Nukepills.com delivers 5.4 million doses of Potassium Iodide to protect people from nuclear radiation

Dec 31 2009

For Nukepills.com, specialists in the niche market of radiation emergency preparedness, 2009 was a year of record sales due to events such as Iran's nuclear program, nuclear plant radiation leaks, Potassium Iodide distribution programs and worries of dirty bombs. Even the Swine Flu pandemic played a role in the surge of sales.

In early 2009, Nukepills.com delivered 5.4 million doses of FDA-approved ThyroShield Potassium Iodide to Kuwait's Ministry of Health to protect its citizens from nuclear radiation. Kuwaiti officials said the threat of a U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear reactor prompted the purchase. This sale was featured in a news story titled "Local company sells millions of 'Nukepills' to Kuwait" by a Charlotte NBC affiliate and was viewed nationwide.

This past fall a very limited supply of potassium iodide tablets was distributed courtesy of the U.S. Government to people residing within 10 miles of select nuclear plants. Due to this token handout consumer retail orders of Iosat(TM) Potassium Iodide increased by almost 400% and wholesale orders to nuclear and medical facilities surged as well for the authorized international distributor. Massachusetts Representative Edward Markey has since sent a letter to President Obama asking for a review of the much larger potassium iodide distribution program dropped by the Bush administration in 2007.

Numerous 2009 reports of radiation leaks at multiple nuclear plants, including Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island, spawned even more sales of the radiation-blocking drug potassium iodide. Most online orders were from civilians not wanting to rely solely on the government for help in the event of a nuclear accident or terrorist attack. Many believe the slow process of evacuation would not alone protect them. National Public Radio (NPR) did a Thanksgiving Day feature story on Nukepills.com titled "Nuclear Radiation Worries? There's A Pill For That." This nationally broadcast NPR story raised additional awareness of the dire need for the stockpiling of potassium iodide in U.S. homes and dramatically boosted sales of the radiation drug.

Worries of a planned dirty bomb attack on New York City's transit system prompted orders of the Dirty Bomb Emergency Kit by civilians and heath officials in New York and other major cities. The kit includes the RADTriage Radiation Detector tested and approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The 2009 Swine Flu pandemic unexpectedly boosted the bottom line for Nukepills.com as well. In response to media stories of the Swine Flu Virus (H1N1), the company's large inventory of N95 face masks, normally purchased online for protection during radiation decontamination, was depleted in just a few days. Nukepills.com quickly restocked and quadrupled its inventory of N95 masks to cover its wholesale and retail business for the remainder of the year. Again, those masks were quickly snatched up by hospitals, retirement homes and individuals to protect against the flu.