Surviving a Nuclear Event

A radioactive terrorist attack on Washington DC could be the largest public health emergency ever faced by the nation – and Howard County is one of several jurisdictions in close proximity.

The Community Emergency Response Network of Howard County hosted a Surviving and Nuclear Attack conference on September 8, 2011. Brooke Robert Buddemeier Certified Health Physicist, Global Security Directorate Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was the keynote speaker.

Click here to view the full length video of the event.

Photos from the Event

Resources

Resources provided by: Brooke Robert Buddemeier, Certified Health Physicist, Global Security Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The threat of nuclear terrorism:

Recent research over the last few years has help greatly improve our understanding of appropriate actions for the public and responder community to take after a nuclear detonation. Much of this research was recently highlighted in a National Academies Bridge Journal on Nuclear Dangers.   This research points out the potentially misleading shelter / evacuation conclusions that can be drawn from using oversimplified modeling assumptions (a.k.a circles of prompt effects and cigar shaped Gaussian fallout patters using surface wind conditions).

Planning Guidance:

Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation.  Developed by the Homeland Security Council, 2nd Ed, June 2010.  This inter-agency consensus document provides excellent background information on the effects of a nuclear detonation and key response recommendations.  Its definition of zones (damage and fallout) are becoming the standard for response planning and should be integrated in the planning process.

National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP)  Report No. 165 - Responding to a Radiological or Nuclear Terrorism Incident: A Guide for Decision Makers was released Feb 2011 and is a National Standard that supplies the science and builds on many of the concepts of the Planning Guidance.

For public Health information, an entire edition of the journal for Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness was dedicated to the public health issues associated with the aftermath of nuclear terrorism.  All of the articles are available for free download from the highlighted link.

DHS Strategy for Improving the National Response and Recovery from an IND Attack, April 2010, is an Official Use Only document that breaks the initially overwhelming IND response planning activity down into 7 manageable capability categories with supporting objectives.  This can be a valuable document to guide a state and regional planning process as a lot of work has already gone into time phased capability requirements for Doctrine/Plans, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership, Personnel, Facilities, and Regulations/Authorities/ Grants/Standards. Please contact Dave Sheehan, David.Sheehan@FEMA.gov  or 202-212-1608 for more information or a copy of the document

The 30 minute video, Reducing the Consequences of a nuclear detonation is available on YouTube (click the title to view) and shows a presentation given last year at an LA County Public Health Conference.  It provides a lot of information on DHS IND response planning research and demonstrates the very dynamic nature of an IND event.  It was developed to provide “ground level” points of view and demonstrate the timing of the event and the consequences of different actions.

Key Response Planning Factors for the Aftermath of Nuclear Terrorism developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in support of the DHS preparedness activity was released in August 2009 reviews the science behind many of the recommendations noted in the video and above doctrine.