State health officials Wednesday released their plan to distribute anti-radiation pills to people living near the Millstone nuclear power complex in Waterford.

The state is mailing the potassium iodide pills to residents of the 10-mile, nine-town emergency planning zone around the Millstone Power Station.

This week, some 270,000 tablets will be distributed among more than 67,000 residents through the U.S. Postal Service.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the state upped its emergency preparation, which included procurement of 450,000 tablets to be used in the event of an attack or an accident at Millstone.

Potassium iodide, sometimes referred to as KI (the abbreviations for the chemical elements potassium and iodine), prevents the thyroid gland from absorbing cancer-causing iodine isotopes that could be released in a nuclear fallout.

The pills are going to people living in East Lyme, Groton City, Groton Town, New London, Old Lyme, Waterford and portions of Ledyard, Lyme and Montville.

–Associated Press