What are the risks to the thyroid from radioiodine?
The radiation dose to the thyroid that results from the uptake of radioiodine increases the risk of thyroid cancer, especially among children. Observations in Europe following the Chernobyl reactor accident in 1986 suggest that the younger the child at the time of exposure, the greater the risk of thyroid cancer. Risk may accrue at very low levels of radioiodine exposure, especially in young children. High radiation doses to the thyroid can also induce hypothyroidism, both in children and adults.
