TEHRAN- Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raeisi said the enrichment centers that have so far been targeted pose no danger to the people. 

He added: The sites of Natanz, Fordow, and the sites that have been hit are mainly enrichment sites, and we have no concerns regarding the effects of radiation at the enrichment sites.

He also said those who operate inside the enrichment centers are somewhat exposed to danger, adding those who live near enrichment sites have received the necessary trainings. Fortunately, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has previously considered the necessary measures, he pointed out, ISNA reported.

“Given the measurements taken and confirmed by the AEOI and international organizations, I firmly and clearly declare that there is no danger threatening people in terms of radiation effects. Fundamentally, there is no radiation to which people are exposed.”

Raeisi said that the maximum radius affected by the toxic gases resulting from explosions is 50 to 100 meters, and beyond that it does not cause any problems. Fortunately, the distance of people's residences from the sites is more than 30 kilometers, and it does not cause any problem, he added.

He stated that the Natanz and Fordow sites, and enrichment centers that have been hit, pose no risk to the public.

Deputy health minister urged people to follow health news from the health sector, adding that AEOI pursues technical issues pertaining to the US attack to the enrichment sites and there is not any problem in this regard.  

Meanwhile, Mohsen Farhadi, a Health Ministry official, said that there is no need for general consumption of potassium iodine, adding all measures have been adopted for critical situation.

He pointed out that the centers that were targeted, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, were mainly related to enrichment sites. In other words, fission and nuclear reactors were not carried out in those areas, he added. 

Farhadi said: “Even if the enriched material was present at these three nuclear sites, still we did not witness nuclear radiation with a high frequency. Of course our officials had ordered their evacuation long before the attack.”

Referring to Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites’ distance of several kilometers from residential areas, Farhadi said: “Even if these sites were present near residential areas, we did not have a problem with the release of nuclear radiation.”

He continued that if an accident occurs and radioactive iodine 131 needs to be released, then potassium iodine tablets have been fully prepared and supplied at the three Universities of Medical Sciences including Tehran, Iran, and Shahid Beheshti, as well as at Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, for people who may have been affected at close range.

Farhadi noted that there is no need to use potassium iodine tablets in public in the city, and arbitrary use also carries risks.

KD