High iodine prices leave Cambodia without iodised salt

THE tsunami and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, now threatens the developing brains of children in Cambodia - but not for reasons that were ever expected.

Cambodia has long struggled with iodine deficiency. The element is crucial to early brain growth: When pregnant women and their infants have low levels, the children can permanently lose 10 to 15 IQ points. Iodine deficiency is considered the world's leading preventable cause of mental impairment.

But there is a cheap, easy remedy: iodised salt. As salt is cleaned and packaged, potassium iodate may be sprayed on it, normally at a cost of only one US dollar or two per tonne.