In comments on Sunday, the Deputy Health Minister rejected the risk of radioactive contamination following the attacks by the US and Israel, and said there is essentially no fission in Iran’s nuclear facilities used for uranium enrichment.
Alireza Raisi noted that damage to nuclear facilities poses a risk only to site staff, adding that in the worst case scenario, areas within a radius of 500-1,000 meters around the site could be affected.
He said Iran’s nuclear site is at least 30 kilometres away from the population centre and does not present a threat to public health.
Raisi also pointed out that people near Natanz and Fordow’s nuclear facilities do not need to take KI tablets as an antidote to radiation exposure.
Potassium iodide (KI) protects the human body’s thyroid gland from radioactive iodine, which can be released into the air in the event of a radiation emergency.
Raisi said the enriched nuclear material was removed from the Natanz site, adding that the surveillance system has not revealed any signs of civilians threatening signs of radiation leakage.
MNA