In Brest, we do not have a nuclear power plant but we have military bases. Since Monday, January 20, the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs has been carrying out a campaign to “preventively make available” potassium iodide tablets (so-called “stable” iodine) for the entire population residing or working between 2 and 5 km around the military sites at the tip of Finistère.
The Brest naval base and that of Île Longue, on the Crozon peninsula (on the other side of the harbor) in fact house some of the nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SNLE) of the French Navy. . The highly secretive Île Longue is officially the operational base of the French Strategic Oceanic Force. The campaign to distribute iodine tablets to populations has become regular for 30 years but is now affecting new sectors.
“The specific intervention plans (PPI) for the two naval bases in Finistère containing nuclear installations were updated at the end of November 2024, specify the prefecture services. These updates provide in particular for an expansion of the perimeter of application of the plan, with an area around military sites increasing from 2 km to 5 km. This recent extension follows a strengthening of nuclear safety regulations but is not linked to an increase in the level of danger. »
Nine municipalities are affected by the new perimeters: Brest, Plouzané, Guilers, Bohars and Roscanvel regarding the PPI of the Brest naval base. Crozon, Camaret-sur-Mer, Lanvéoc, Plougastel-Daoulas and Roscanvel for the Île Longue PPI. “Even if nuclear installations are safe and operated with great rigor, public authorities must nevertheless anticipate the possibility of radioactive release into the environment,” specifies the prefecture.
-“Following a major nuclear accident, the prefect may ask you to take stable iodine tablets,” state services remind us. Stable iodine tablets help protect the thyroid in the event of accidental release of radioactive iodine into the atmosphere. » In the event of exposure and without having taken these pills, young or fragile people would find themselves exposed to a risk of thyroid cancer.
The number of tablets to take depends on the age of the person. To be effective, stable iodine must be ingested only when instructions are given by the prefect. Ideally, it should be taken a few hours before the passage of radioactive particles and gases and, at the latest, 8 hours afterwards. Other distribution methods apply to public, private employers and establishments open to the public (ERP) as well as public or private schools, universities, military and maritime high schools, training and apprenticeship centers.
Individuals can already go, without collection voucher or proof of address, to the partner pharmacy closest to their home. People who already have tablets distributed during previous campaigns, in this case the inhabitants of Brest-Rive Droite, near the naval base, are for their part invited to return the expired boxes for destruction in the appropriate circuits.
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