THE PROTECTION FROM RADIATION

Iodine Pills Distributed in Japan Offer Limited Protection

From Effects of Radiation

by Marian Wang
ProPublica

An elderly woman walks past collapsed houses that were hit by a tsunami in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture on March 12, 2011. (KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

Japan has distributed potassium iodine tablets to residents who may have been exposed to radiation from the nuclear power plants damaged by the recent earthquake, but in recent years, U.S. authorities have questioned whether the benefits of such pills have been exaggerated or misunderstood.