The recent rush on potassium iodide at Lower Mainland pharmacies that was triggered by Japans unfolding nuclear disaster points to a misguided but all-too-human approach to crisis.
Its true that in cases of serious radioactive exposure, potassium iodide can block absorption of some of that radiation. And yes, minute, detectable levels of radiation are expected to reach the west coast of North America by this weekend.
But the reality is that even if the situation in Japan gets worse, it wont pose any immediate threat to us. In light of this, any health problems incurred by taking potassium iodide will certainly outweigh the benefits.
This panicked response is hardly surprising. Frightening news often drives us to irrational actions consider the response of Western governments and many individuals to the attack on the World Trade Center.
This tendency to fixate on minute threats can be funny at times, but it also seriously handicaps us as a society.
By focusing on the unlikely, we turn our attention away from bigger and more immediate problems. Its this phenomenon that sustains the behaviours and policies behind the obesity epidemic, the widening wealth gap, our warming climate and any number of other grave issues.
Now, to be sure, the planet does not need any more radioactive particles in the environment. This stuff takes decades to deteriorate, and while it floats around in our water and air supply it joins a soup of unhealthy pollution that we have already created. It causes cancer and can cause genetic defects in all living creatures including humans.
We need to be taking a closer look at what we are doing with the waste from nuclear plants, what role the international agency overlooking nuclear energy plays when things go wrong, and how we can use more solar and wind and sea power instead of using dangerous materials.
We dont need more pills we need to get informed and involved.
The Record, New Westminster