Reasonable Rascal
04-01-02, 18:13
I have reproduced the letter following as I regard it as illustrative of a legitimate public health issue, that being the availability of an effective blocking agent for the thyroid gland in the event of a release of nuclear material from a commercial power plant powered by a fission reactor. As many are aware children in particular are susceptible to the effects of such a release, and with the concern of terrorist action aimed at a nuclear power plant the potential need for such agents in significantly increased versus a year ago.
The letter illustrates the dangers and the shortcomings in current public health policy as it relates to this issue. Therefore it is offered for your consideration.
RR
---------------------------------------------
The following letter was written by me (Chuck Fenwick) to Mr. James Roberts, Editor of Cancer Treatment Breakthroughs at www.RobertsReview.com (http://www.RobertsReview.com) .
I ask that you forward it, with your comments, to as many others as you are able. Once you have read it, you will understand why many of us who produce thyroid blockers are extremely concerned about the misleading and potentially lethal decisions being made by mid and lower level officials in regard to these matters.
Among those we would like you to forward this to are:
* Friends
* Local media (local radio/tv addresses are at: http://www.web-radio.com/ )
* President Bush: president@whitehouse.gov
* VP Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.com
* Congress: (U.S. Senator's addresses: www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm (http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm) -- U.S. Rep.'s addresses: www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html) (http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html))
* Your State's governor (www.nga.org/governors/ )
Your valuable help will alert (and perhaps save the lives of) others who may not understand the importance of the issues at hand, particular for children. The letter below also will shed light on a number of very questionable recent decisions and actions of the NRC, in which children obviously are NOT taken into consideration.
Sincerely,
Chuck Fenwick Dir. Medical Corps
chuck@medicalcorps.org
*********IMPORTANT LETTER FOLLOWS************
To: James J. Roberts
Executive Editor & Director
www.MyCancerNews.com (http://www.MyCancerNews.com)
www.RobertsReview.com (http://www.RobertsReview.com)
From: Chuck Fenwick,
Director, Medical Corps
740-783-8009
Date: March 22, 2001
Subj: (1) NRC nuclear terror "plan" - needlessly leaves children unprotected
(2) Fatal Flaw-- Nuclear Evacuation Plans
Dear Mr. Roberts:
As someone involved in cancer research, I would imagine that you are just as horrified by the recent public outcry concerning New Jersey's 130mg adult-dose only distribution of KI, as are we. News reports indicate it will be distributed only within the 10-mile "evacuation zone" of a few nuclear reactors. The growing public outrage is directly due to lower echelon ignorance and NRC misadventure.
As the only FDA approved producer of both KI and KIO3 we were at first enthusiastic to be able to bid on a new government initiative involving thyroid blockers. An acquaintance, who only produces KI, was also ready to participate. Most of us don't consider this just in terms of business competition, because we have children of our own and realize the special importance of providing them protection: Children are the most vulnerable of all to thyroid cancer.
At first, bid guidelines stipulated only 130mg adult dosage tablets be supplied. Because both of us make thyroid blockers in adult AND child doses -- we were perplexed and troubled by this. Both our companies requested bid clarification, because we couldn't believe that the "plan" was to leave children - entirely unprotected!
At first the government "saw the light" and agreed to this. (In fact, HHS made a point of purchasing 3,000 bottles of 200 tablets of children/adult doses per bottle for their own use.) Later, however, after the HHS purchase, the qualifications to submit a bid became increasingly bizarre. ONLY 130mg tablets would be accepted and only under the FDA's antiquated and ineffective single adult-dose guidelines! Even then, they planned to purchased only 2,000,000 tablets (a miniscule portion of our 42 million tablet per week production capacity) for an at-risk population area of tens of millions of people!
We quickly realized that this approach to "protecting the public" would generate public outrage and a controversy in which we did not want our organization 's name associated. Based on this, and on our medical and professional ethics judgment, we withdrew our bid in protest.
Despite sound medical advice and contrary to latest research, the powers-that-be insisted on implementing this misguided "plan" for nuclear protection. Fortunately, some members, of the still largely uninformed public, seem more aware of dosing requirements for children than whoever put forth the request for bid and made the ultimate purchase. That is the one bright light in the whole affair. After all, any parent knows that it takes more that two doses of any medication to protect a child against even minor common childhood infections, never mind exposure to nuclear radiation!
What has been proposed (and accepted!) would not protect children at all...and would protect adults from only the most minor reactor leak! Worse still, KI is an "adult only" blocker, because it is exceedingly bitter and unpalatable. No matter what it is mixed with, it is extremely difficult to get down a youngster's throat. More importantly, studies show that young children will just vomit the KI back up! KIO3, however, is equally as effective as KI and is palatable or easily camouflaged in various children's and infants foods. Plus research has shown that KIO3 is safer than KI and has a much longer shelf life. This is why the rest of the world uses KIO3 as the "drug-of-choice".
Why NRC officials would say that they needed permission from the FDA to distribute anything other than adult doses when neither KI nor KIO3 is a prescription drug is another matter that is beyond me. Furthermore, to allow adults only two or three doses, when even a moderately-successful terrorist attack would produce a major radiation event is beyond anyone's ability to understand.
These unusual decisions and statements are especially troubling when one considers there has been a parallel 3,000 bottle purchase of children/adult tablets by the department of HHS! Does the left hand not know what the right hand is doing...or does the NRC just want to create a false sense of safety for adults - while ignoring the safety of children entirely? It just doesn't make sense...
As a medical professional and expert on medical response to weapons of mass destruction, I find the present band-aid approach appalling and potentially, lethal. As an expert on the utilization and need for thyroid blockers, I consider the current public-safety "plan" ludicrous. It leads me to ask if anyone in the leadership of the NRC has children or cares about their survival? Again--children and babies, including the unborn, are the most susceptible of all to radiation-induced thyroid cancers and the many other forms of secondary cancers that metastasize from it (bone cancer, brain cancer, leukemia, etc.) -- yet the "plan"
provides NO treatment for chilren or babies!
Evacuation and mass casualties...
In addition to the concerns stated above, there is a "fatal flaw" built into the evacuation procedures incorporated into city planning. It is, of course only made worse by the NRC's failure to address the KI/KIO3 issue. However, even with proper distribution of a thyroid blocker, current evacuation plans are woefully inadequate and utterly unworkable. (Which, in itself, increases the need for longer term thyroid blocker treatment.)
As a real-life example, I point to that mass evacuation of Florida during a recent EXPECTED hurricane. Even with ample ADVANCE WARNING (which we will NOT have in a series of terrorist events ), the evacuation did not work! Hundreds of thousands of people were trapped in endless lines on car-choked highways when the hurricane came ashore. Just imagine the impact on traffic in the face of panic following nuclear events that come without warning --- worse still, several of them at once!
Nuclear power plant evacuation plans are based on leaks, not sudden catastrophic failure. For instance, there is a 10-mile evacuation zone, but a 50-mile ingestion zone. The NRC policy is that a power plant does not produce "fallout"; it produces a "plume". Therefore it is the plume which produces the fallout and not the plant according to NRC?
That issue aside, my job is not to become entangled in NRC obfuscations: I just teach what to do when a situation arises. This brings me to the "fatal flaw" scenario in which all emergency providers will have to work during and after a nuclear power plant disaster. All of the NRC and even some of the FEMA planning information says things like "tune to your local station" or "television..." or "listen for...". Jim, if a power plant or a series of plants is seriously attacked, the lights go out! Or as some in FEMA so aptly put it, "The electricity stops and the panic doesn't!"
In conclusion, I ask for any advice and help from your good office. As someone involved in cancer research, you know better than most the significant risks that are being taken by the NRC by not fully and professionally addressing this issue.
Sincerely,
Chuck Fenwick, Dir. Medical Corps
chuck@medic
The letter illustrates the dangers and the shortcomings in current public health policy as it relates to this issue. Therefore it is offered for your consideration.
RR
---------------------------------------------
The following letter was written by me (Chuck Fenwick) to Mr. James Roberts, Editor of Cancer Treatment Breakthroughs at www.RobertsReview.com (http://www.RobertsReview.com) .
I ask that you forward it, with your comments, to as many others as you are able. Once you have read it, you will understand why many of us who produce thyroid blockers are extremely concerned about the misleading and potentially lethal decisions being made by mid and lower level officials in regard to these matters.
Among those we would like you to forward this to are:
* Friends
* Local media (local radio/tv addresses are at: http://www.web-radio.com/ )
* President Bush: president@whitehouse.gov
* VP Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.com
* Congress: (U.S. Senator's addresses: www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm (http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm) -- U.S. Rep.'s addresses: www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html) (http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html))
* Your State's governor (www.nga.org/governors/ )
Your valuable help will alert (and perhaps save the lives of) others who may not understand the importance of the issues at hand, particular for children. The letter below also will shed light on a number of very questionable recent decisions and actions of the NRC, in which children obviously are NOT taken into consideration.
Sincerely,
Chuck Fenwick Dir. Medical Corps
chuck@medicalcorps.org
*********IMPORTANT LETTER FOLLOWS************
To: James J. Roberts
Executive Editor & Director
www.MyCancerNews.com (http://www.MyCancerNews.com)
www.RobertsReview.com (http://www.RobertsReview.com)
From: Chuck Fenwick,
Director, Medical Corps
740-783-8009
Date: March 22, 2001
Subj: (1) NRC nuclear terror "plan" - needlessly leaves children unprotected
(2) Fatal Flaw-- Nuclear Evacuation Plans
Dear Mr. Roberts:
As someone involved in cancer research, I would imagine that you are just as horrified by the recent public outcry concerning New Jersey's 130mg adult-dose only distribution of KI, as are we. News reports indicate it will be distributed only within the 10-mile "evacuation zone" of a few nuclear reactors. The growing public outrage is directly due to lower echelon ignorance and NRC misadventure.
As the only FDA approved producer of both KI and KIO3 we were at first enthusiastic to be able to bid on a new government initiative involving thyroid blockers. An acquaintance, who only produces KI, was also ready to participate. Most of us don't consider this just in terms of business competition, because we have children of our own and realize the special importance of providing them protection: Children are the most vulnerable of all to thyroid cancer.
At first, bid guidelines stipulated only 130mg adult dosage tablets be supplied. Because both of us make thyroid blockers in adult AND child doses -- we were perplexed and troubled by this. Both our companies requested bid clarification, because we couldn't believe that the "plan" was to leave children - entirely unprotected!
At first the government "saw the light" and agreed to this. (In fact, HHS made a point of purchasing 3,000 bottles of 200 tablets of children/adult doses per bottle for their own use.) Later, however, after the HHS purchase, the qualifications to submit a bid became increasingly bizarre. ONLY 130mg tablets would be accepted and only under the FDA's antiquated and ineffective single adult-dose guidelines! Even then, they planned to purchased only 2,000,000 tablets (a miniscule portion of our 42 million tablet per week production capacity) for an at-risk population area of tens of millions of people!
We quickly realized that this approach to "protecting the public" would generate public outrage and a controversy in which we did not want our organization 's name associated. Based on this, and on our medical and professional ethics judgment, we withdrew our bid in protest.
Despite sound medical advice and contrary to latest research, the powers-that-be insisted on implementing this misguided "plan" for nuclear protection. Fortunately, some members, of the still largely uninformed public, seem more aware of dosing requirements for children than whoever put forth the request for bid and made the ultimate purchase. That is the one bright light in the whole affair. After all, any parent knows that it takes more that two doses of any medication to protect a child against even minor common childhood infections, never mind exposure to nuclear radiation!
What has been proposed (and accepted!) would not protect children at all...and would protect adults from only the most minor reactor leak! Worse still, KI is an "adult only" blocker, because it is exceedingly bitter and unpalatable. No matter what it is mixed with, it is extremely difficult to get down a youngster's throat. More importantly, studies show that young children will just vomit the KI back up! KIO3, however, is equally as effective as KI and is palatable or easily camouflaged in various children's and infants foods. Plus research has shown that KIO3 is safer than KI and has a much longer shelf life. This is why the rest of the world uses KIO3 as the "drug-of-choice".
Why NRC officials would say that they needed permission from the FDA to distribute anything other than adult doses when neither KI nor KIO3 is a prescription drug is another matter that is beyond me. Furthermore, to allow adults only two or three doses, when even a moderately-successful terrorist attack would produce a major radiation event is beyond anyone's ability to understand.
These unusual decisions and statements are especially troubling when one considers there has been a parallel 3,000 bottle purchase of children/adult tablets by the department of HHS! Does the left hand not know what the right hand is doing...or does the NRC just want to create a false sense of safety for adults - while ignoring the safety of children entirely? It just doesn't make sense...
As a medical professional and expert on medical response to weapons of mass destruction, I find the present band-aid approach appalling and potentially, lethal. As an expert on the utilization and need for thyroid blockers, I consider the current public-safety "plan" ludicrous. It leads me to ask if anyone in the leadership of the NRC has children or cares about their survival? Again--children and babies, including the unborn, are the most susceptible of all to radiation-induced thyroid cancers and the many other forms of secondary cancers that metastasize from it (bone cancer, brain cancer, leukemia, etc.) -- yet the "plan"
provides NO treatment for chilren or babies!
Evacuation and mass casualties...
In addition to the concerns stated above, there is a "fatal flaw" built into the evacuation procedures incorporated into city planning. It is, of course only made worse by the NRC's failure to address the KI/KIO3 issue. However, even with proper distribution of a thyroid blocker, current evacuation plans are woefully inadequate and utterly unworkable. (Which, in itself, increases the need for longer term thyroid blocker treatment.)
As a real-life example, I point to that mass evacuation of Florida during a recent EXPECTED hurricane. Even with ample ADVANCE WARNING (which we will NOT have in a series of terrorist events ), the evacuation did not work! Hundreds of thousands of people were trapped in endless lines on car-choked highways when the hurricane came ashore. Just imagine the impact on traffic in the face of panic following nuclear events that come without warning --- worse still, several of them at once!
Nuclear power plant evacuation plans are based on leaks, not sudden catastrophic failure. For instance, there is a 10-mile evacuation zone, but a 50-mile ingestion zone. The NRC policy is that a power plant does not produce "fallout"; it produces a "plume". Therefore it is the plume which produces the fallout and not the plant according to NRC?
That issue aside, my job is not to become entangled in NRC obfuscations: I just teach what to do when a situation arises. This brings me to the "fatal flaw" scenario in which all emergency providers will have to work during and after a nuclear power plant disaster. All of the NRC and even some of the FEMA planning information says things like "tune to your local station" or "television..." or "listen for...". Jim, if a power plant or a series of plants is seriously attacked, the lights go out! Or as some in FEMA so aptly put it, "The electricity stops and the panic doesn't!"
In conclusion, I ask for any advice and help from your good office. As someone involved in cancer research, you know better than most the significant risks that are being taken by the NRC by not fully and professionally addressing this issue.
Sincerely,
Chuck Fenwick, Dir. Medical Corps
chuck@medic