Residents and businesses near nuclear plants must be given radiation protection pills as a precautionary measure, says Canada’s nuclear regulator.

The pills must be pre-distributed, before any accident occurs, in co-operation with government authorities.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission announced the new measure Friday, as it published a new regulation.

Environmentalist groups such as the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Greenpeace had been calling for pre-distribution of the pills following the nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan.

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The pills, which contain potassium iodide, block the thyroid gland from absorbing radiation.

The regulation requires nuclear operators to pre-distribute the pills to “all residences, businesses and institutions” within the primary area where the plume from a radiation release would likely spread.

The radius of the area may vary from location to location but “is typically sized in the range of eight to 16 kilometres,” according to the regulation.

A 10-kilometre radius from the Pickering nuclear plant would extend from the eastern part of Scarborough to Whitby.

In a larger zone — typically 50 to 80 kilometres — nuclear plant operators must make sure that there is a stock of pills “ready for prompt distribution” and “located so that it can be efficiently obtained by, or distributed to, members of the public when required,” the regulation says.

An 80-kilometre zone would embrace all of Greater Toronto.

The new regulation was released late Friday.

In a prepared statement, the commission’s president, Michael Binder, said: “Since the Fukushima accident, the CNSC has updated its requirements to further enhance nuclear safety and ensure that licensees and Canadians are thoroughly prepared to respond to any scenario.

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“The pre-distribution of KI (potassium iodide) pills are just one of the many requirements established to protect people in the event of a nuclear emergency, no matter how improbable.”

The regulation also requires nuclear plant operators to deliver emergency preparedness information “in hard copy annually to every residence, business and institution” within the pill pre-distribution area.