HUNTERSVILLE -- State and county health officials are in the process of making a decision about what to do with the potassium-iodide pills given out five years ago to people living within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant in North Carolina.

The expiration date on the pills is less that a month away: August, 2007. The state is deciding what to do next: Test the potency of the old pills to see if they need to be replaced or just give out new ones.

"It's a balance between the needs and requirements of the community, the level of threat and the money available to deal with this particular program compared to all the other potential threats and preparedness activities that the state's involved in," said Dr. Wynn Mabry, the Mecklenburg County Health Director.

The pills, which help protect the thyroid gland from absorbing radiation, were distributed as a result of the 2002 Bioterrorism Bill.

"The one thing we had assured our citizens is that the safety record of the nuclear power plants in the Charlotte area is excellent," said Mabry. "The potency of this particular type of mineral might start to decrease."

Mabry also pointed out that even though the chemicals expire next month, they won't become ineffective immediately.

For many of the people who received the pills in 2002, they were surprised to see the expiration date. Rick Constable, a Huntersville resident who lives down the road from the McGuire nuclear plant, said he hadn't looked at the pills in years.

"Whether or not they're going to do any good, [the people who received them] don't know," Constable said. "Hopefully we'll be getting some new ones in August."

Health and Homeland Security officials said there's no reason for people who live near a nuclear plant to be concerned at this point. A decision is expected to be made within the next three months.

Copyright ©2007 TWEAN Newschannel of Raleigh, L.L.C. dba News 14 Carolina