The contingency plans in place to respond to radiation hazards generally focus on the sheltering and evacuation of affected people. Depending on the local geogr

The contingency plans in place to respond to radiation hazards generally focus on the sheltering and evacuation of affected people. Depending on the local geography, population distribution, and infrastructure, it might take several days to evacuate the impacted population, or it might be challenging to ensure comprehensive and uniform resource distribution. Because of the time required to evacuate people from the impacted areas, one of the objectives of a response plan would be to minimize radiation exposure due to contaminated food and water. Providing iodine tablets before an accident is intended to minimize radioactive exposure due to contaminated food and water sources from the time the hazard is discovered to the time you are evacuated, and allows planners to apply those resources that would otherwise be spent distributing those supplies to helping evacuate more people, or responding to the incident.