'Be prepared': U.S. Surgeon General's warning as terrified Americans panic-buy anti-radiation drugs over nuclear fall-out fears



Surgeon General made remarks while in California



Nukepills.com sells 250,000 potassium iodide pills

Anbex gets three orders a MINUTE instead of per week

People missing out on tablets are 'crying' and 'terrified'

Worried Americans are panic-buying drugs to protect themselves against the nuclear fallout in Japan, as fears grow of harmful radiation blowing across to the West Coast.



Stocks of potassium iodide tablets, which aim to stop radiation poisoning the thyroid gland, are running low and customers missing out are said to be ‘crying’ or ‘terrified’.



Scientists have warned of a 'worst-case scenario' in which material blasted into the atmosphere after a Fukushima plant ‘meltdown’ could be blown towards the U.S.



Remains: Fears of dangerous radiation reaching the U.S. West Coast after the Fukushima nuclear plant was destroyed have seen potassium iodide sales soar

Radioactive iodine can come out of a nuclear reactor in an accident, but other experts say there is a low chance of Japan's radiation reaching the U.S. at dangerous levels.

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin said last night stocking up is not an overreaction and it is right to be prepared as a precaution - in contrast to guidance from state officials.

Ms Benjamin made the remarks to NBC Bay Area while touring a California hospital.

Anbex quickly sold out of a 10,000-strong supply of 14-tablet packages on Saturday.

Company president Alan Morris said the firm was getting three orders per minute for the $10 Iosat packages - compared to the normal rate of as low as three per week.

‘Those who don't get it are crying,’ he told the Wall Street Journal. ‘They're terrified.’

Fleming Pharmaceuticals, which makes liquid potassium iodide, say they are getting dozens of calls and emails every hour for their 45ml $13.25 ThyroShield bottles.

‘It actually has been insanity here,’ co-owner Deborah Fleming Wurdack said. The company expects to sell out this week and is planning to manufacture more.

Drug supplier Nukepills.com sold 250,000 potassium iodide pills to pharmacies, labs, companies and hospitals last weekend, president Troy Jones told Fox News.

It has back-ordered more than a million tablets and donated 50,000 to Japan.

Tablets: Potassium iodide stops the body from taking in radioactive iodine from a nuclear emergency and can be purchased in America without a prescription

California and Washington states have been reassuring residents their monitoring has not detected any harmful radiation levels - and health officials do not expect to.

‘Japan has an evacuation area of about 12 miles from the nuclear plants. Washington state is 5,000 to 6,000 miles away from Japan,’ a state health spokesman said.

California has been advising residents not to buy the drug, as it could cause side effects in those allergic to shellfish or suffering from thyroid problems.

Kelly Huston of the California Emergency Management Agency said state officials and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are telling people not to buy the pills.

Potassium iodide, which stops the body from taking in radioactive iodine from a nuclear emergency, can be purchased without a prescription.

The salt fills up the thyroid gland and stops it collecting radioactive material - reducing the risk of cancer and other health problems.



Major concerns: A third explosion rocked the Fukushima plant last night, with scientists warning of a 'worst-case scenario' meltdown possibility

Terrified residents are fleeing Tokyo today as the Fukushima nuclear plant destroyed by last week's tsunami threatened to send a cloud of radioactive dust across Japan.

This followed a third reactor explosion last night, with emergency crews fighting to avoid a catastrophic meltdown as radiation levels soar in the country.



But Professor Kathryn Higley, director of the Oregon State University (OSU) nuclear engineering department, said the U.S. West Coast residents should not be worried.



‘We’re going to be lucky if we can even measure any of this,’ she told the Register-Guard. ‘Right now, the expectation is it’s going to be a locally contained event.’

OSU radiation expert Steven Reese added: ‘I would caution anybody against taking potassium iodide in an effort to protect themselves against radioactive iodine.



‘A certain fraction of the population will have an anaphylactic reaction to it - they’ll be allergic to it. And the consequences of that can be severe.'