small, in terms of the number of neutrons in the element. The iodine we normally consume and need is iodine-127 and the radioactive iodine is the iodine-131, a difference of just four neutrons. 

So, when there is a nuclear leak or accident, the radioactive substance containing iodine-131 spreads into the air, water and other places. Our body cannot tell the difference between iodine-127 and iodine-131, and it absorbs the highly radioactive element too. The presence of iodine-131, a highly radioactive substance later leads to cancerous diseases. 

I was given the chance to take anti-radiation pills.

I passed.

I said for it to go to an adolescent or a teen.

Russians have taken too much from the children of Ukraine.

They are the future of Europe.

They must be inoculated as much as possible from further genocide.

— Sarah Ashton-Cirillo (@SarahAshtonLV) August 30, 2022

How do anti-radiation pills help? It is absurd to think that a small pill can stave off a nuclear radiation impact. And that's exactly what it does. The pills contain high levels of potassium iodide that quenches the body's need for iodine. Once our body is filled with potassium iodide, it prevents the body from absorbing the dangerous iodine-131. 

In the HBO miniseries, Chernobyl, based on the nuclear accident in the 80s Soviet-ruled Ukraine, we see one of the characters, a Soviet nuclear physicist, immediately popping an iodine pill or anti-radiation pill after realising there is a release of massive amounts of the radioactive substance nearby. 

However, the pills SHOULD NOT be taken as a precaution and should only be taken by people living close to a nuclear plant upon confirmation of a radiation leak. The pills in high doses are also fatal. 

What kind of nuclear threat is looming? In the Ukraine-Russia war, there is generally no fears of a World War II-like atomic bombing - even though that's not completely ruled out - but there is a more immediate concern of the fighting between the two factions leading to damage to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant resulting in radiation leak or an accident.

In the worst-case scenario, reports say Russian forces estimate a cloud of radiation billowing which might even spread to neighbouring countries like Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. 

Right now, Ukraine is blaming Russia for attacking too close to the power plant and Russia is blaming Ukraine for the same. Ukraine is also accusing Russia of using the nuclear power plant as a shield the war and using it as a military base to attack other cities, trying to prevent a counterattack. Recently, the fighting had come close to a radiation leak which was controlled in time by the Ukrainian staff still working at the power plant under Russian occupation. 

The day has come, @IAEAorg's Support and Assistance Mission to #Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) is now on its way. We must protect the safety and security of #Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility. Proud to lead this mission which will be in #ZNPP later this week. pic.twitter.com/tyVY7l4SrM

— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) August 29, 2022

A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency is seeking entry into the plant to assess the damage if any. Reports say they will inspect the power plant soon.