A campaign to distribute iodine tablets is being organized by the prefecture and EDF for one month in Maine-et-Loire, to prevent the risk of a nuclear accident. It concerns businesses and residents in the municipalities of Fontevraud-l’Abbaye, Montsoreau, Varennes-sur-Loire and Brain-sur-Allonnes, located within a 10 km radius of the Chinon power plant (Indre-et-Loire). These are the only municipalities affected by the nuclear risk in the Pays de la Loire.
Appointment at the pharmacy
Don’t panic, this operation, rolled out on a national scale, is mainly intended to be preventive. In the event of a serious accident, some of the radioactive iodine could be released into the environment. Once in the atmosphere, there is a health risk if it is breathed in or ingested. Taking stable iodine tablets saturates the thyroid gland, and therefore prevents the release of radioactive iodine from being fixed.
Read also: In case of nuclear risk, what are iodine tablets used for?
A distribution had already taken place in 2016, but the tablets are reaching their expiry date. The residents concerned are therefore invited to renew them by going, without justification, to one of the fourteen participating pharmacies. There are three listed in Maine-et-Loire in Brain-sur-Allonnes (Dudoignon pharmacy), in Fontevraud (Gatillon pharmacy) and in Varennes-sur-Loire.
