Panicked Russian buy up iodine after military base blast A deadly explosion at a military base in the Russian far north Thursday caused a brief spike in radiation. In the nearby town of Severodvinsk panicked residents rush to pharmacies to buy medical iodine. Iodine can block the thyroid gland's take-up of radioactive iodine. IMAGES from the city of Severodvinsk, the nearest to the Nyonoksa military base where the explosion took place. SOUNDBITES from a city pharmacist \\n