Iran’s Health Ministry Dismisses Radiation Risk after Attacks on Nuclear Sites
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian Health Ministry gave an assurance that no radiation leaks threaten the health of people following the military attacks by the US and Israel on the country’s nuclear facilities.
In comments on Sunday, a deputy health minister rejected the risk of any radioactive contamination after the US and Israeli strikes, saying there is basically no nuclear fission in the Iranian nuclear facilities used for uranium enrichment.
Alireza Raisi noted that damages to a nuclear facility, if any, would pose risks to the staffers of the site alone, adding that in the worst-case scenario, an area within a radius of 500 to 1,000 meters around the site might be affected.
The nuclear sites of Iran are at a distance of at least 30 kilometers from the population centers, so that they will not present any threat to public health, he stated.
Raisi also noted that people in the vicinity of the Natanz and Fordow nuclear facilities do not need to take KI tablets as an antidote for radiation exposure.
Potassium Iodide (KI) protects the human body’s thyroid gland from radioactive iodine that may be released into the air in the event of a radiological emergency.
Raisi stated that the enriched nuclear materials have been taken out of the Natanz site, adding that the monitoring systems revealed no signs of radiation leakage threatening civilians.
