U.S. scraps plan for anti-radiation pills

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2008 | by Mimi Hall

WASHINGTON -- The federal government will not give anti-radiation pills to millions of people who live 10 to 20 miles from a nuclear plant because there are more effective ways to protect people in case of an accident or terrorist attack, the White House said Monday.

The pills "offer negligible additional protection" against radiation exposure for those who live outside a 10-mile radius of a reactor, said John Marburger, President Bush's top science adviser.

Some members of Congress and thyroid cancer activists expressed outrage. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called it "reckless endangerment of the American people."

The government already stockpiles the pills, which protect against thyroid cancer after radiation exposure, for the 4.7million people who...