When the recent earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, people in various parts of the world panicked. A week after the earthquake, a Los Angeles Times article reported that there were “long lines and mob scenes at stores across China after rumors spread of a radioactive cloud from Japan’s quake-damaged nuclear plant.” Can you guess what the mobs of people were trying to buy? Iodized salt. They were under the false impression that they would be protected from radiation if they consumed extra iodized salt.
Do you know how many nuclear power plants we have in Illinois? Until a few days ago, I had never given it any thought. With the recent news about the damaged nuclear reactors in Japan (and the threat of radiation poisoning), I decided to investigate. In case you don’t know, we have 6 nuclear power generation plants in Illinois, located in the following cities and counties: Braidwood (Will County), Byron (Ogle County), Clinton (De Witt County), Morris (Grundy County), Marseilles (La Salle County), and Cordova (Rock Island County). The closest nuclear plant to Peoria is in Clinton, Illinois, which is approximately 62 miles from Downtown, Peoria.