Lithuania’s Radiation Protection Centre said Wednesday that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is too far away to pose a radiation risk to Lithuania in the event of an accident, after Kyiv warned the situation at the facility is critical.
The plant is more than 900 kilometres from Lithuania, meaning radiation would not have a significant impact on the country’s population or environment, the centre said. International guidelines recommend taking potassium iodide tablets only within 100 kilometres of a nuclear accident.
“Radiation safety specialists constantly monitor radiation levels in Lithuania, which remain unchanged, and there is no reason for residents to be concerned,” the centre said in a statement.
Lithuania’s Health Ministry reported that residents have been purchasing potassium iodide tablets at pharmacies due to concerns over the situation in Zaporizhzhia.
“We want to reassure everyone that there is no radiation hazard in our country due to this situation and there cannot be any, so there is no need to buy potassium iodide tablets,” Deputy Health Minister Danielius Naumovas said.
He stressed that the tablets should only be taken if instructed by the ministry in the event of a nuclear accident at an operating plant, warning that improper use could be harmful.
The reassurances followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement Tuesday that the situation at Zaporizhzhia was “critical” after the facility went seven days without electricity, relying on diesel generators to keep vital systems running.
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