Belgian authorities have decided to supply its 11 million inhabitants with iodine pills to help protect against radioactivity in the event of a nuclear accident, Euronews has learnt.
Iodine contributes to lowering the radiation deposits in the thyroid gland.
The previous practice entailed authorities giving pills only to residents living near one of the seven reactors in the country, over three sites at Doel, Tihange and Mol.
"Before the iodine pills were only given to people living within a perimeter of twenty kilometers," said Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block.
"Now we are going to take measures for people up to 100 kilometers. We'll provide iodine pills for the whole country," he informed.
The government says the new measures take into account reactors in neighboring countries located near the Belgian border.
Earlier this month Belgium dismissed a German request to close down two of its oldest reactors temporarily because of defects detected in their pressure vessels.