Every ten years the Swiss government distributes potassium iodide tablets to people living near nuclear plants. There are four nuclear power plants currently generating electricity in Switzerland. They are in the cantons of Aargau, (Beznau and Leibstadt), Solothurn (Gösgen), and Bern (Mühleberg).

Potassium iodide tablets are sent out by the Swiss National Emergency Operations Centre, as a precautionary measure in the event of a nuclear accident. If taken in time and at the appropriate dosage, potassium iodide blocks the thyroid gland's uptake of radioactive iodine, so it can reduce the risk of thyroid cancers and other diseases that might otherwise result from exposure to radioactive iodine.