Recently, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, There has been concern in society, among other things, regarding the risk of a nuclear accident and its potential consequences.
Faculty members of the School of Medicine and the Department of Physics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Stavroula (Lina) Paschou (Assistant Professor of Endocrinology), Pantelis Karaiskos (Professor of Medical Physics), Eustathios Styliaris (Associate Professor of Nuclear Physics), Sofia Hatzioannou (Professor of Nuclear Medicine), Theodora Psaltopoulou (Professor of Therapeutics, Epidemiology, and Preventive Medicine) and Thanos Dimopoulos (Professor of Therapeutics, Hematology, and Oncology, and Rector of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) clarify some important points.
There are indeed nuclear facilities in Ukraine that are currently under threat. To date, no nuclear safety issues have been raised and radiation levels are reported as normal, according to ongoing announcements by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the low levels of environmental radiation recorded in real time. Of course, as experts point out, Constant vigilance is essential and monitoring the situation, because even the slightest possibility of a nuclear accident in the midst of war cannot be ruled out.
In the event of such an accident, According to scientists at the University of Athens, it will take emergency measures to protect against radiation for residents of Ukraine and neighboring regions. Greece is a long way from Ukraine, and most of the relevant measures will not be required of our country.
According to the General Secretariat for Civil Protection’s national emergency plan for a serious accident at a nuclear facility outside Greece’s borders, what Greece might need in such a case is a extensive food and feed inspection program. It is possible that the restriction on the consumption of certain products that have been produced in areas near the nuclear facility. Precisely because of the distance, No more drastic measures, such as administering iodine tablets, will be necessary, experts note.
It has been observed that many citizens have recently been rushing to purchase iodine tablets or other iodine-based products—marketed in our country as dietary supplements—as a precautionary measure. First, this measure will not be necessary here, since, as scientists at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens explain, Greece is hundreds of kilometers away from Ukraine. Prophylactic iodine administration could be recommended within a radius of up to 20 km or even up to approximately 100 km from the nuclear power plant, depending on the severity of the accident, and therefore applies only to the population near that specific area. Second, and very importantly, the arbitrary and reckless use of iodine tablets can have serious side effects on the thyroid gland, such as the onset of hyperthyroidism, a condition that is harmful to our health.
The Greek Atomic Energy Commission has issued a statement on this matter, and the Greek Endocrinology Society, the Hellenic Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, and the Hellenic Association of Medical Physicists.
