During 1945–1962, when they were young children (and more vulnerable than adults to radiation exposure), many persons in the United States received radiation fallout exposure from iodine-131 (I-131) from multiple sources. This exposure puts those persons at risk for thyroid and parathyroid disease and cancer of the thyroid.

Any person who was a child under the age of 10 between 1945 and 1962 in the United States and who drank milk should be considered potentially exposed to I-131. People who lived near or around weapons production facilities, especially downwinders, are at risk for having received higher levels of exposure to I-131.

Health care providers should be prepared to medically evaluate the health effects from radiation exposures, including those related to past exposure from I-131. The public trusts health care providers to provide accurate and helpful health information.