Field response for mitigation of radiological incidents.
Office of Environment, Health, Safety & Security
July 30, 2014
minute read time
Carlos Corredor*, Department of Energy; Charley Yu, Argonne National Labs
Abstract: Since September 11, 2001, there has been a large effort by the government to develop new methods to reduce the consequence of potential radiological incidents. This is evident in the enhancement of technologies and methods to detect, prepare, or manage radiological incidents or accidents . With any radiological accident, radiological dispersal device (RDD), or improvised nuclear device (IND) , the major focus is always on the immediate phase of an incident or accident and less centered on the intermediate phase and the late recovery phase of that incident. In support of the 2008 protective action guides(PAGs) for RDDs , established by the Department of Homeland Security and by agreement with the EPA, the White House requested establishment of a series of operational guidelines that would focus on efforts during all phases of the incident and not just the immediate phase. “Operational Guidelines” were developed for this purpose. The operational guidelines are dose based pre-derived levels of radioactivity or radionuclide concentrations in various media that can be measured in the field and compared to the PAGs to quickly determine if protective actions are warranted. I.e can certain roads, bridges or metro systems be used, can the public return to their homes or businesses, can the public consume certain foods, etc. An operational guidelines manual, developed by a federal interagency working group led by the Department of Energy (DOE), was published in 2009 as the Preliminary Report on Operational Guidelines Developed for Use in Emergency Response to a Radiological Dispersal Device Incident, with its companion software RESidual RADiation (RESRAD)-RDD. With the development of the new PAG Manual (Interim Final 2013) by the EPA, an interagency working group was created under the auspices of the ISCORS to develop a revised operational guidelines manual that would reflect the changes by EPA’s new PAG Manual, new best available technology based on new dosimetric models (ICRP 60+), include operational guidelines for IND’s and increase the amount of radionuclides in the OGT Manual from 11 radioisotopes to 55. The new manual is scheduled for publication in 2015. To view the presentation click on the document below.