South Carolina, with four active nuclear power stations, faces heightened nuclear preparedness concerns amid global tensions like recent Iran strikes on related infrastructure. Potassium iodide (KI) tablets can protect the thyroid from radioactive iodine if taken just before or right after exposure, per FDA and SC Emergency Management Division guidance, by saturating the gland with stable iodine.
Key Plants
- Oconee Nuclear Station (Upstate, Oconee County).
- Catawba Nuclear Station (near NC border, York County).
- V.C. Summer Nuclear Station (Fairfield County).
- H.B. Robinson (near Hartsville, Darlington County).
All counties except coastal ones (Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown) lie within 10-50 mile emergency zones; cities like Columbia, Charleston, and Greenville could be affected by wind patterns.
KI Limitations
It shields only the thyroid, not other organs or prior damage, and loses effectiveness hours post-exposure. Primary strategies remain evacuation or sheltering; use KI solely on public health orders.
