Current Events Report 6: Iodine-131 as yet another example of a CBRN threat to the EU
Early in November 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that very low levels of Iodine-131 (I-131) were detected in the atmosphere above at least six EU Member States. Later that same month, the IAEA notified that it had “most probably” identified the Institute of Isotopes in Hungary as the source of the radiation. In a reaction towards this allegation the director admitted a leak was found at the Budapest-based Institute. However, according to him it is “extremely unlikely” that the Institute of Isotopes was the source of relatively high levels of I-131 traced in the EU countries. The exact cause of the release is still under investigation by the IAEA.
I-131 is a radioactive form of Iodine and is produced by the fission of uranium atoms during operation of nuclear reactors and by plutonium (or uranium) in the detonation of nuclear weapons. It has a half-life of about eight days and is also used in medicine to diagnose and treat disorders of the thyroid gland, as this gland easily absorbs iodine. Exposure to large amounts of I-131 is dangerous to human health. In the weeks after the Fukushima disaster in March 2011 I-131 was measured on the US West Coast. In Europe, I-131 was detected after the Chernobyl disaster took place in 1986. It is important to mention that the levels traced in November 2011 are extremely low compared to rates observed after the Chernobyl tragedy.
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