Distribution of more than 1 million potassium iodide pills for those who live or work within the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone around the Millstone Power Station in Waterford has begun, the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection announced Tuesday.

The pills, known as KI for the periodic table symbols of potassium and iodine, are provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at a cost of about $3.6 million to the federal agency.

If there were a radioactive release from one or both of the operating nuclear reactors at Millstone due to an accident or other cause, residents in the zone would be instructed to take the pills to protect their thyroids from absorbing cancer-causing radioactive iodine isotopes.

The zone includes all of Waterford, New London, East Lyme, Groton and Old Lyme, and the southeast corner of Lyme, the southern half of Montville and the southwest corner of Ledyard.

KI pills can be picked up at the following locations:

Waterford

Police Dept., 41 Avery Lane

8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week

Town Hall, 15 Rope Ferry Road

8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

New London

Fire Department Headquarters, 289 Bank St.; North Station Fire Dept., 240 Broad St.; or South Station Fire Dept., 25 Lower Blvd.

7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily

East Lyme

Town Hall, 108 Pennsylvania Ave.

8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

Groton City

Groton Municipal Building, City Clerk’s Office, 295 Meridian St.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday

Groton Town

Town Hall, Town Clerk’s Office, 45 Fort Hill Road

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Groton Town Police Dept., 68 Groton Long Point Road

Open 24/7

Old Lyme

Town Hall, 52 Lyme St.

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

Lyme

Town Hall, Town Clerk’s Office, 480 Hamburg Road (Route 156)

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

Montville

Town Hall, Office of the Fire Marshal, 310 Norwich-New London Turnpike

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Ledyard

Ledyard Regional VNA, 741 Colonel Ledyard Highway

8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

Ledyard Senior Center, 12 Van Tassell Dr.

8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Ledyard Police Dept., 11 Lorenz Parkway

Open 24/7

The pills appropriated in 2005, the last time they were distributed, have an expiration date of Sept. 1. The older pills can be discarded with regular household trash.

Editor's note: This version corrects the available hours for pickup at the Waterford Police Department.