The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has recommended that households in Finland purchase a single dose of iodine tablets for everyone who is 3 to 40 years old, in case of a radiation hazard emergency.
The ministry’s guidelines on the matter were last updated in 2002, it said, adding that the new recommendations were based on revised guidance issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017.
The ministry presented the new recommendation at a media event on Tuesday.
The ministry said the recommendation was limited to people 3-40 years of age because of the potential risk radiation exposure poses to that age group.
“An accident at a nuclear power plant could release radioactive iodine into the environment, which could build up in the thyroid gland. This is most harmful to children, who are at greater risk of developing thyroid cancer due to large doses of radiation,” the ministry’s statement read.