Even though the odds of a radioactive leak are slight, the 18 miles between Annandale and the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant are a comfort. But just six miles down the road in Maple Lake, families are receiving vouchers in the mail for a pill that could provide partial protection against some types of radioactive emissions in the event of a nuclear accident. Starting Feb. 1, people living within 10 miles of either the Monticello or Prairie Island nuclear plants in Minnesota will be able to get two free doses of potassium iodide to use in the unlikely event of an emergency. Taking the tablet immediately before exposure to radiation can help protect the thyroid, a body organ more prone to radiation, officials at the Minnesota Department of Health have said. Vouchers will be redeemable at local Target pharmacies including the one in Buffalo. Since the tablet is available over the counter, residents of Annandale could buy their own supply if they wanted to although it is unlikely that local pharmacies will stock a lot of it, said John Young of Wright County Public Health. Doses are available over the internet, but Young doesn’t think the drug is necessary anyway. In fact, Wright, along with the four other counties with residents in the 10-mile zone, is skeptical of the idea of handing out potassium iodide tablets, otherwise known as KI. "We don’t want people to think this is a magic pill, that if they take this they will be fine," Young said. "That is our main concern." "We don’t want people to take it and then think they don’t have to worry about evacuation." Convictions among officials in the five counties involved were so strong that they got together and wrote a letter to the state saying they did not support the distribution of potassium iodide and would not help pass it out. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission started offering free supplies of KI to states with nuclear power plants soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. The distribution was part of a plan to beef up security, said Arline Datu, director of communication for Nuclear Management Co., the organization that manages both the Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear plants. Minnesota was the 22nd state to accept the offer. The intention is that KI be a secondary safety measure to evacuation, but county officials like Young fear that passing out the pill will just confuse residents. "Our feeling is that it will do more harm than good," Young said. The problem with KI is that it only protects the thyroid, Young said, but there are many more types of radioactive material that would likely be floating around in the event of a leak. KI does not protect against cesium for instance, strontium, any biological agents or "dirty bombs" containing radioactive waste. What it does protect against is radioactive iodine. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the thyroid gland is particularly vulnerable to radioactive iodine. The thyroid regulates metabolism, heart rate, body weight and energy level. Since it needs iodine to function, it may absorb radioactive iodine faster than other body parts, causing future problems such as thyroid cancer. Taking potassium iodide right before being exposed or up to four hours after exposure will cause the thyroid to become saturated and less able to absorb radioactive iodine. The question Young has is, does the good outweigh the risks? Although KI is just a form of salt that contains iodine, it could have adverse effects on people who are allergic to iodine or have heart or thyroid problems. The biggest worry to Young is for people who don’t know they have those kinds of health problems. The dosing is also complicated, Young said. There are different dosing levels for infants, newborns and pregnant women. The value of KI would be apparent in situations in which people were unable to evacuate. "Say there was a 14-foot snowfall and people can’t leave, they would have to sit and wait it out. There is a situation where it would have some benefit," Young said. About a year and a half ago, he and representatives from other counties met with scientists from NMC for an overview of the safety measures in effect at nuclear plants like the one in Monticello. "Afterward, we were very confident they have things under control," Young said. According to Datu, NMC is required to hold regular exercises that test its capabilities in an emergency, and evacuation and sheltering are the primary focus. In conjunction with that goal, every year they send out an emergency calender to residents and businesses within the 10-mile zone. In it, citizens are given important information about the nuclear plant in their area and how they would be notified in case of an emergency. They are told what the siren will sound like (It’s different in a nuclear emergency, Young said.) and what radio station to listen to. They are also given maps on where to go in the event of an evacuation. Literature in the calender explains what to do if they can’t leave and gives people a planning guide. New to the calender this year is a section on KI, what it is, when to take it and how to get it. Despite the introduction of the tablet, the state health department reiterates in all of its literature that KI should not take the place of evacuation. And in the event of having to choose between going back to your medicine cabinet for your dose of KI, and getting out, evacuation is always the right choice. According to Datu, in all of the United States’ nuclear history, there has never been an incident of contamination to the general public. The most serious accident in the U.S. happened in 1979 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. The plant suffered a partial meltdown of the TMI-2 reactor core, but even then there was no dangerous contamination to the nearby community. "The barriers worked like they were supposed to," Datu said.