ROCKPORT — Picture, if you will, gusty winds are carrying toxic gases released by an accident at Seabrook, N.H.'s nuclear power plant, across Ipswich Bay, toward the tip of Cape Ann.
It's a scary scenario and a hypothetical disaster that public safety and school officials hope never to face. However, if an accident does occur, Rockport public schools are more prepared than ever before to protect their student populations.
According to a release sent to parents with student report cards last week, state legislation making potassium iodide (KI) tablets available to cities and towns on Cape Ann spurred the Rockport Board of Health and selectmen to stockpile the tablets. In the unlikely event of a nuclear emergency, the tablets would be available for distribution and administration to residents, students and employees.
The School Committee has agreed to make KI available to students as part of the school's emergency protocols should an incident occur during school hours.
Children are at greatest risk to rapidly absorb radioactive iodine, which is one of the particulates in the gases released in a nuclear reactor accident. Radioactive iodide is absorbed by the thyroid — a large gland in the throat controlling energy consumption and regulating hormones — and may cause damage or lead to cancer. If taken properly, KI fills up the thyroid, blocking the intake of the radioactive isotopes and reducing the chance of harm and long-term effects on the thyroid.
"The best planning is advanced planning," said Rockport schools lead nurse Wanda Visnick. "We are ahead of the game; this will roll out all over Cape Ann soon."
Participation in the school KI distribution is voluntary and requires parent or guardian consent in order for the tablets to be administered by school personnel to students. A permission slip was sent to parents with the informational release as well.
Students who receive a tablet, 130 mg of KI, would have KI written on their hand in permanent marker, Visnick said.
A second informational session will be held to inform parents and the community about the use of KI from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday in the Rockport High School auditorium. The first was held March 26.
Visnick, who will lead the session, is a member of Cape Ann School Safety Committee and has spear-headed local efforts to make the tablets available to all Cape Ann schoolchildren.
Visnick recently visited the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant to better understand any and all threats. Visnick said she was relieved by the plant's emergency plans and took comfort the plant could shut down reactors safely for great lengths of time so repair work could be completed. The plant, constructed near what was once Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, N.H., was built to withstand impact from an airplane crash.
Communities within a 10-mile radius of the plant are in an emergency planning zone. Rockport is 17 miles away from the plant, but still falls within the recently created ingestion pathway zone, which stretches out to cover a 50-mile radius.
Rockport Superintendent Rosemary DiTullio said she was proud the schools were doing their part to participate in the town's latest emergency initiative.
"We're planning for this, but the chances of it ever happening are very slim," DiTullio said last week. "(Visnick) has done a terrific job researching; when she decides to get something done, she gets it done the right way."
Visnick said offering the tablets is one of the easiest protective measures to take. She added the state's Department of Public Health had reviewed, and approved, of the school district's plans.
Visnick said the tablets should be taken within six hours of exposure and KI remains in the human system for 24 hours. She said some minor side effects, such as rashes or stomach aches, can occur as a result of taking the tablet, but are pretty rare.
Visnick said prompt dismissal of students is still the school's utmost priority in the event of a nuclear threat, but school officials will be directed by public health officials regarding that decision. If health officials determine the schools should become a "shelter in place," students will be sheltered at the school and cared for by school personnel.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
Severe Cold Wreaks Havoc in China
Fuel Removal Under Way on Capsized Italian Ship
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
