Sep 18, 2006

This is an unusual development, if true. Apparently, many non-Mexican illegals coming in from Mexico, who are from Iran or China, are coming prepared for a nuclear attack. One would think that if they thought America was going to experience some nuclear attack that they would be LEAVING, rather than coming.

http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/site/modules/news/article.php?storyid=592

The question is, do they know something we don't know? If you could take only a few items with you in crossing a border illegally, why would you take potassium iodate tablets? These are only good in case of nuclear accident to prevent your thyroid gland from being destroyed by radioactive iodine.

I talked about this in my weblog dated 4/11/06, for those of you who have no idea what potassium iodide is. You might want to refer to it. I do still carry a better form of this called potassium iodate, which does the same thing. The old iodide form tends to break down into elemental iodine after about 5 years on the shelf, and so the pills begin to turn red. Such pills ought to be replaced periodically for that reason.

But the potassium iodate that we have seems to be good indefinitely, as long as it is stored properly in a cool place. It is also easier on children. But in either case, these should not be taken as daily supplements, but only in case of nuclear danger. And keep in mind that these are only to protect the thyroid itself, which is the first organ to be destroyed when radioactivity hits people.

For further protection, one ought to have the antioxidants on hand--Vitamins A, C, and E, among other things. Probably the best thing would be superoxide disumtase (SOD). You can probably get most of this stuff locally, or order it online somewhere. I only carry potassium iodate, since this is more difficult to locate. For details, see the weblog dated 4/11/06.