i
This guidance was developed by a Federal interagency committee with representation from
the Executive Office of the President (Homeland Security Council and Office of Science and
Technology Policy), the Departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services,
Homeland Security, Transportation, Veteran’s Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
Please refer comments and questions to the Office of Science and Technology Policy,
Executive Office of the President (www.ostp.gov).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACRONYM LIST............................................................................................................. 1
DEFINITIONS ................................................................................................................. 3
UNITS............................................................................................................................ 5
REFERENCES FOR UNITS ......................................................................................................5
STRUCTURE OF THIS DOCUMENT............................................................................. 6
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 7
REFERENCES FOR INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................10
CHAPTER 1 - NUCLEAR DETONATION EFFECTS AND IMPACTS IN AN URBAN
ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................... 12
OVERVIEW.........................................................................................................................12
BLAST ...............................................................................................................................13
BLAST INJURIES ..................................................................................................................18
THERMAL RADIATION (OR HEAT)..........................................................................................19
THERMAL INJURIES .............................................................................................................20
RADIATION AND FALLOUT ....................................................................................................22
RADIATION INJURIES AND FALLOUT HEALTH IMPACTS...........................................................26
COMBINED INJURIES ...........................................................................................................28
EMP .................................................................................................................................28
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................29
CHAPTER 2 - A ZONED APPROACH TO NUCLEAR DETONATION RESPONSE... 30
OVERVIEW.........................................................................................................................31
ZONED APPROACH TO RESPONSE .......................................................................................31
RESPONSE FUNCTIONS AND PRIORITIES ..............................................................................32
RESPONSE WORKER SAFETY..............................................................................................39
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................45
CHAPTER 3 - SHELTER / EVACUATION RECOMMENDATIONS............................. 47
OVERVIEW.........................................................................................................................47
PROTECTIVE ACTIONS.........................................................................................................49
PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS...............................................................................................55
EVACUATION BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................................................................58
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................59
CHAPTER 4 – EARLY MEDICAL CARE..................................................................... 61
OVERVIEW.........................................................................................................................61
INITIAL MASS CASUALTY TRIAGE (I.E., SORTING)..................................................................67
EMERGENCY CARE .............................................................................................................74
FATALITY MANAGEMENT......................................................................................................77
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ....................................................................................................78
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................79
CHAPTER 5 – POPULATION MONITORING AND DECONTAMINATION................. 81
OVERVIEW.........................................................................................................................82
PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS.................................................................................................83
IMPACTED POPULATION.......................................................................................................84
EXTERNAL CONTAMINATION ................................................................................................86
INTERNAL CONTAMINATION .................................................................................................87
REGISTRY – LOCATOR DATABASES......................................................................................88
VOLUNTEER RADIATION PROFESSIONALS ............................................................................88
MUTUAL AID PROGRAMS.....................................................................................................89
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................89
SUBPCC MEMBERSHIP – JANUARY 2009 ............................................................... 91
1
Acronym List
AC Assembly Center
AFRRI Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute
ALARA As Low as Reasonably Achievable
ARS Acute Radiation Syndrome
ASPR Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response
ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
CBC Complete Blood Count
CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CONOPS Concept of Operations
CRCPD Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors
DF Dangerous Fallout
DHHS Department of Health and Human Services
DHS Department of Homeland Security
DIME Delayed, Immediate, Minimal or Expectant
DOD Department of Defense
DOE Department of Energy
DOT Department of Transportation
EMAC Emergency Management Assistance Compact
EMP Electromagnetic Pulse
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
ESAR-VHP Emergency System for Advanced Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
FHA Federal Highway Administration
FRMAC Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center
Haz Mat Hazardous Materials (designating specialty emergency response team)
HSC Homeland Security Council
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
IC Incident Command
ICRP International Council on Radiation Protection
IMAAC Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center
IND Improvised Nuclear Device
KT Kiloton
LD Light Damage
LD50 Median Lethal Dose 50
LSI Life-saving Intervention
MC Medical Care Sites
MD Moderate Damage
mph miles per hour
2
MT Millions of Tons
NCRP National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements
NG No-go
NIOSH National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
NPS National Planning Scenario
NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NRF National Response Framework
OEG Operational Exposure Guidance
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy
PAG Protective Action Guide
PCC Policy Coordination Committee
PPE Personal Protective Equipment
psi pounds per square inch
R&D Research and Development
RDD Radiological Dispersal Device
REAC/TS Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site
REMM Radiation Event Medical Management
REP Radiological Emergency Preparedness
RITN Radiation Injury Treatment Network
RN Radiological/Nuclear or Radiological and Nuclear
RTR Radiation TRiage, TReatment, and TRansport system
SALT Sort, Assess, Life-saving intervention, Treatment/Transport
TEDE Total Effective Dose Equivalent
TNT Trinitrotoluene
US United States
USG United States Government
3
Definitions1
Adequate shelter – shelter that protects against acute radiation effects, and significantly
reduces radiation dose to occupants during an extended period
ALARA – (Acronym for “As Low As Reasonably Achievable”) –A process to control or
manage radiation exposure to individuals and releases of radioactive material to the
environment so that doses are as low as social, technical, economic, practical, and public
welfare considerations permit.
Beta burn – beta radiation induced skin damage
Blast effects – The impacts caused by the shock wave of energy through air that is created by
detonation of a nuclear device. The blast wave is a pulse of air in which the pressure
increases sharply at the front, accompanied by winds.
Combined injury – Victims of the immediate effects of a nuclear detonation are likely to
suffer from burns and physical trauma, in addition to radiation exposure.
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) – A sharp pulse of radiofrequency (long wavelength)
electromagnetic radiation produced when an explosion occurs near the earth’s surface or at
high altitudes. The intense electric and magnetic fields can damage unprotected electronics
and electronic equipment over a large area.
Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) – A Congressionally ratified
organization that provides form and structure to interstate mutual aid. Through EMAC, a
disaster-affected State can request and receive assistance from other member States quickly
and efficiently, resolving two key issues up front: liability and reimbursement.
Fallout – The process or phenomenon of the descent to the earth’s surface of particles
contaminated with radioactive material from the radioactive cloud. The term is also applied
in a collective sense to the contaminated particulate matter itself.
LD50 – The amount of a radiation (or a chemical) that kills 50% of a sample population.
Operational Exposure Guidance (OEG) – Department of Defense dose limits to US troops.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Includes all clothing and other work accessories
designed to create a barrier against hazards. Examples include safety goggles, blast shields,
hard hats, hearing protectors, gloves, respirator, aprons, and work boots.
1 Where available, definitions have been adapted from Glasstone and Dolan (Glasstone and Dolan 1977) or the
DHS Planning Guidance (DHS 2008).
4
Radiation effects – Impacts associated with the ionizing radiation (alpha, beta, gamma,
neutron, etc.) produced by or from a nuclear detonation.
rad – A unit expressing the absorbed dose of ionizing radiation. Absorbed dose is the energy
deposited per unit mass of matter. The units of rad and gray are the units in two different
systems for expressing absorbed dose.
1 rad = 0.01 gray (Gy); 1 Gy = 100 rad;
rem – A unit of absorbed dose that accounts for the relative biological effectiveness of
ionizing radiations in tissue (also called equivalent dose). Not all radiation produces the same
biological effect, even for the same amount of absorbed dose; rem relates the absorbed dose
in human tissue to the effective biological damage of the radiation. The units of rem and
sievert are the units in two different systems for expressing equivalent dose. 1 rem = 0.01
Sieverts (Sv); 1 Sv = 100 rem
Roentgen (R) – A unit of gamma or x-ray exposure in air. It is the primary standard of
measurement used in the emergency responder community in the United States. For the
purpose of this guidance, one R of exposure is approximately equal to one rem of wholebody
external dose.
• 1,000 micro-roentgen (microR) = 1 milli-roentgen (mR)
• 1,000 milli-roentgen (mR) = 1 Roentgen (R), thus
• 1,000,000 microR = 1 Roentgen (R)
Roentgen per hour (R/hour) – A unit used to express gamma or x-ray exposure in air per
unit of time (exposure rate).
Shelter – To take "shelter" as used in this document means going in, or staying in, any
enclosed structure to escape direct exposure to fallout. “Shelter” may include the use of predesignated
facilities or locations. It also includes locations readily available at the time of
need, including staying inside where you are, or going immediately indoors in any readily
available structure.
Shelter-in-place – staying inside, or going immediately indoors in any readily available
structure.
Thermal effects – Impacts associated with the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the
fireball as a consequence of its very high temperature.
References for Definitions:
Glasstone, Samuel and Philip J. Dolan. 1977. The Effects of Nuclear Weapons.
Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
US Department of Homeland Security. Federal Emergency Management Agency. 2008.
Planning Guidance for Protection and Recovery Following Radiological Dispersal
Device (RDD) and Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) Incidents, Federal Register, Vol.
73, No. 149. http://www.fema.gov/good_guidance/download/10260.
5
Units
For the case of a nuclear detonation, persistent beta-gamma radiation levels will affect some
response decisions. For the purpose of this planning guidance, the following simplifying
assumptions about units used in measuring this radiation applies: 1 R (exposure in air) ? 1
rad (adsorbed dose) ? 1 rem (whole-body dose) (NCRP 2005).
For the purpose of this planning guidance, the rem unit is assumed to be equivalent to the
sievert unit and 1 rem = 10 mSv will be applied as the basis for comparison of traditional and
SI units. Exposure rate (R/hour) can be expressed in terms of Sv/hour. Therefore: 1 R/hour ?
0.01 Sv/hour
Radiation Measurement Units:
US Common Units SI Units
Radioactivity Curie (Ci) Becquerel (Bq)
Absorbed dose rad Gray (Gy)
Dose equivalent rem Sievert (Sv)
Exposure Roentgen (R) Coulomb/Kilogram (C/kg)
Conventional/SI Unit Conversions:
1 Curie = 3.7 x 1010 disintegrations/second 1 Becquerel = 1 disintegration/second
1 rad 0.01 Gray (Gy) or 1 centiGray (cGy)
1 rem 0.01 Sieverts (Sv)
1 Roentgen (R) 0.000258 Coulomb/kilogram (C/kg)
1 Gray (Gy) 100 rad
1 Sievert (Sv) 100 rem
1 Coulomb/kilogram (C/kg) 3,876 Roentgens
References for Units
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). 2005. Key Elements
of Preparing Emergency Responders for Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism,
Commentary No. 19 (Bethesda).
6
Background Points are in Grey Boxes
In each chapter appropriate background or
additional information of a technical
nature has been included in grey boxes to
enable those who seek supporting
information to have access, while those
who wish to bypass may do so. This is
non-essential information and can be
bypassed when using the planning
guidance.
Structure of this Document
The planning guidance is organized in a stepwise manner using terminology and concepts of
the National Planning Scenario #1, the National Response Framework, and other technical
and policy documents. The planning guidance presents general background information that
builds a foundation for specific planning recommendations. This is the bulk of the material
presented in the document. Bold text is used throughout the document to emphasize
important material or concepts. Text boxes that run the length of the page have been
generated to summarize key information following the presentation of information in the
context of the guidance.
This key information has been pulled to the beginning of each chapter as a summary of KEY
POINTS.
Relevant supporting information that may
be useful, but is not essential for planners,
is included throughout the planning
guidance. This additional informational is
useful for subject matter experts and for
educational purposes. The information is
captured in grey text boxes.
KEY POINTS
1. Key points summarize important information captured throughout each
chapter.
2. The key points are presented at the beginning of each chapter.
Text boxes that run the length of the page have been generated following the delivery
of key information.
7
INTRODUCTION
One of the most catastrophic incidents that could befall the United States (US), causing
enormous loss of life and property and severely damaging economic viability, is a nuclear
detonation in a US city. It is incumbent upon all levels of government, as well as public and
private parties within the US, to prepare for this incident through focused nuclear attack
response planning. Nuclear explosions present substantial and immediate radiological threats
to life. Local and State community preparedness to respond to a nuclear detonation could
result in life-saving on the order of tens of thousands of lives.
The purpose of this guidance is to provide emergency planners with nuclear detonationspecific
response recommendations to maximize the preservation of life in the event of
an urban nuclear detonation. This guidance addresses the unique effects and impacts of a
nuclear detonation such as scale of destruction, shelter and evacuation strategies,
unparalleled medical demands, management of nuclear casualties, and radiation dose
management concepts. The guidance is aimed at response activities in an environment with a
severely compromised infrastructure for the first few days (e.g., 24 – 72 hours) when it is
likely that many Federal resources will still be en route to the incident.
The target audiences for the guidance are response planners and their leadership.
Emergency responders should also benefit in understanding and applying this guidance. The
target audiences include, but are not limited to, the following at the city, county, and State
levels:
• Elected officials in government jurisdictions
• Emergency managers
• Law enforcement authority planners
• Fire response planners
• Emergency medical service planners
• Hazardous material (Haz Mat) planners
• Utility services and public works emergency planners
• Transportation planners
• Medical receiver planners (e.g., hospitals)
• Other metropolitan emergency planners, planning organizations, and professional
organizations that represent the multiple disciplines that conduct emergency response
activities
The planning guidance recommendations are focused on providing express consideration of
the following topics relevant to emergency planners within the first few days of a nuclear
detonation: 1) shelter and evacuation, 2) medical care, and 3) population monitoring and
decontamination. Worker safety and health are briefly discussed in Chapter 2; however,
more extensive guidance is not presently available and is expected to be the focus of future
Federal endeavors. Additional work is also needed to support the following relevant topics:
pre-event public education (including public alert and warning systems), establishing and
8
maintaining infrastructure for electromagnetic pulse (EMP) proof responder
communications, psychological impacts to the population, fatality management, and nuclear
detonation response training. As recommendations become available on these issues, which
are minor considerations within this planning guidance or wholly unaddressed, they will be
incorporated into future editions of this planning guidance.
The planning guidance summarizes recommendations based on what is currently known
about the consequences of a nuclear detonation in an urban environment. It provides
recommendations based on existing knowledge and existing techniques. The Federal
government is supporting continuing studies that will inevitably provide more robust and
comprehensive recommendations.
Since the events of September 11, 2001, the nation has taken a series of historic steps to
address threats against our safety and security. This guidance represents an additional step in
this continuing effort to increase the nation’s preparedness for potential attacks against our
nation. It was developed in response to gaps noted in the previously published Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) “Planning Guidance for Protection and Recovery Following
Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) and Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) Incidents”
(Federal Register , Vol. 73, No. 149, Friday, August 1, 2008;2
http://www.fema.gov/good_guidance/download/10260) and hereafter referred to as DHS
Planning Guidance (DHS 2008). While the publication provides substantial guidance to
Federal, State, and local planners for responding to such incidents, it concedes that it does not
sufficiently prepare local and State emergency response authorities for managing the
catastrophic consequences of a nuclear detonation as follows:
“In addition to the issuance of this Guidance, in response to interagency
working group discussions and public comments, further guidance will be
provided for the consequences that would be unique to an IND attack. This
Guidance was not written to provide specific recommendations for a nuclear
detonation (IND), but to consider the applicability of existing PAGs3 to RDDs
and INDs. In particular, it does not consider very high doses or dose rate
zones expected following a nuclear weapon detonation and other complicating
impacts that can significantly affect life-saving outcomes, such as severely
damaged infrastructure, loss of communications, water pressure, and
electricity, and the prevalence of secondary hazards. Scientifically sound
recommendations for responders are a critical component of post-incident lifesaving
activities, including implementing protective orders, evacuation
implementation, safe responder entry and operations, and urban search and
rescue and victim extraction.”
2 By agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the DHS Planning Guidance (DHS 2008)
published is final and its substance will be incorporated without change into the revision of the 1992 EPA
Manual of Protective Actions Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear Incidents - the PAG Manual (EPA
1992). This notice of final guidance will therefore sunset upon publication of the new EPA PAG Manual (see,
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/rert/pags.html)
3 PAGs stands for Protective Action Guidelines
9
This guidance does not replace the DHS Planning Guidance (DHS 2008); however, it does
provide specific guidance for response in the damaged region surrounding a nuclear
detonation (i.e., within approximately three miles of a 10 kiloton (KT) device) and the life
threatening fallout region (i.e., where fallout is deposited within 10 – 20 miles of the
detonation site). The DHS Planning Guidance (DHS 2008) will continue to serve planners
who are preparing for the protection of populations beyond these immediately lifethreatening
areas. The existing DHS Planning Guidance (DHS 2008), combined with this
planning guidance, provide more comprehensive guidance for emergency response planners
to prepare for responding to consequences of a nuclear detonation.
This guidance was developed by a Federal interagency committee (see Appendix A for
membership). The planning guidance was subject to two extensive reviews, a technical
review (e.g., Federal interagency and national laboratory subject matter experts) and a
stakeholder review (e.g., emergency response community representatives from police, fire,
emergency medical services, medical receivers, and professional organizations such as the
Health Physics Society, the American Public Works Association, and the International
Association of Fire Chiefs) resulting in 1650 comments from over 70 individual reviewers
representing nine Federal departments and national laboratories and 30 communities and
professional organizations.
The guidance is based upon the IND scenario, National Planning Scenario (NPS) #1,
provided by the Homeland Security Council in partnership with DHS and the interagency
Federal community, for use in national, Federal, State, and local homeland security
preparedness activities. Scenario-based planning is a useful tool for Federal, State, and local
planners, and, increasingly, departments and agencies are using the DHS NPSs to develop
strategic, concept, and operational plans for designing response exercises and for other
planning purposes. However, the NPSs have sometimes been applied as rigidly prescriptive
scenarios against which planning should occur, not with the flexibility originally intended.
This application has often been the case with NPS #1, which describes a nuclear detonation
in Washington, DC and provides specific modeled outcomes of impacts and consequences.
While it is impossible to predict the precise magnitude and impact of a nuclear detonation
this scenario provides a foundation for preparedness and planning efforts, as well as for
initial response actions in the absence of specific measurements.
It is expected that planners and exercise designers will use this guidance, and the scenario on
which it is based, and tailor them to their specific circumstances or to compare differing
inputs and assumptions. Factors that planners and exercise designers may consider changing
from parameters in NPS #1 may include target city, specific location of detonation, size and
type of weapon, date and time of day, population features, meteorological conditions, and
assumptions about local, regional, or national response to the incident.
Target audiences should use this planning guidance in their preparedness efforts. They are
encouraged to meet and work with their Federal, State, and local counterparts and partners,
as each bring important knowledge to the design of implementation plans. Of special note
are those planners with existing relationships with the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program associated with
communities in the vicinity of commercial nuclear power plants. Appropriate processes and
10
procedures from the REP Program are expected to be an important tool in developing local
response plans for nuclear detonations.
Finally, critical assumptions in the development of this guidance for a nuclear detonation
include:
• There will be no significant Federal response at the scene for 24 hours and the
full extent of Federal assets will not be available for up to 72 hours. Emergency
response is principally a local function. Federal assistance will be mobilized as
rapidly as possible; however, for purposes of this document, no significant Federal
response is assumed for 24 – 72 hours.
• A nominal 10 KT yield nuclear device is assumed for purposes of estimating
impacts in high-density urban areas. Variation in the size and type of the nuclear
device has a significant effect on the estimation of impacts, however, most homeland
security experts agree on 10 KT as a useful assumption for planning.
• The lessons from multi-hazard planning and response will be applicable to the
response to a nuclear detonation. While fallout and the scale of the damage
presented by a nuclear detonation present significantly complicating hazards, most
aspects of multi-hazard planning and many of the response capabilities are still
useful. Planners and responders bring a wealth of experience and expertise to nuclear
detonation response. This guidance provides nuclear-detonation specific information
and context to allow planners, responders, and their leaders to bring their existing
capabilities to bear in a worst-case scenario.
• Although based on technical analyses and modeling of the consequences of nuclear
explosions, the recommendations are intentionally simplified to maximize their
utility in uncertain situations where technical information is limited.
Recommendations are intended to be practical in nature and appropriate for use by
planners in addressing actions for the general public and emergency responders.
• While it is recognized that the fallout from a nuclear detonation will reach across
many jurisdictions, potentially involving multiple States, this guidance is intended
primarily for the target audience specified above with respect to the first few
days in the physically damaged areas and life-threatening fallout zone.
References for Introduction
US Department of Homeland Security. 2008. Planning Guidance for Protection and
Recovery Following Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) and Improvised Nuclear
Device (IND) Incidents, Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 149.
http://www.fema.gov/good_guidance/download/10260.
11
US Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Radiation Programs. 1992. Manual of
Protective Actions Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear Incidents.
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/docs/er/400-r-92-001.pdf.
12
KEY POINTS
1. There are no clear boundaries between damage zones resulting from a nuclear
detonation, but generally, the light damage (LD) zone is characterized by broken
windows and easily managed injuries; the moderate (MD) zone by significant
building damage, rubble, downed utility poles, overturned automobiles, fires, and
serious injuries; and the no-go (NG) zone by completely destroyed infrastructure
and radiation levels resulting in unlikely survival of victims.
2. It is anticipated that some injuries (e.g., eye injuries, blast injuries — particularly
from flying debris and glass) can be prevented or reduced in severity if individuals
that perceive an intense and unexpected flash of light seek immediate cover. The
speed of light, perceived as the flash, will travel faster than the blast overpressure
allowing a few seconds for some people to take limited protective measures.
3. Blast, thermal, and radiation injuries in combination will result in prognoses for
patients worse than those for the individual injury mechanisms.
4. EMP effects could result in extensive electronics disruptions complicating the
function of communications, computers, and other essential electronic equipment.
5. The most hazardous fallout particles are readily visible as fine, sand-sized grains,
but the lack of apparent fallout should not be misrepresented to mean radiation
isn’t present; therefore appropriate radiation monitoring should always be
performed.. Fallout that is immediately hazardous to the public and emergency
responders will descend to the ground within about 24 hours.
6. The most effective life-saving opportunities for response officials in the first 60
minutes following a nuclear explosion will be the decision to safely shelter or
evacuate people in expected fallout areas.
Chapter 1 - Nuclear Detonation Effects and Impacts in an
Urban Environment
Overview
A nuclear detonation would produce several important effects that impact the urban
environment and people. In this discussion, the term “nuclear effects” will mean those
primary outputs from the nuclear explosion, namely blast, thermal, and prompt radiation.
Important secondary effects covered here include electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and fallout.
All of these effects have impacts on people, infrastructure, and the environment, and they
significantly affect the ability to respond to the incident. The term “nuclear impacts” will be
13
A nuclear detonation produces an explosion
far surpassing that of any conventional
explosive. An explosion occurs when an
exothermic reaction creates a rapidly
expanding fireball of hot gas or plasma. The
expanding fireball produces a destructive
shock wave. In a chemical-based explosion
(such as dynamite or trinitrotoluene (TNT), a
common explosive), the heat produced
reaches several thousand degrees and creates
a gaseous fireball on the order of a few
meters in diameter. While energy in a
chemical explosion derives from reactions
between molecules, the energy released in a
nuclear explosion derives from the splitting
(or fission) of atomic nuclei of uranium or
plutonium (i.e., fissile material). Pound-forpound,
a nuclear explosion releases ~10
million times more energy than a chemical
explosive. The heat in a nuclear explosion
reaches millions of degrees where matter
becomes plasma. The nuclear fireball for a
10 KT nuclear device can achieve a diameter
of approximately 650 ft (200 meters), and the
shock wave and degree of destruction is
correspondingly large.
used to describe the consequences to
materials, people or the environment as a
result of nuclear effects, such as structural
damage, fire, radioactivity, and human
health consequences.
Generally, when considering nuclear
explosion scenarios perpetrated by a
terrorist, experts assume a low-yield
nuclear device detonated at ground level.4
Low yield in this context ranges from
fractions of a kiloton (KT) to 10 KT. The
descriptions and planning factors provided
in this document are based on the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
National Planning Scenario (NPS) #1,
which describes a nuclear device yield of
10 KT detonated at ground level in an
urban environment. The effects of a
nuclear explosion less than 10 KT would
be less; however, there is no easy or direct
correlation factor to use for scaling of
effects.
Blast
The primary effect of a nuclear explosion is the blast that it generates. Blast generation is the
same in any kind of explosion. The blast originates from the rapidly expanding fireball of the
explosion, which generates a pressure wave front moving rapidly away from the point of
detonation. Blast is measured by the overpressure5 and dynamic pressure6 that it produces.
Initially, near the point of detonation for a surface nuclear burst (also referred to as ground
zero), the overpressure is extremely high (thousands of pounds per square inch (psi)
expanding out in all directions from the detonation at hundreds of miles per hour). With
increasing distance from ground zero, the overpressure and speed of the blast wave dissipate
to where they cease to be destructive (see Table 1.1).
4 It should be noted that if a state-built weapon were available to terrorists, the presumption of low yield may no
longer hold.
5 Pressure over and above atmospheric pressure, and measured in pounds per square inch (psi).
6 Manifested as wind, dynamic pressure is a term associated with the velocity of flow and is measured in miles
per hour (mph).
14
The magnitude of a nuclear explosion is
quantified in terms of the amount of
conventional explosive it would take to
create the same blast effect. The amount of
explosive power from a nuclear explosion, or
the “yield,” is measured relative to TNT, and
is usually in the thousands of tons (kilotons,
or KT) of TNT. A small nuclear device, for
example, would be a 1 KT device, meaning it
would produce an explosive yield equivalent
to one thousand tons of TNT. Most nuclear
weapons in the world today were designed to
deliver less than 200 KT; but, some can
deliver millions of tons (MT) of yield. For
comparison the size of the Murrah Federal
Building bombing in Oklahoma City, OK
(1995) was 2.5 tons of TNT equivalents.
Accompanying the overpressure wave is
dynamic pressure that is wind generated by
the passing pressure wave. A very high wind
velocity is associated with a seemingly small
amount of overpressure, as shown in Table
1.1. The combination of overpressure and
wind is extremely destructive to structures.
For example, at 5 psi, the wind velocity may
reach over 160 miles per hour. The full
impact of overpressure and dynamic pressure
on structures common in a modern city is not
currently known; however, past tests and
computer models aid in impacts estimation.
Table 1.1: Relation of wind speed to peak overpressure and distance for a 10 KT explosion;
adapted from Glasstone and Dolan (Glasstone and Dolan 1977)
Peak Overpressure (psi)
Approximate Distance
from Ground Zero (miles)
Maximum Wind Speed
(mph)
50 0.18 934
30 0.24 669
20 0.30 502
10 0.44 294
5 0.6 163
2 1.1 70
Physical destruction of structures following an urban nuclear explosion at different
overpressures is described as follows:
1. Buildings sustain minor damage — damage corresponds to overpressures in the
range of approximately 0.15 to about 2 psi
2. Most buildings are moderately damaged — damage corresponds to overpressures
between 2 and 5 psi
3. Buildings are badly damaged or destroyed — damage corresponds to
overpressures around 5 to 8 psi
4. Only heavily reinforced buildings remain standing, but are significantly damaged
and all other buildings are completely destroyed — damage corresponds to 10 psi
or greater
15
The amount of damage to structures can be used to describe zones for use in response
planning. Each zone will have health and survival implications, although not as neatly as
arbitrary zone delineations would indicate. The purpose of establishing zones is to help plan
response operations and prioritize actions. The following zones are proposed for planning
response to a 10 KT surface burst nuclear explosion in an urban environment and are
summarized in Figure 1.1:7
Light Damage (LD) Zone:
?? The outer boundary of the LD zone may be defined by the prevalence of broken
windows, with approximately 25% broken. This corresponds to approximately
0.5 psi. Shattering of windows and associated injury from flying glass will occur
to about three miles (4.8 km) from ground zero making this distance a reasonable
estimate of the outer boundary of the LD zone. However, window breakage may
occur to a lesser degree out to five miles (8 km) or more from ground zero.
?? Doors and window frames may be blown in at overpressures of about two psi.
Essentially all windows will be shattered out to one psi and perhaps 25% at 0.5
psi.
?? As a responder moves inward, windows and doors will be blown in and gutters,
window shutters, roofs, and light construction will have increasing damage. Litter
and rubble will increase moving towards ground zero and there will be increasing
numbers of stalled and crashed automobiles, making emergency vehicle passage
difficult.
?? Blast overpressures that characterize the LD zone are calculated to be about 0.5
psi at the outer boundary and 2–3 psi at the inner boundary. More significant
structural damage to buildings will indicate entry into the moderate damage zone.
Moderate Damage (MD) Zone:
?? Responders may expect they are transitioning into the MD zone when building
damage becomes substantial. This damage may correspond to a distance of about
one mile (1.6 km) from ground zero for a 10 KT nuclear explosion.
?? Observations in the MD zone include significant structural damage, blown out
building interiors, blown down utility poles, overturned automobiles, some
collapsed buildings, and fires. In the MD zone sturdier buildings (e.g., reinforced
concrete) will remain standing, lighter commercial and multi-unit residential
7 In order to provide some basic parameters to describe the generic urban environment this document assumes a
nominal 10 KT detonation in a modern city with a population of several million. While distances would vary
the zone descriptions apply to any size nuclear explosion. Building types will include a mix of high rise
commercial structures of varying ages and design, with some residential high rises, and high daytime population
density at the ground zero location. Building heights and population density are assumed to drop off with
distance from the ground zero location in favor of low, lighter constructed buildings, and increased residential
structures.
16
buildings may be fallen or structurally unstable, and most single-family houses
would be destroyed.
?? Substantial rubble and crashed and overturned vehicles in streets are expected,
making evacuation and passage of rescue vehicles difficult or impossible without
street clearing. Moving towards ground zero in the MD zone, rubble will
completely block streets and require heavy equipment to clear.
?? Within the MD zone, broken water and utility lines are expected and fires will be
encountered.
?? Many casualties in the MD zone will survive and these survivors, in comparison
to survivors in other zones, will benefit most from urgent medical care.
?? A number of hazards should be expected in the MD zone, including elevated
radiation levels, potentially live, downed power lines, ruptured gas lines, sharp
metal objects and broken glass, ruptured vehicle fuel tanks, and other hazards.
?? Visibility in much of the MD zone may be limited for an hour or more after the
explosion because of dust raised by the shock wave and from collapsed buildings.
Smoke from fires will also obscure visibility.
?? Blast overpressures that characterize the MD zone are: outer boundary, about 2–3
psi, and inner boundary, about 5–8 psi. When most buildings are severely
damaged or collapsed, responders have encountered the no-go zone.
No-go (NG) Zone:
?? Few, if any, buildings are expected to be structurally sound or even standing in
the NG zone, and very few people would survive; however, some people
protected within stable structures (e.g., subterranean parking garages or subway
tunnels) at the time of the explosion may survive the initial blast.
?? Very high radiation levels and other hazards are expected in the NG zone making
this zone gravely dangerous to survivors and responders; therefore, the NG zone
should be considered a no-go zone during the early days following the explosion.
?? Rubble in streets is estimated to be impassable in the NG zone making timely
response impossible. Approaching ground zero, all buildings will be rubble and
rubble may be 30 feet deep or more.
?? The NG zone may have a radius on the order of 0.6 miles (1.0 km). Blast
overpressure that characterizes the NG zone is 5–8 psi and greater.
17
All approximated distances from center of detonation site
No-go (NG) Zone
Moderate Damage (MD) Zone
Light Damage (LD) Zone
No-go (NG): Buildings
completely destroyed; radiation
prevents entry into the area;
lifesaving is not likely
Light Damage (LD): Windows
mostly broken, injuries
requiring self- or outpatientcare
~0.6 mi
~ 3 mi
Moderate Damage (MD):
Significant building damage
and rubble, downed utility
poles, overturned
automobiles, fires, many
serious injuries; greatest
lifesaving opportunities
~1 mi
Figure 1.1: Representative damage zones for 10 KT nuclear explosion (not to scale; circles are
idealized here for planning purposes)
These zone delineations are rough approximations that can assist response planners. They
will be referred to during the remainder of Chapter 1 discussions and will be further
developed for response planning in Chapter 2. There are no clear boundaries between the
damage zones. Initial response units may make observations and estimates, based on
information contained in this document, for purposes of making zone delineations at the
scene. Some of the visual markers provided above will help to distinguish the zones.
It is important to recognize that the zones depicted as circles in Figure 1.1 should be defined
not by precise distances, but by the degree of observable physical damage for purposes of
response planning. Nuclear weapon experts believe damage will be highly unpredictable; for
example, some lighter buildings may survive closer to ground zero while robust structures
may be destroyed under relatively low overpressure resulting from complex wave reflection
and diffraction in the urban cityscape. Glass breakage is an important factor in assessing
There are no clear boundaries between the representative damage zones resulting from
a nuclear detonation, but generally, the light damage (LD) zone is characterized by
broken windows and easily managed injuries; the moderate (MD) zone by significant
building damage, rubble, downed utility poles, overturned automobiles, fires, and
serious injuries; and the no-go (NG) zone by completely destroyed infrastructure and
high radiation levels resulting in unlikely survival of victims.
18
blast damage, but different kinds of glasses break at widely varying overpressures. Some
modern windows may survive two psi, whereas others will shatter at 0.15 psi. The glass
dimensions, hardening, thickness, and numerous other factors influence glass breakage.
Zoned planning, however, will help officials estimate overall response needs and preplan the
logistical support necessary for a response.
Blast Injuries
The most critical, direct overpressure blast injuries will include lung damage, eardrum
rupture, and damage to the hollow viscera (e.g., esophagus, stomach, small and large
intestine, rectum). When the blast wave hits the human body, rapid compression and
decompression result in transmission of pressure waves through the tissues, resulting in
damage primarily at junctions between different tissues (e.g., bone and muscle, at the
interface between tissue and air spaces). Lung tissue and the gastrointestinal system, both of
which contain air, are particularly susceptible to injury. The resulting tissue damage can lead
to severe hemorrhage or to air emboli (i.e., incorporation of air into the bloodstream that can
result in blockage of major arteries or the heart), either of which can be rapidly fatal.
Perforation of the eardrums would be a common but minor blast injury. Table 1.2 provides
an overview of impacts relative to the peak overpressure of the blast wave.
Table 1.2: Impacts of peak overpressure of blast; adapted from Glasstone and Department of
Defense (DOD) (Glasstone and Dolan 1977; DOD 2001)
Peak
Overpressure
(psi)
Type of Structure Degree of Damage
0.15-1 Windows Moderate (broken)
3-5 Apartments Moderate
3-5 Houses Severe
6-8 Reinforced concrete building Severe
6-8 Massive concrete building Moderate
100 Personnel shelters Severe (collapse)
Type of Injury to People
5 Threshold for eardrum rupture
15 Threshold for serious lung damage
50 50% incidence of fatal lung damage
19
As shown in Table 1.2, the human body is remarkably resistant to overpressure, particularly
when compared with rigid structures such as buildings. Although many would survive the
blast overpressure itself, they will not easily survive the crushing injuries incurred during the
collapse of buildings (see Figure 1.2) from the blast overpressure or the impact of shrapnel
(e.g., flying debris and glass).
Figure 1.2: Blast wave effects on a house, indicating low survivability
The majority of casualties from blast effects will result from wind generated from the blast
overpressure. The velocity of the wind will lift and throw people causing serious injuries for
a 10 KT yield within a mile of ground zero. It will also turn lighter objects into flying
shrapnel resulting in impalement injuries. Heavier objects may present crushing hazards.
Head injuries, damage to body extremities, and internal organ damage will result.
The probability of penetrating injuries from flying debris increases with increasing velocity,
particularly for small, sharp debris such as glass fragments. Single projectile injuries will be
rare; however, multiple, varied projectile injuries will be common. Blast wave pressures
above three to five psi can produce flying debris and glass fragments with sufficient velocity
to cause blunt trauma or deep lacerations resulting in injuries that require professional
medical attention. For a 10 KT detonation, the range for these effects is about 0.6 – 1 mile
(1–1.6 km). However, broken and shattered windows will be observed at much greater
distances. Large windows can break at blast wave pressures down to 0.15 psi and people will
be subject to injury from the falling glass of tall buildings. For 10 KT, these lower pressure
window breakages could range out several miles from ground zero. Although, not directly
relevant to expectations in a modern urban environment, at Nagasaki (21 KT) and Hiroshima
(16 KT) minor injuries from flying glass extended to two miles, serious injuries were
prevalent out to one mile, and falling glass was not an issue for lack of tall buildings beyond
the MD zone.
Thermal Radiation (or Heat)
An important effect of a nuclear detonation is the generation of an intense thermal pulse of
energy (i.e., the nuclear flash). The potential for fire ignition in modern cities from thermal
effects is poorly understood but remains a major concern. Fires may be started by the initial
thermal burst igniting flammable materials in buildings, or by the ignition of gas from broken
gas lines and ruptured fuel tanks.
Fires destroy infrastructure, pose a direct threat to survivors and responders, and may
threaten people taking shelter or attempting to evacuate. If fires are able to grow and
Blast wave destroys wood
frame house
(16 KT, 0.6 miles away, ~6
psi, ~200 mph)
20
The thermal pulse of energy from a nuclear
detonation originates from two sources. First, a
short intense pulse of heat (the flash) occurs from
the fission event itself, then the expanding
fireball continues to radiate for several seconds
as it rockets upward. The thermal pulse
generates instantaneous direct energy in the
infrared, visible, and ultraviolet wave bands, but
most of the thermal radiation comes from the
fireball itself. The thermal radiation intensity at
any given point will depend on distance from the
detonation and the location of the burst (e.g.,
detonation high above the ground, or detonation
at the surface of the earth). In general, the
thermal hazard is greatest in the case of a lowaltitude
air burst. General thermal effects will be
less for surface bursts resulting from less direct
line-of-sight contact with the energy radiating
from the detonation. Surface bursts result in a
large part of the thermal energy being absorbed
by the ground and any buildings around ground
zero. Partial and sometimes complete shadowing
from the thermal pulse and fireball may be
provided to people inside or behind buildings and
other structures. Terrain irregularities, moisture,
and various gases in the air near the surface of
the earth will tend to reduce the amount of
thermal energy that is transported at distance.
coalesce, a firestorm8 could develop that would be beyond the abilities of firefighters to
control.
The NG zone might be depicted as a
large concrete rubble area (with a very
large hole in the middle) and is not
expected to be conducive for fueling
fires. The MD zone is the more likely
the area where fires will erupt and
threaten survivors and responders
because of the intense thermal pulse
and the severe damage to
infrastructure (such as gas lines and
fuel tanks). Depending on the
flammability of various materials,
blast winds can either extinguish or
fan the burning materials. The LD
zone with minor infrastructure damage
may also have fires but these should
be more easily contained and
mitigated.
Thermal Injuries
Close to the fireball, the thermal
energy is so intense that infrastructure
and humans are incinerated.
Immediate lethality would be 100% in
close proximity. The distance of
lethality will vary with nuclear yield, position of the burst relative to the earth’s surface,
weather, environment, and how soon victims can receive medical care.
Thermal radiation emitted by a nuclear detonation causes burns in two ways; direct
absorption of thermal energy through exposed surfaces (flash burns) or indirectly from fires
ignited by the burst (see Figure 1.3). Thermal energy from the burst is delivered to bare skin
or through clothing to the skin so quickly that burn patterns will be evident. The victim will
be burned on the side facing the fireball. If people were out in the open and not protected by
terrain, buildings, or other shadowing structures, flash burns would be the most common
injuries among survivors. Tall city buildings between people and the burst provide
substantial shadowing from the burst and reduce the overall flash burn impact. People within
line of sight of the burst may be subject to burn injuries up to two miles away for a 10 KT
8 A firestorm is a conflagration, which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system that
draws oxygen into the inferno to continue fueling the fires.
21
Sudden exposures to high-intensity
sources of light can cause eye injury,
specifically to the retina. Factors that
determine the extent of eye injury
include pupil dilation, spectral
transmission through the ocular media,
spectral absorption by the retina and
choroids, length of time of exposure,
and the size and quality of the image.
Eye injury is a result of not only
thermal energy but also photochemical
reactions that occur within the retina
with light wavelengths in the range of
400 to 500 nanometers.
device. The farther away from ground zero a person is, the less severe the burn injury will
be. Early treatment can reduce mortality rates among the severely burned victims.
(a) (b)
Figure 1.3: Flash burn victims from (a) Hiroshima showing pattern burns (i.e., the dark colored
material pattern on the victims clothing absorbed the thermal energy and burned the skin),
and (b) Nagasaki showing profile burns (i.e., burns around the light colored clothing that
reflected the thermal energy).
Secondary fires are expected to be prevalent in the MD zone. Secondary fires will result in
medically routine burns, but the health threat will be compounded by other injury
mechanisms associated with a nuclear explosion.
Observation of the thermal flash can result in
temporary or permanent eye injuries. Temporary
flash blindness may occur in people who
observed the flash of intense light energy with
their peripheral vision. This blindness is a
temporary condition that results from a depletion
of photopigment from the retinal receptors. The
duration of flash blindness can last several
seconds when the exposure occurs during
daylight. The blindness may then be followed by
a darkened after-image that lasts for several
minutes. At night, when one’s pupils are fully
dilated, flash blindness may last for up to 30
minutes and may occur up to 15 miles away from
the detonation resulting in traffic accidents far
removed from the damage zones.
Direct observation of the brilliant flash of light from a nuclear detonation can also cause
macular-retinal burns. Burns of the macula will result in permanent scarring with resultant
loss in visual acuity, or blindness. Burns of the peripheral regions of the retina will produce
scotomas (blind spots), but overall visual acuity will be less impaired. These burns can occur
at distances of several miles under optimal conditions and roughly double in range at night.
22
It is anticipated that some injuries (e.g., eye injuries, blast injuries, particularly from
flying debris and glass) can be prevented or reduced in severity if individuals that
perceive an intense and unexpected flash of light as described here seek immediate
cover. The speed of light, perceived as the flash, will travel faster than the blast
overpressure allowing a few seconds for some people to take limited protective
measures.
A nuclear explosion involves the splitting, or
fission, of the nuclei of uranium or plutonium.
During and following a nuclear explosion,
radiation is released. This radiation includes
both electromagnetic (e.g., ultraviolet, infrared,
visible, gamma and x-ray) and particulate
radiation (e.g., alpha and beta particles, and
neutrons). The intense visible light that occurs
is one of the hallmarks of a nuclear explosion;
it can be seen from many kilometers away and
can be blinding. The health threat from these
types of radiation varies; however gamma
radiation contributes the greatest early threat
from the initial radiation and from radiation
associated with fallout.
Radiation and Fallout
One of the primary outputs from a nuclear explosion is radiation. Intense radiation is
generated by the nuclear fission process that creates the explosion, and it is generated from
the decay of radioactive fission products (radionuclides) resulting from nuclear fission.
During a nuclear explosion, fission products are created that attach to particles and debris to
form fallout; these particles are the main source of contamination associated with a nuclear
explosion. Fission products emit primarily gamma and beta radiation. The various fission
products have widely differing radioactive half-lives.9 Some have very short half-lives (e.g.,
fractions of a second), while others can continue to emit radiation for months or years. To
help in making radiation dose assessments, radiation from a nuclear explosion is categorized
as prompt radiation, which occurs within the first minute, and latent radiation, which occurs
after the first minute and is largely associated with radioactive fallout. Both can deliver
lethal radiation doses. Moderate to large radiation doses are known to increase long-term
cancer risk as well.
9 The radioactive half-life for a given radionuclide is the time for half the radioactive nuclei in a given sample to
undergo radioactive decay. After two half-lives, there will be one-fourth of the original sample, after three halflives
one-eight of the original sample, and so forth.
23
For low-yield detonations (e.g., 10 KT and less) prompt radiation can be an important
contributor to casualties. The intensity of prompt radiation, however, is of short duration and
decreases with increasing distance from ground zero. This decrease is a result of the radial
distribution of radiation as it travels away from the point of detonation, and the absorption,
scattering, and capture of radiation by the atmosphere and buildings. Buildings help to block
the direct path of prompt radiation, however, even if an individual is shielded behind
buildings, backscattered radiation from the atmosphere can still deliver a dose that could
make people sick or even prove fatal.
Even if a person is at a safe distance with respect to prompt radiation, radioactive fallout can
deliver a lethal radiation dose. The intensity of latent radiation from fallout diminishes
generally with distance from the point of detonation (depending on meteorological factors),
and with time as the radionuclides decay away. Sheltering in a heavily constructed building
away from windows or in a basement provides good protection (see Chapter 3).
Although the latent radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion arises mainly from fission
products, another source can arise when neutrons impact materials such as metal, soil, rock,
and buildings that are in close proximity to ground zero. The absorption of neutrons in
materials can make them radioactive, emitting beta and gamma radiation. These radioactive
materials decay in the same manner as fission products. In addition to local radioactive
fallout, the immediate area around ground zero, mostly within the NG zone, may be
radioactive for several weeks or months as a result of this neutron-induced radioactivity in
buildings, soil, metals, and other materials.
The decay of nuclear weapons fission products follows the relationship, Rt = R1t-1.2, where Rt
is the gamma radiation dose rate at time t after the explosion and R1 is the dose rate at unit
time, for example one hour. However, a standard rule of thumb for the decay, called the 7–
10 rule, makes for easy approximations. This rule states that for every sevenfold increase in
time after detonation, there is a tenfold decrease in the radiation rate. Table 1.3 summarizes
relative dose rates at various times after a nuclear explosion. The following explanation and
accompanying Table 1.3 are from The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, by Glasstone and Dolan
1977 (Glasstone and Dolan 1977):
“For example, if the radiation dose rate at 1 hour after the explosion is taken as a
reference point, then at 7 hours after the explosion the dose rate will have decreased
to one-tenth; at 7x7 = 49 hours (or roughly 2 days) it will be one-hundredth; and at
7x7x7 = 343 hours (or roughly 2 weeks) the dose rate will be one-thousandth of that
at 1 hour after the burst. Another aspect of the rule is that at the end of 1 week (7
days), the radiation dose rate will be about one tenth of the value after 1 day. This
rule is accurate to within about 25 percent up to 2 weeks or so and is applicable to
within a factor of two up to roughly 6 months after the nuclear detonation.”
24
Table 1.3: Example dose rate decay from early fallout tracked as a function of time after a
nuclear explosion; adapted from Glasstone and Dolan (Glasstone and Dolan 1977).
Time (hours) Dose Rate (R/hour) Time (hours) Dose Rate (R/hour)
1 1,000 36 15
1.5 610 48 10
2 400 72 6.2
3 230 100 4.0
5 130 200 1.7
6 100 400 0.69
70 63 600 0.40
15 40 800 0.31
24 23 1,000 (~ 42 days) 0.24
Fallout is particulate material (and larger debris) that is engulfed by or drawn up into the
fireball. Smaller particles, below 1 mm, generally have fission products fused into or
condensed onto them, creating radioactive fallout that could be carried a significant distance.
As the fireball cools, the particulates are drawn back to earth by gravity. If the detonation
occurs near the earth’s surface, the shock wave will crush and loosen thousands of tons of
earth and urban infrastructure (e.g., buildings, roads, concrete) that can become entrained in
the fireball. Some of this material will be vaporized by the intense heat of the fireball, some
will be partially melted, and some will remain essentially unchanged.
Nearly all the radioactivity in fallout comes from fission products produced during
detonation (e.g., uranium or plutonium nuclei split apart in the fission reaction). A smaller
contributor is the induced radioactivity (activation) of local materials by neutron capture. In
the fireball, the fission products and neutron activation products are incorporated into or
condensed onto the particles generated from the explosion, which then descend as fallout. In
a fallout zone, external exposure to gamma radiation is the dominant health concern but beta
radiation will cause severe tissue damage when the material remains in contact with
unprotected skin resulting in “beta burns.”
Fallout particles studied during historical weapons testing ranged in size from submicron up
to centimeters, and they behave according to standard aerodynamic principles. As the fireball
rises, winds shift its particle-laden column resulting in fluctuation of the fallout pattern of
deposition as upper level winds finally convey the cooling fireball. Winds at ground level
typically do not reflect wind speeds and directions at higher levels, and the fallout path may
veer in unexpected ways, and carry fallout a significant distance.
As a rule, fallout particles that are most hazardous are readily visible as fine sand-sized
grains, but the lack of apparent fallout should not be misrepresented to mean radiation isn’t
present; therefore appropriate radiation monitoring should always be performed. Fallout that
is immediately hazardous to the public and emergency responders will descend to the ground
within about 24 hours. The most significant hazard area will extend 10 to 20 miles from
ground zero. Within a few miles of ground zero exposure rates in excess of 100 R/hour
during the first four to six hours post-detonation may be observed. The area covered by
fallout that impacts responder life-saving operations and/or has acute radiation injury
potential to the population is known as the dangerous fallout (DF) zone. To the three zones
already described (LD, MD, and NG), a fourth is added, the dangerous fallout (DF) zone.
25
While fallout may trigger consideration of PAGs hundreds of miles away (DHS 2008), this
DF zone pertains to near-in areas to focus on activities that maximize population survival and
limit acute radiation injuries. Figure 1.4 illustrates the relation of the DF zone to zones LD,
MD and NG.
~ 10 to 20 miles
LD MDNG
DF
Figure 1.4: Representative dangerous fallout (DF) zone in which an early and direct threat from
fallout radioactivity exists. A radiation exposure rate of 10 R/hour is used to delimit this zone.
The DF zone is distinguished not by structural damage, but by fallout radiation levels. A
radiation exposure rate of 10 R/hour is used to delimit this zone. This zone is a hazardous
area and any response operations within the DF zone must be justified, optimized, and
planned. It is important that responders refrain from undertaking missions in areas where
radioactivity may be present until radiation levels can be accurately determined and readily
monitored. Responder planning recommendations for the DF zone are provided in Chapter
2.
Rarely does fallout form easily predictable deposition patterns. Winds of varying speed and
direction at different levels of lower and upper atmosphere push the fireball and the
descending fallout material in directions that may not be evident from ground-level
observation. Therefore, ground-level winds should never be used to predict the path of fallout
deposition. Dangerous fallout may land on people who think the fallout is being blown a
different direction, because of upper-level winds; or early evacuation could prove ineffective,
even fatal, if planning assumes a straight line deposition pattern based on ground-level
winds. To add to the complication of the fallout zone, there will be small areas that are
significantly more radioactive and others that are less radioactive within the overall fallout
field because of micro-level wind variation.
The most hazardous fallout particles are readily visible as fine, sand-sized grains, but
the lack of apparent fallout should not be misrepresented to mean radiation isn’t
present; therefore appropriate radiation monitoring should always be performed..
Fallout that is immediately hazardous to the public and emergency responders will
descend to the ground within about 24 hours.
26
Beyond 20 miles, the extended fallout area will still require shelter and/or evacuation orders
to minimize radiation exposure to the population. As a general rule, the population in the
local fallout area should immediately shelter to avoid exposure to fallout prior to any
consideration for evacuation (see Chapter 3).
Contamination from fallout will hinder response operations in the local fallout areas and may
preclude some actions before sufficient radioactive decay has occurred. However, the fallout
will be subject to rapid radioactive decay and the DF zone will immediately begin to shrink
in size with time. The radiation exposure rate at a given location, whether in the center of the
DF zone or at the perimeter (10 R/hour), will diminish with time resulting in a gradually
smaller DF zone. Monitoring ground radiation levels is imperative for the response
community. Combining the measured radiation levels with predictive plume models and/or
aerial measurement systems can prove invaluable in determining response courses of action
and developing protective action decisions.
Finally, fallout travels substantial distances beyond the DF zone boundary, though levels
beyond the DF boundary would not be lethal. However, fallout in areas 100 or more miles
away may warrant protective actions (e.g., sheltering and/or evacuation, food collection
prohibitions, water advisories). Fallout deposition at great distances (e.g., 100 miles) is
dictated by the parameters of jet stream winds. Fallout of fine particle size will continue to
move on the jet streams and have a low-level global impact.
Radiation Injuries and Fallout Health Impacts
A nuclear explosion will produce dangerous levels of prompt radiation, and radiation from
fallout. Elevated radiation doses will produce clinical injuries and death. Prompt radiation
from a 10 KT nuclear detonation can deliver a radiation dose of approximately 400 rads (4
Gy or 400 cGy) at a distance of just over half a mile (~0.9 km) whereby ~50% of the
population who are out in the open (unshielded) will not survive. This level of dose is called
the LD50 dose for untreated patients. Medical care increases one’s chances of survival up to a
dose of ~600 rads (600 cGy). Even with medical care, many victims that receive radiation
doses over ~600 rads would not be expected to survive. The time to death for these victims
ranges from several weeks to a few months.
Nuclear fallout can cause acute health effects (short-term effects), including death, and longterm
health risks, especially cancer. Close in to the explosion out to about 10 to 20 miles
from ground zero, unsheltered people could receive acute and even lethal radiation doses. A
simplified acute radiation dose chart is shown below (Table 1.4). From this chart, responders
will note that if they are subjected to acute doses above ~200 rem (200 cGy), they will likely
be unable to perform their jobs adequately and be at risk of becoming a casualty themselves.
Below the range of acute effects, the risk of cancer is increased over a person’s lifetime.
27
Table 1.4: Approximate acute death and acute symptoms estimates as a function
of whole-body absorbed doses (for adults), for use in decision making after shortterma
radiation exposure adapted from NCRP, AFRRI, Goans, IAEA, ICRP and
Mettler (NCRP 2005; DOD, 2003; Goans and Wasalenko, 2005; IAEA, 1998; ICRP,
1991; Mettler and Upton, 1995).
Short-Term
Whole-Body
Dose [rad (Gy)]
Acute Deathb from
Radiation Without
Medical Treatment
(%)
Acute Death from
Radiation with
Medical Treatment
(%)
Acute Symptoms
(nausea and
vomiting within 4 h)
(%)
1 (0.01)
10 (0.1)
50 (0.5)
100 (1)
150 (1.5)
200 (2)
300 (3)
600 (6)
1,000 (10)
0
0
0
<5
<5
5
30 – 50
95 – 100
100
0
0
0
0
<5
<5
15 – 30
50
>90
0
0
0
5 – 30
40
60
75
100
100
aShort-term refers to the radiation exposure during the initial response to the incident. The acute
effects listed are likely to be reduced by about one-half if radiation exposure occurs over weeks.
bAcute deaths are likely to occur from 30 to 180 d after exposure and few if any after that time.
Estimates are for healthy adults. Individuals with other injuries, and children, will be at greater risk.
In zones where acute or lethal doses may occur, attention should be directed towards
minimizing doses to levels as low as can be achieved to maximize survival under the
circumstances. In zones further away and where relatively low radiation doses are observed
(i.e., from fallout), attention should be given to managing radiation exposures with the goal
of minimizing cancer risk and other long-term effects. Chapter 3 provides more information
on radiation dose management and protective actions.
Perhaps the most effective life-saving opportunity for response officials in the first 60
minutes following a nuclear explosion will be the decision to shelter or evacuate populations
in the expected fallout areas. When individuals remain in a nuclear fallout area, the fallout
deposited on the ground and roofs will lead to an immediate external radiation exposure from
gamma radiation. The radiation dose from fallout is often referred to as the ground shine dose
and it is orders of magnitude greater than internal hazards resulting from inhalation or
ingestion of radioactive material in the DF zone. However, respiratory protection for the
public, even ad hoc protection (e.g., holding a cloth over one’s mouth and nose), is better
than no protection at all. Emergency responder respiratory protection recommendations are
provided in Chapter 2, “Response Worker Safety.”
Fallout exposure can be effectively minimized by taking shelter in a sufficiently protective
structure. It is critical that pre-event public education address this protective action measure
The most effective life-saving opportunities for response officials in the first 60
minutes following a nuclear explosion will be the decision to safely shelter or
evacuate people in expected fallout areas.
28
directly with the public. Emergency responders should attempt to transmit shelter or evacuate
decisions to the public. Individuals need to understand the shelter adequacy of the shelter in
which they are located to be able to make their own decisions. Sheltering and evacuation is
the subject of Chapter 3.
Many people sheltering or being evacuated will need at least rudimentary decontamination.
Effective decontamination of people from fallout is straightforward (i.e., remove clothes and
shower). If contamination is not brushed or washed off, it can cause beta burns to the skin. If
responders find themselves caught in an area during active fallout from the plume, they
should brush each other off every few minutes until they can find suitable shelter or evacuate
from the fallout area. Decontamination will place additional constraints on responder
resources. Mass decontamination of populations can involve sending people home or to an
alternate location to change clothes and shower. This subject is extensively addressed in
Chapter 5.
Combined Injuries
Nuclear explosions produce thermal, blast, and radiation injuries that will often occur in
combination. Research has led to the conclusion that the prognosis of patients suffering from
both radiation and traumatic injuries (including burns) will be worse than the prognosis of
patients suffering the same magnitude of either trauma or radiation exposure alone. For
example, the LD50 for untreated, combined-injury casualties may be reduced from ~400 rad
(400 cGy) to as low as 250 rad (250 cGy). Combined-injury patients who have received
significant, but less than lethal, radiation doses (100 to 200 rads, or equivalently, 100 to 200
cGy) will also require more support than those who have traumatic injuries alone.
EMP
A phenomenon associated with a nuclear detonation called electromagnetic pulse (EMP)
poses no direct health threat, but can be very damaging to electronic equipment. EMP is an
electromagnetic field generated from the detonation that produces a high-voltage surge. This
voltage surge can impact electronic components that it reaches. The EMP phenomenon is a
major effect for bursts at very high altitude, but it is not well understood how it radiates
outward from a surface level detonation and to what degree it will damage the electronic
systems that permeate modern society.10 Although experts have not achieved consensus
agreement on expected effects, generally they believe that the most severe consequence of
the pulse would not travel beyond about two miles (three km) to five miles (eight km) from a
surface level 10 KT detonation. Stalling of vehicles and disruptions in communications,
10 NPS #1 is a surface burst scenario. If the detonation were to occur at altitude, for example, if the device were
carried up a thousand feet or more in a small plane, EMP would have a significantly larger impact on
electronics and could seriously hamper communications and other systems locally.
Blast, thermal, and radiation injuries in combination will result in prognoses for
patients worse than those for the individual injury mechanisms.
29
computer equipment, control systems, and other electronic devices could result. Another
EMP phenomenon called source-region EMP may lead to conductance of electricity through
conducting materials (e.g., pipes and wires) and could cause damage much further away, but
this subject requires further research and analysis. Because the extent of the EMP effect is
expected to occur relatively close to ground zero, other effects of the explosion (such as blast
destruction) are expected to dominate over the EMP effect. Equipment brought in from
unaffected areas should function normally if communications towers and repeaters remain
functioning.
References
Glasstone, Samuel and Philip J. Dolan. 1977. The Effects of Nuclear Weapons.
Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Goans, R. E., and J. K. Waselenko. 2005. Medical management of radiological casualties.
Health Physics 89:505–12.
International Atomic Energy Agency. 1998. Diagnosis and Treatment of Radiation Injuries.
IAEA Safety Reports Series No. 2, STI/PUB/1040. http://wwwpub.
iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/P040_scr.pdf.
International Commission on Radiological Protection. 1991. 1990 Recommendations of the
International Commission on Radiological Protection, ICRP Publication 60, Ann.
ICRP 21(1–3) (New York).
Mettler, F. A., Jr. and A. C. Upton. 1995. Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation. 2nd ed.
Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. 2005. Key Elements of
Preparing Emergency Responders for Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism,
Commentary No. 19 (Bethesda).
US Department of Defense. Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. 2003. Medical
Management of Radiological Casualties.
http://www.afrri.usuhs.mil/www/outreach/pdf/2edmmrchandbook.pdf.
US Department of Defense. Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and
Commandant, Marine Corps. 2001. Treatment of Nuclear And Radiological
Casualties. ARMY FM 4-02.283, NAVY NTRP 4-02.21, AIR FORCE AFMAN 44-
161(I), MARINE CORPS MCRP 4-11.1B.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/policy/army/fm/4-02-283/fm4-02-
283.pdf.
EMP effects could result in extensive electronics disruptions complicating the
function of communications, computers, and other essential electronic equipment.
30
KEY POINTS
1. The goal of a zoned approach to nuclear detonation response is to save lives, while
managing risks to emergency response worker life and health.
2. Response to a nuclear detonation will be provided from neighboring response
units; therefore advance planning is required to establish mutual aid agreements
and response protocols.
3. Radiation detection equipment should be capable of reading dose rates up to 1,000
R/hour.
4. Radiation safety and measurement training should be required of any workers that
would be deployed to a radiation area.
5. Most of the injuries incurred within the LD zone are not expected to be life
threatening. Most of the injuries would be associated with flying glass and debris
from the blast wave and traffic accidents.
6. Responders should focus medical attention in the LD zone only on severe injuries
and should encourage individuals to shelter in safe locations to expedite access to
severely injured individuals.
7. Response within the MD zone requires planners to prepare for elevated radiation
levels, unstable buildings and other structures, downed power lines, ruptured gas
lines, hazardous chemicals, sharp metal objects, broken glass, and fires.
8. The MD zone should be the focus of early life-saving operations. Early response
activities should focus on medical triage with constant consideration of radiation
dose minimization.
9. Response within the NG zone should not be attempted until radiation dose rates
have dropped substantially in the days following a nuclear detonation, and the MD
zone response is significantly advanced.
10. The highest hazard from fallout occurs within the first four hours and continues to
drop as the radioactive fission products decay.
11. The most important mission in the DF zone is communicating protective action
orders to the public. Effective preparedness requires public education, effective
communication plans, messages, and means of delivery in the DF zone.
Chapter 2 - A Zoned Approach to Nuclear Detonation
Response
31
Overview
As stated in Chapter 1, defining zones can be a useful approach to planning and executing a
response, including predicting casualties and medical needs, determining where to locate
staging areas, determining incident management requirements, assessing potential worker
hazards, determining how to access affected areas, and determining how to prioritize mission
objectives especially for medical triage. While presented generically here, response planning
must be done on a city-specific basis. The priority of saving lives is emphasized along with
protecting emergency response workers. The zones in this recommended approach to nuclear
explosion emergency response are based on visual indicators of physical damage and on
radiation levels that will need to be measured in the field. The basic zones were described in
Chapter 1 and their use is expanded here.
Zoned Approach to Response
The physical and radiological (fallout) impacts of nuclear explosion may be extensive
making local response to the incident difficult. Responder units within one or two miles
from ground zero of a surface, 10 KT nuclear explosion may be compromised or completely
nonfunctional. However, response capabilities more than five miles away from ground zero
are likely to be minimally affected by blast and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and should be
able to mobilize and respond, provided they are not impacted by dangerous levels of fallout.
Therefore, response to a nuclear explosion may largely be provided by neighboring
boroughs, suburbs, cities, townships, and counties through mutual aid agreements or other
planning mechanisms. Some neighboring response capabilities, however, will be directly
affected by fallout and advised to shelter until dose rates have fallen.11 Regional response
planning in advance of a nuclear explosion is imperative to maximize response efficacy.
The hazard from high radioactivity is an ever-present threat for responders and survivors in
the early postdetonation time period. Radioactivity cannot be seen or felt; it must be detected
and measured with specialized equipment capable of measuring high levels of radioactivity
consistent with a nuclear detonation. Equipment should be capable of reading dose rates up
to 1,000 R/hour. Radiation safety and measurement training should be required of any
workers deployed to radiation areas. Response teams should not enter affected areas without
first confirming the level of radioactivity in the area they are entering.
11 In the scenario being considered here, a surface level nuclear explosion will generate a large amount of
dangerous fallout.
Response to a nuclear detonation will largely be provided from neighboring response
units; therefore advance planning is required to establish mutual aid agreements and
response protocols.
The goal of a zoned approach to nuclear detonation response is to save lives, while
managing risks to emergency response worker life and health.
32
Planners and responders should remember that dose rates will be decreasing significantly in
the first 48 hours. The level of radioactivity will need to be monitored periodically to
properly characterize the changing hazard. Federal assets to support radiation monitoring
will become available in the early days following a nuclear detonation, but local responders
will be operating without substantial Federal support on the ground for approximately 24 to
72 hours. Beginning about 30 minutes to 1 hour after a nuclear detonation, the Federal
Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC) will be able to provide
plume and fallout projections to State and local authorities through the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS). The projections will be continuously updated as additional
information becomes available from the incident location.
Response Functions and Priorities
Response teams that may use a zoned response approach to nuclear detonation response
include radiation assessment support teams, police and fire fighters, emergency medical
personnel, search and rescue teams, Haz Mat teams, engineering response teams,12 medical
triage units, and response support functions. The main objective of early response is the
preservation of life. While the life-saving objective is aimed at the general public, the safety
and health of response workers is also critical. Emergency response planners and incident
commanders must carefully weigh the decision to send response workers into situations
where they may receive very high-radiation doses and/or physical injuries, both to protect the
responder and to maximize responder resources. During the first hours and days after a
nuclear attack, as many as one hundred thousand13 individuals may live or die depending on
the ability of responders to treat injuries and protect people from lethal exposures to
radiation.
A number of nuclear explosion impacts (described in Chapter 1) severely hinder the lifesaving
mission. Successful execution of life-saving and supporting response activities, such
as search and rescue and fire fighting, is determined in part by the incident area conditions.
Area access for such missions may be severely hindered by deep rubble, smoke and dust,
stalled and crashed automobiles, and downed power lines. Fire fighting may be hampered or
prevented by low water pressure. Worker safety concerns may affect response planning and
12 The term engineering response teams is used here to include teams of workers tasked with clearing rubble and
debris from transportation routes, repairing critical transportation infrastructure, stabilizing damaged utilities
(e.g., gas, electric, and water), assessing structural damages to buildings, bridges, and other structures, and other
critical engineering-related tasks.
13 In some computer simulated high-density urban scenarios, several hundred thousand people may be at risk of
death following a 10 KT nuclear explosion where effective planning and response actions could save many of
them.
Radiation safety and measurement training should be required of any workers that
could potentially be deployed to a radiation area.
Radiation detection equipment should be capable of reading dose rates up to 1,000
R/hour.
33
mission execution. Planning for response in impacted areas according to zones (by type and
magnitude of physical impact and level of radiation) will help planners optimize response
asset allocation and deployment of resources to most effectively support the life-saving
activities. For example, areas where significant street rubble is expected warrant rapid
deployment of street clearing equipment to allow access to areas where medical triage is a
priority, or to open critical access routes for other key missions. Likewise, engineering teams
may be needed to stabilize structures and utilities, such as water, gas, and power lines before
fire, search and rescue, or medical teams can enter.
The nature and magnitude of impacts provides indicators for prioritizing search and rescue
and medical triage missions. For example, close to ground zero the likelihood of survivors is
very low. Other zones will have varying proportions of injured people, and varying degrees
of injury, thus providing rough indicators where scarce resources may be best deployed.
Planning response activities by zones based on the magnitude and type of impact and
expected casualties will help planners set priorities to realize the greatest number of lives
saved.
Finally, high radiation from fallout may overlay zones with heavy physical impacts as well as
outlying areas with no physical impact at all. Therefore, planning in these zones must
account for heavy damage, moderate or light damage, and no damage at all, depending on the
distance from ground zero along the path of fallout deposition. Areas of combined physical
(trauma and burn) and radiation impacts also generate casualties with combined physical and
radiation health impacts. These combined injuries significantly reduce survival. The ability to
plan response around combined impact zones will help officials plan for and focus efforts
where life-saving activities will realize the most lives saved.
In Chapter 1, four zones were described based on the magnitude of physical damage and
radiation levels associated with fallout. Emergency response operations can be planned
using these four zones. They are provided again for convenience as Figure 2.1: the light
damage (LD) zone; the moderate damage (MD) zone; and, the “no-go” (NG) zone; and,
Figure 2.2: the dangerous fallout (DF) zone.
34
All approximated distances from center of detonation site
No-go (NG) Zone
Moderate Damage (MD) Zone
Light Damage (LD) Zone
No-go (NG): Buildings
completely destroyed; radiation
prevents entry into the area;
lifesaving is not likely
Light Damage (LD): Windows
mostly broken, injuries
requiring self- or outpatientcare
~0.6 mi
~ 3 mi
Moderate Damage (MD):
Significant building damage
and rubble, downed utility
poles, overturned
automobiles, fires, many
serious injuries; greatest
lifesaving opportunities
~1 mi
Figure 2.1: Representative damage zones for 10 KT nuclear explosion (not to scale; circles are
idealized here for planning purposes) (Identical to Figure 1.1)
~ 10 to 20 miles
LD MDNG
DF
Figure 2.2: Representative dangerous fallout (DF) zone for a 10 KT nuclear explosion in which
an early and direct threat from fallout radioactivity exists. A radiation exposure rate of 10
R/hour is used to delimit this zone. (Identical to Figure 1.4)
35
LD Zone Response
The outer perimeter of the LD zone will become recognizable when responders consistently
see broken windows. The outer perimeter of the LD zone is arbitrarily set at approximately
25% observable broken windows. The LD zone will require some street clearing of small
rubble and debris and stalled or crashed vehicles. Passage into this zone will become
increasingly difficult and require heavy equipment and debris removal capabilities.
Responders may encounter elevated radiation in the LD zone; however; elevated radiation
doses would be associated predominantly with the major path of fallout deposition where the
DF zone is overlaying.
The severity of injuries responders will encounter in the LD zone should be relatively light,
consisting mostly of superficial wounds. Elevated radiation doses from prompt radiation and
burns from the detonation itself (see Chapter 1) are not expected in the LD zone because of
the distance from ground zero and the shielding provided by buildings. Injuries are
anticipated to result primarily from flying glass and debris, falls, and traffic accidents. Glass
and other projectile penetrations are expected to be superficial (e.g., 1 centimeter depth) in
the torso, limbs, and face. Eyes are particularly vulnerable. As responders proceed inward
they will begin to observe an increasing frequency and severity of injuries from flying glass
and debris, and crush, translation and tumbling injuries.14 Glass shards will become
prominent in injured individuals. Glass alone, depending on where it has entered the body,
may present a direct threat to life. In summary, the most injuries incurred within the LD zone
are not expected to be life threatening. Injuries resulting from traffic accidents are likely to
be the most serious injuries in the LD zone. As responders penetrate further in towards the
MD zone, the number and severity of physical injuries will increase.
Responders should expect LD zone survivors to be panicked and confused, and to request
medical assistance. A small percentage of injured in the LD zone may require emergency
care, for example, for severe blood loss or head injury from a traffic accident. But, the
population as a whole in the LD zone is anticipated to have a good chance for survival
without immediate medical attention. Responders should resist spending time and resources
on minor injuries in order to maximize the use of medical resources on more critical needs
closer in to ground zero. Response actions in this zone should be focused on encouraging
individuals to stay safely sheltered so that responders can expedite access to MD zone
casualties.
14 Translation and tumbling injuries are those incurred when people are thrown about and into solid objects by
the blast wave.
Responders should focus medical attention in the LD zone only on severe injuries and
should encourage individuals to shelter in safe locations to expedite access to severely
injured individuals.
Most injuries incurred within the LD zone are not expected to be life threatening.
Most of the injuries would be associated with flying glass and debris, falls, and traffic
accidents.
36
As responders continue to advance into and through the LD zone, the occurrence of shattered
windows continues to increase until all glass is shattered in buildings, and damage to roofs
and building facades is observed. Some lighter buildings are collapsed. Injury from flying
glass and debris will be more severe and serious injuries associated with building structural
damage will increase. At this point, responders are entering the MD zone.
MD Zone Response
While no clear demarcation exists, responders may recognize the transition to the MD zone
by the prevalence of significant building structural damage. Observations in the MD zone
include significant structural damage, overturned vehicles, and fires. In the MD zone sturdier
buildings (e.g., reinforced concrete) will remain standing, lighter commercial and multi-unit
residential buildings may be structurally unstable or collapsed, and many wood framed and
brick residential structures will have collapsed. Telephone poles and street light poles may
be blown over. Substantial rubble in streets from damaged buildings and crashed and
overturned vehicles should be expected, making evacuation and passage of rescue vehicles
very difficult or impossible without street clearing. Within the MD zone, broken water and
utility lines and numerous fires should be expected.
A major threat to survivors may be fire. Fire was a major cause of death in the nuclear attack
on Hiroshima; however, experts suggest that differences in modern US city design and
construction make a raging firestorm unlikely. Fires in tall office buildings can lead to high
concentrations of fatalities. Water pressure for firefighting is a major concern because of
damage to the utility systems, and trained engineering teams will be required to stabilize
them. This challenge may take many hours as deep rubble in the streets will make access by
response vehicles very difficult or impossible without concerted street clearing and debris
hauling efforts.
The MD zone is expected to have a high proportion of survivors, many of whom will have
life-threatening injuries. The greatest opportunity to effect life-saving in the MD zone is in
areas not affected by fallout (i.e., where the DF zone is overlapping the MD zone). All early
response activities in this zone should facilitate delivery of medical care to survivors.
Prompt access, search and rescue, and delivery of medical attention is essential to
maximizing lives saved, but this zone poses great challenges in access, search and rescue,
fire, and hazards to response workers.
Response planning must be city-specific. Targeted search and rescue missions may be
sensible in the MD zone, such as locations with special populations (e.g., schools or
hospitals), or in discrete locations such as tunnels and subways. As a result of the extent of
impacts and hazards, an effective response will require well-planned, expeditious actions to
maximize saving lives. Therefore, early response planning should focus on facilitating MD
zone medical triage. However, responders should enter the MD zone and focus response
efforts in areas outside the dangerous fallout (DF) zone, except to implement shelter or
evacuation orders as appropriate. This approach will help maximize life-saving while
preserving the viability of the responder workforce.
37
The MD zone presents significant hazards to response workers that must be considered and
planned for, including elevated radiation levels, unstable buildings and other structures,
downed power lines, ruptured gas lines, hazardous chemicals, and sharp metal objects and
broken glass. Fires fed by broken gas lines, ruptured vehicle fuel tanks, and other sources
will be prevalent and may pose a significant danger to survivors and responders. Visibility in
much of the MD zone may be low for an hour or more after the explosion resulting from dust
raised by the shock wave and from collapsed buildings. Low visibility may be exacerbated
and extended in duration because of smoke from fires.
Radiation levels in the MD zone may be very high, especially in the first hours after the
incident. High radiation may be a result of local deposition of fallout debris and/or from
neutron activation of local materials. Where the primary path of fallout deposition (the DF
zone) crosses the MD zone, radiation levels are expected to be elevated and pose an
imminent danger for 12 hours or more. Responders advancing into a zone should always be
led by radiation assessment teams or adequately equipped and trained Haz Mat teams to
characterize the radiation threat. A mission into a radioactive zone should always have a
benefit that justifies the anticipated radiation dose to response workers.
In summary, the MD zone should be the heart of a nuclear explosion response, with the goal
of managing the impacted scene through aggressive rubble removal and site access, fire
suppression, and structural and utility stabilization, in order to facilitate expeditious search
and rescue and medical triage. Response planners should develop plans for MD zone
response that includes:
• Establishing nuclear emergency response protocols that maximize life-saving
potential
• Organizing neighboring response units
• Establishing Incident Command (IC)
• Deploying radiation assessment teams, engineering response teams (e.g., road
clearing, debris hauling capabilities), Haz Mat and search and rescue teams, and
medical response teams
NG Zone Response
Once the responder recognizes severe damage to infrastructure such as complete building
destruction and high rubble piles completely preventing access, the chance of encountering
survivors is minimal, and prohibitive risks to response workers should be assumed. However,
Response within the MD zone requires planners to prepare for elevated radiation
levels, unstable buildings and other structures, downed power lines, ruptured gas lines,
hazardous chemicals, sharp metal objects, broken glass, and fires.
The MD zone should be the focus of early life-saving operations. Early response
activities should focus on facilitating medical triage with constant consideration of
radiation dose minimization.
38
as the overall response progresses, the Incident Commander may consider strategic rescues
within the NG zone. Response within the NG zone should not be attempted until radiation
dose rates have dropped substantially in the days following a nuclear detonation, and the MD
zone response is significantly advanced. At that point, search and rescue efforts may focus on
underground structures that could have maintained their integrity.
DF Zone Response
Fallout will likely be widespread longitudinally along the path of upper level winds, and
locally fallout may also exhibit significant spread as a result of lower level winds. In the DF
zone, fallout particles may be visible as fine sandy material, either actively falling out as the
plume passes, or visible on clean surfaces. Visible fallout provides strong evidence of
dangerous levels of radioactivity. But, fallout may not be noticeable on rough or dirty
surfaces, and there is no method to reliably estimate radiation dose rates based on the
quantity of visible fallout. Therefore, visible fallout may possibly be used as an indicator of
a direct radiation hazard, but the lack of apparent fallout should not replace appropriate
radiation measurements.
High levels of radiation from fallout pose a direct threat to survivors and response workers.15
The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) has recommended
10 R/hour (R/hour) as a nuclear-explosion fallout zone delimiter, stating responders should,
“Establish an inner perimeter at 10 R hour-1 exposure rate (~0.1 Gy hour-1 air-kerma rate).
Exposure and radioactivity levels within the inner perimeter have the potential to produce
acute radiation injury and thus actions taken within this area should be restricted to timesensitive,
mission-critical activities such as life-saving.”(NCRP, 2005). Thus, the perimeter
of the DF zone is defined by an exposure rate of 10 R/hour. The 10 R/hour point would
normally indicate that workers should return to a safe area, unless they are undertaking a
sufficiently important mission; a mission with a benefit that justifies the anticipated radiation
dose. This exposure rate also indicates that much higher rates may be nearby and is useful
for making shelter/evacuation decisions (see Chapter 3).
Fallout will also traverse the physical damage zones. Dangerous levels of fallout are
expected in the MD and LD zones as well as areas that are otherwise unaffected, for example
10 to 20 miles from ground zero. Lower level fallout will continue for a hundred miles or
more (see Chapter 3 for shelter and evacuation planning recommendations). As stated in
Chapter 1, the highest hazard from fallout occurs within the first four hours and continues to
drop as the fission products decay. As radioactivity levels drop, the DF zone will steadily
shrink.
15 The other source of residual radioactivity after a nuclear explosion is induced radioactivity in materials (e.g.,
construction materials, rock, and soil) resulting from neutron absorption. Generally, in the scenario being
considered here, significant neutron activation will not occur beyond the NG zone. Activation radioactivity
decays rapidly similar to the decay rate for fallout.
Response within the NG zone should not be attempted until radiation dose rates have
dropped substantially in the days following a nuclear detonation, and the MD zone
response is significantly advanced.
39
The most important mission in the DF zone is communicating protective action orders to the
public. Generally, the order would be to seek and remain in a robust shelter until advised
otherwise to avoid exposure to fallout. This communication is a temporary action until the
affected population can be evacuated in a safe and orderly fashion. Preparedness planning
and effective communication plans, messages, and means of delivery will be the key to
survival for many in the DF zone.
Radiation exposure rates in high-fallout areas can reach thousands of R/hour, delivering
doses that are fatal. Allowing time for radioactive decay of fallout significantly improves the
ability to respond safely. When planning response in highly radioactive zones, the time for
decay must be weighed against the urgency of saving lives. In the most critical time period,
the first hours after the explosion, radiation is also highest. Waiting could cost survivor’s
lives; advancing could cost responder’s lives. The 7–10 rule, described in Chapter 1, is a
useful rule-of-thumb for estimating radiation dose rates after a nuclear explosion. Officials
and responders should not rely on the 7–10 rule in lieu of actual measurements when sending
responders into radioactive areas. A healthy, viable responder workforce is critical to saving
lives after a nuclear explosion. Incident Commanders should use great discretion in sending
workers into highly radioactive areas, and planning and training are critical to successful
post-nuclear response.
Response Worker Safety
Emergency response worker safety and health is an essential consideration in response
planning. Emergency response workers will be the primary resource for the response. For a
nuclear attack, emergency response workers will not only include fire and police, but will
likely include emergency medical technicians, utility workers, and other skilled support
personnel (such as truck drivers, equipment operators and debris contractors) that provide
immediate support services during response operations. Besides the radiation hazards, these
responders will face widespread fires, collapsing structures, chemical exposures, smoke/dust
inhalation, and numerous other physical and health hazards. In general, emergency
response workers do not have substantial experience working in radioactive environments.
Safe emergency response actions within the LD, MD, and DF zones can only be
accomplished with appropriate planning, responder training, provision and use of personal
protective equipment (PPE), and other mission critical equipment, including dosimetry.
The most important mission in the DF zone is communicating protective action orders
to the public. Effective preparedness requires public education, effective
communication plans, messages, and means of delivery in the DF zone.
The highest hazard from fallout occurs within the first four hours and continues to
drop as the fission radionuclides decay.
40
Most organizations have a safety and health management program, but no single organization
will be able to manage the vast array of significant hazards that must be conducted in order to
sustain resources for all of the response operations. An emergency response worker safety
management program for this scenario will need to be integrated into overall operations,
reviewing the tasks and occupations involved in the operations, analyzing the hazards posed
to the workers, and establishing the necessary protection for the workers.
An emergency responder safety management program will need to be established as early on
in the response as possible. Local responders would need to establish a base-level program
that would expand as more response organizations arrive. As more organizations are brought
into the response safety representatives of these organizations will need to be integrated. The
safety management program will also need subject matter experts on the safety precautions
necessary for the vast array of hazards. The challenge of the safety management program
will be the need to track and analyze dosimetry for those responders who have entered the
impacted area and provide this information back to the Incident Commander in a timely
manner for making future operational decisions.
Monitoring exposures of workers is significantly different from the atmospheric and
environmental monitoring performed by the Federal Radiological Monitoring and
Assessment Center (FRMAC). Atmospheric and environmental monitoring supports general
mapping and plume modeling, but worker monitoring will need to address the specific dose
received by each individual responder. Rather than general monitoring devices, each
individual responder will likely need a dosimeter. Preparedness activities need to address
how response organizations will obtain the vast quantity of dosimeters that will be needed.
Components of the emergency responder safety management program would need to include
the following:
• Hazard risk assessments for each operation to minimize exposure during the response
• Worker safety and health needs assessment
• PPE including respirators for every responder
• Dosimetry including electronic alarming dosimeters
• Data management to track responders and their accumulated dose should be
performed
• Training and communication will need to be performed
• Preparations for a medical surveillance program will need to be performed
The DHS Planning Guidance (DHS 2008) provided a summary of radiation emergency
worker guidelines, similar to the EPA 1992 PAG Manual (EPA 1992). The summary table
provided the following dose guidelines in alignment with emergency worker activities: 5 rem
for all response actions, 10 rem for protecting valuable property necessary for public welfare
(e.g., power plants), and 25 rem for lifesaving activities. The 25rem dose recommendation
was footnoted as follows:
“EPA’s 1992 PAG Manual states that “Situations may also rarely occur in
which a dose in excess of 25 rem for emergency exposure would be
41
unavoidable in order to carry out a lifesaving operation or avoid extensive
exposure of large populations.” Similarly, the NCRP and ICRP raise the
possibility that emergency responders might receive an equivalent dose that
approaches or exceeds 50 rem (0.5 Sv) to a large portion of the body in a short
time (NCRP 1993; ICRP 1996). If lifesaving emergency responder doses
approach or exceed 50 rem (0.5 Sv), emergency responders must be made
aware of both the acute and the chronic (cancer) risks of such exposure.”
The DHS guidance document and the emergency worker guidelines were developed for a
wide range of possible radiological scenarios, from a small radiological dispersal device
(RDD) that may impact a single building to an improvised nuclear device (IND) that could
potentially impact a large geographic region. The guidance does not represent strict dose or
dose rate limits. The 5, 10, and 25 rem guidelines should not be viewed as inflexible limits
applicable to the range of early phase emergency response actions covered by this guidance.
The guidelines should serve as decision points for planning for the protection of emergency
response workers as well as for making worker protection decisions during emergency
response to a nuclear detonation. Because of the range of impacts and case-specific
information needed, it is impossible to develop a single turn-back dose level for all
emergency responders to use in all situations, especially those that involve life-saving
operations. However, the guidance does provide recommendations and decision points at
which emergency responders must have the training necessary to understand and consent to
progressively higher radiation doses.
Decisions regarding emergency response actions in incidents involving high-radiation
exposures require careful consideration of the benefits to be achieved by the “rescue” or
emergency response action (e.g., the significance of the outcome to individuals, large
populations, general welfare, or valuable property necessary for public welfare), and the
potential health impacts (i.e., acute and chronic) to emergency workers. The planning for a
potential high-radiation exposure incident should provide how to weigh the potential for and
significance of the success of the emergency response or rescue operation against the
potential for and significance of the health and safety risks to the emergency workers
participating in the response action.
State and local emergency response officials should use these guidelines to develop specific
operational plans and response protocols for protection of emergency response workers. It is
essential to ensure that emergency workers are trained so they have full knowledge of the
associated risks prior to initiating emergency action. Having adequate training is also
necessary for emergency response workers to give informed consent. Indeed above 5 rem
(the normal occupational dose limit), worker participation should proceed only on a
voluntary basis. It is also essential that emergency responders have adequate PPE and other
equipment for responding to the incident and are provided a medical evaluation after
exposure.
Incident Commanders should make every effort to employ the “as low as reasonably
achievable” (ALARA) principle when responding to an incident. Protocols for maintaining
ALARA doses should include the following health physics and industrial hygiene practices:
42
• Maintain distance from sources of radiation
• Shield the radiation source
• Minimize the time spent in the contaminated area (e.g., rotation of emergency
responders)
• Use personal dosimeters (radiation badges) and alarming dosimeters to determine
dose
• Properly select and use respirators and other personal protective equipment (PPE),
appropriate for minimizing dose to internally deposited radioactive materials
(e.g., alpha and beta emitters)
• Use prophylactic medications, when appropriate, that block the uptake or reduce
the retention time of radioactive material in the body
Responding to a nuclear detonation in communities will be extremely difficult and
hazardous. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that there be detailed advance planning and
preparation, including purchasing and prepositioning the necessary equipment for
responders. Planning should include evaluating data (radiation survey and personal
monitoring) and information on possible or anticipated radiation exposures from a nuclear
explosion, developing procedures for reducing and controlling exposures of all workers
involved in the emergency response action, and developing appropriate decision-making
criteria for responding to the nuclear detonation. Planning should also address how to obtain
and preposition essential equipment that includes appropriate personal protective equipment
(e.g., respirators, clothing) for protecting emergency responders who enter contaminated
areas, radiation detection meters or other measurement equipment, and personal dosimeters.
Respiratory protection of emergency responders is an essential issue that will need to be
addressed during the planning phase and also during the emergency. Initially, emergency
responders will need respiratory protection as exposure levels are being characterized. The
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has prepared guidance on
selecting appropriate PPE for response to terrorism incidents involving chemical, biological,
and radiological events (DHHS, 2008). OSHA's web site is a resource for emergency
response planning and action as it provides guidance on the proper use of respiratory
protection equipment (http://www.osha.gov/). Effective advance planning will help to ensure
that the emergency worker guidelines are correctly applied and that emergency workers are
not exposed to radiation levels that are higher than necessary in the specific emergency
action.
43
Additional Guidance for State and Local
Planners
Additional guidance for state and local
emergency response planners is available from
several sources. There are a number of resources
available that can be used to establish
recommendations regarding emergency
responder dose limits. The EPA’s guidance
provides for greater than 25 rem (0.25 Sv) for
lifesaving activities or protection of large
populations (EPA, 1992). There is no upper limit
provided by the EPA guidance. The newly
published DHS Planning Guidance (DHS, 2008)
modifies the EPA guidance (EPA 1992) slightly
as described in Table 2.3 in the grey box that
follows. The National Council on Radiation
Protection and Measurement (NCRP) (NCRP
2001b), International Commission on
Radiological Protection (ICRP) (ICRP 1996),
and the Conference of Radiation Control
Program Directors (CRCPD 2006) all provide 50
rem (0.5 Sv) for life-saving. Finally, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
(IAEA 2006) provides a recommendation of 100
rem (1 Sv) for life-saving.
44
NCRP’s Commentary 19 (NCRP 2005) provides additional responder guidelines that are
applicable for consideration in planning for nuclear detonation response. These guidelines
only address short-term (acute or deterministic) effects. Exposure at these levels can also
result in long-term (lifetime cancer or stochastic) health effects. The NCRP guidelines are
summarized in Table 2.3.
Table 2.3: NCRP Emergency Responder Guidelines (Adapted from NCRP
Commentary 19 (NCRP 2005))
CONCEPT VALUE EXPLANATION
Inner
Perimeter
10 R/hour Responders should establish an inner perimeter (e.g., an
operational boundary) at an exposure rate of 10 R/hour. Exposure
and radioactivity levels within the inner perimeter have the potential
to produce acute radiation injury and thus actions taken within this
area should be restricted to time-sensitive, mission-critical activities
such as life-saving.
Decision
Dose
50 rad The cumulative absorbed dose that triggers a decision on whether
to withdraw an emergency responder from within or near (but
outside) the inner perimeter is 50 rad (50 cGy).
Responder
Acute
Radiation
Sickness
>100 rad Nausea and vomiting are among the earliest clinical signs of acute
radiation sickness. Nausea and vomiting are symptoms that occur
as whole-body absorbed doses become high [i.e., >100 rad (>1
Gy)]. If these symptoms occur during the conduct of activities
within a radiation area, the affected individual(s) should be
removed from the area, and provided appropriate medical care.
ALARA for
Terrorism
Incidents
n/a In a nuclear terrorism emergency, it may be neither practical nor
appropriate for radiation protection considerations to automatically
be governed by guidelines applied in more routine scenarios. While
the fundamental concept of keeping all radiation exposures as low
as reasonably achievable (ALARA) should still apply, it may not be
realistic to apply other traditional radiation protection guidelines for
limitation of radiation dose. The traditional guidelines are based on
an assumption of low-level exposure over long periods, and govern
activities and situations that are more controllable and are not as
critical as those associated with responding to a nuclear terrorism
incident.
Radiation
Control for
Terrorism
Incidents
n/a The approach to worker radiation protection in a terrorism incident
is based on two considerations: (1) the identification of radiation
control zones, and (2) the control of the absorbed dose to
individual emergency responders. The radiation control zones
segment the site into areas of differing levels of radiation risk by
using observed exposure rates. The absorbed dose to an individual
emergency responder governs decisions regarding duration (stay
time) for various emergency response activities.
45
References
Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. 2006. Handbook for Responding
to a Radiological Dispersal Device. First Responder’s Guide— the First 12 Hours.
http://www.crcpd.org/RDD_Handbook/RDD-Handbook-ForWeb.pdf.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 2006. Manual for First Responders to a
Radiological Emergency. http://wwwpub.
iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/EPR_FirstResponder_web.pdf.
International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). 2005. ICRP Publication 96:
Protecting People Against Radiation Exposure In The Event Of A Radiological
Attack, Report 96 (Ottawa).
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). 1993. Limitation of
Exposure to Ionizing Radiation, National Council on Radiation Protection and
Measures, Report 116 (Bethesda).
NCRP. 2001a. Management of Terrorist Events Involving Radioactive Material, Report No.
138 (Bethesda).
NCRP. 2001b. Limitation of Exposure to Ionizing Radiation. Report No. 116 (Bethesda).
NCRP. 2005. Key Elements of Preparing Emergency Responders for Nuclear and
Radiological Terrorism, Commentary No. 19 (Bethesda).
US Department of Defense. Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and
Commandant, Marine Corps. 2001. Treatment of Nuclear and Radiological
Casualties. ARMY FM 4-02.283, NAVY NTRP 4-02.21, AIR FORCE AFMAN 44-
161(I), MARINE CORPS MCRP 4-11.1B.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/policy/army/fm/4-02-283/fm4-02-
283.pdf.
US Military Planning
The US Military has established a system for mission-specific risk-based dose limits that
includes life-saving activities. In current doctrine, US military personnel become
restricted from ever again engaging in operational radiological/nuclear missions once they
have exceeded 125 rad (125 cGy) dose accumulation. Whereas military commanders set
their Operational Exposure Guidance (OEG) (i.e., dose limits to US troops) at any level in
nuclear war, the risk analysis for extremely high-priority missions, to include life-saving,
yields a maximum OEG of 125 rad (125 cGy). For operations other than war and also
based on mission priorities and risk analysis, military commanders limit OEG levels to 75
rad (75 cGy) and below. (DOD 2008; DOD 2001)
46
US Department of Defense. Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and
Coast Guard. 2008 Operations in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear
(CBRN) Environments, Joint Publication 3-11.
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp3_11.pdf.
US Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control. 2008.
Guidance on Emergency Responder Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for
Response to CBRN Terrorism Incidents. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2008-
132/pdfs/2008-132.pdf.
US Department of Homeland Security. Federal Emergency Management Agency. 2008.
Planning Guidance for Protection and Recovery Following Radiological Dispersal
Device (RDD) and Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) Incidents, Federal Register,
Vol. 73, No. 149. http://www.fema.gov/good_guidance/download/10260.
US Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Radiation Programs. 1992. Manual of
Protective Actions Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear Incidents.
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/docs/er/400-r-92-001.pdf.
47
Chapter 3 - Shelter / Evacuation Recommendations
Overview
One of the greatest threats to the life and health of people in the vicinity of a nuclear
explosion is exposure to radioactive fallout. People may be exposed to dangerous levels of
fallout in the moderate damage (MD) and light damage (LD) zones, and further out to 10 or
20 miles in the dangerous fallout (DF) zone. There are two principle actions that may be
taken to protect the public from fallout: taking shelter and evacuation. These protective
actions may be self-executed by informed members of the public, or they may be
KEY POINTS
1. There are two principle actions that may be taken to protect the public from
fallout: taking shelter and evacuation.
2. The best initial action immediately following a nuclear explosion is to take
shelter in the nearest building or structure and listen for instructions from
authorities.
3. Shelters such as houses with basements, large multi-story structures, and
underground spaces (e.g., parking garages and tunnels), can generally reduce
doses from fallout by a factor of 10, or more. These structures would generally
provide shelter defined as “adequate.”
4. Single-story wood frame houses without basements provide only minimal
shelter. These structures may not provide adequate shelter for extended
periods in the DF zone.
5. Evacuations should be prioritized based on the fallout pattern and radiation
intensity, adequacy of shelter, impending hazards (e.g., fire and structural
collapse), fallout pattern and density, medical and special population needs,
sustenance resources (e.g. food and water), and response operational and
logistical considerations.
6. When evacuations are executed, travel should be at right angles to the fallout
path (to the extent possible) and away from the plume centerline, sometimes
referred to as “lateral evacuation.”
7. No evacuation should be attempted until basic information is available
regarding fallout distribution and radiation dose rates.
8. Decontamination of persons is generally not a lifesaving issue. Simply
brushing off outer garments will be useful until more thorough
decontamination can be accomplished.
48
communicated and orchestrated by response officials during the incident. Timely decisions
about shelter and evacuation are critical to saving lives and reducing radiation injuries. The
effective implementation of protective actions during an incident is largely dependent on preevent
preparedness and dissemination of guidance to the public. This section provides an
overview of sheltering and evacuation and describes the protective actions and planning
considerations for the decision-maker.
Given the large uncertainties involved, recommendations presented here are necessarily
general in nature and should be used to inform city-specific response planning and
preparedness. In addition, both responders and the public will need to consider their own
specific circumstances (physical condition, ease of egress, access to evacuation routes, and
access to adequate shelter) in deciding the best course of action.
The standard ways to reduce radiation exposure are as follows: reduce time in the zone,
increase distance from the source of radiation (the fallout), and/or use of dense materials (like
concrete, brick, or earth) as shielding against the radiation. In the case of widespread fallout,
the primary protective actions are to take shelter and to evacuate. Evacuation reduces time
spent exposed to radiation; the goal, of course, is to avoid exposure. Sheltering protects
people by (a) providing shielding, and (b) increasing distance from fallout, especially in the
center of a large building. To take "shelter" as used in this document means going in, or
staying in, any enclosed structure to escape direct exposure to fallout. “Shelter” may include
the use of pre-designated facilities or locations. It also includes locations readily available at
the time of need, including staying inside where you are, or going immediately indoors in
any readily available structure. “Adequate” shelter is shelter that protects against acute
radiation effects, and significantly reduces radiation dose to occupants during an extended
period.
The objectives of guidance in this chapter are as follows:
• Protect the public from the acute effects of high radiation exposure associated with
fallout in the initial 72 hours after a nuclear explosion. Generally, symptoms will
occur with radiation doses approaching 100 rad. The potential for acute radiation
effects increases with higher radiation doses, and above 200 rad medical treatment
will likely be needed.
• Reduce long-term risks from radiation exposure associated with fallout from a
nuclear explosion.
• Ensure that actions taken result in more benefit than harm to both individuals and the
public.
There are two principle actions that may be taken to protect the public from fallout:
taking shelter and evacuation.
49
Protective Actions
Protective Action Recommendations
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes protective actions guides (PAGs)16
for nuclear incidents. The Department of Homeland Security “Planning Guidance for
Protection and Recovery Following Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) and Improvised
Nuclear Device (IND) Incidents” (DHS 2008) affirms the applicability of existing EPA
guidance for radiological dispersal device (RDD) and improvised nuclear device (IND)
incidents in areas beyond those subject to the elevated radiation dose rates and other impacts
associated with a nuclear explosion. The radiation protection principles, however, are the
same regardless of the potential dose or circumstances. The difference in the case of a
nuclear explosion is that priority must be given to the radiation protection principle that
acute-level radiation exposures should be prevented. Existing PAGs could be applied in
areas outside the DF zone, which could be below the radiation level of acute health effects.
They should also be applied during the intermediate phase of the incident, when relocation
would be considered as a protective action.
As stated earlier, the primary means of protecting the public from radiation associated with
fallout following a nuclear explosion is to shelter and/or to evacuate. Secondary protective
actions include removal of fallout particles from one’s clothing and body (decontamination),
and avoiding inhaling and ingesting fallout particles. Planners should consider what actions
are to be recommended to the public, where those actions would apply, how they would be
communicated, how they would be supported and implemented by responders, and what
resources are needed for successful implementation.
Nuclear explosion impacts are complex and extensive (see Chapter 1). No single protective
action will be adequate for all locations and times; therefore planners should consider the
following three tiers of protective action recommendations:
1. Generic recommendations issued in advance of an incident that are coupled with
public education and outreach. Pre-designated public shelters may be part of this
strategy for communities that do not have abundant, adequate shelter options.
2. Initial recommendations issued as soon as possible after an incident, which are
based on little or no incident data. Generally, the recommendation would be for
the public to take shelter immediately in the most adequate, readily available
shelter.
3. Follow-up recommendations issued once additional data and information become
available. These recommendations may include continued shelter for a set period
of time followed by evacuation, and specific evacuation instructions for selected
areas or populations, such as heavily impacted areas or for vulnerable
populations. The most important information influencing these recommendations
will be the local distribution and extent of the fallout, the intensity of fallout
radiation, and the available shelter and evacuation options.
16 A protective action guide (PAG) is the projected dose to a reference individual, from an accidental or
deliberate release of radioactive material, at which a specific protective action to reduce or avoid that dose is
recommended.
50
Shelter Recommendations
Sheltering in the most accessible building or structure is the best initial action immediately
following a nuclear explosion. This includes "Shelter-in-place", which means staying
inside, or going immediately indoors in any readily available structure. People should
remain sheltered and listen for instructions from authorities. Even in areas where fallout has
not yet arrived, sheltering is advised until it is clear where the fallout areas are. Otherwise,
evacuees could be caught outside when the fallout arrives or flee unaffected areas and
unknowingly enter into a fallout area.
“Adequate shelter” is defined as shelter that protects against acute radiation effects,
and significantly reduces radiation dose to occupants during an extended period. The
adequacy of shelter is a function of initial radiation dose rates when fallout arrives, and the
dose rate reduction afforded by the structure. A shelter far from the DF zone may be
adequate even if it provides little shielding, whereas the same shelter close into the DF zone
may not be adequate. The primary risk from nuclear fallout is penetrating radiation that
needs to be reduced as much as possible by shielding using dense building material, and
increased distance from deposited fallout, including on roofs, that may be afforded by large
buildings. Good shielding materials include concrete, brick, stone and earth, while wood,
drywall, and sheet metal provide minimal shielding. Basements and large concrete structures
are good examples of adequate shelter. Large buildings often have thick walls of concrete or
other refractory material, but also provide the benefit of increased distance from deposited
fallout materials when people gather away from exterior walls. This distance from exterior
walls and roofs can substantially reduce radiation dose to those sheltering.
Shelters such as houses with basements, large multi-story structures, and underground spaces
(e.g., parking garages, and tunnels), can generally reduce doses from fallout by a factor of 10,
or more. These structures would generally provide adequate shelter, and individuals with
ready access to these structures would protect themselves effectively even where initial
unshielded fallout dose rates would result in lethal radiation dose levels.
Some structures offer limited fallout protection, particularly single-story wood frame
structures without basements. These structures may not provide adequate shelter for extended
periods in the DF zone. Emergency managers may have to issue supplemental orders to
those sheltering in wood frame structures (e.g., stay in the center of the structure at ground
level) in order to minimize dose while sheltering. Because shelter in these and similar light
structures may not be adequate for extended periods, consideration should be given to
expedited evacuation of people sheltered in them, especially in the DF zone. Figure 3.1
Shelters such as houses with basements, large multi-story structures, and
underground spaces (e.g., parking garages and tunnels), can generally reduce doses
from fallout by a factor of 10, or more. These structures would generally provide
shelter defined as “adequate.”
The best initial action immediately following a nuclear explosion is to take shelter in
the nearest building or structure and listen for instructions from authorities.
51
provides a summary of the radiation exposure reduction factors as a function of building type
and location within the building. Table 3.1 presents a tabular summary of radiation reduction
factors for buildings.
Single-story wood frame houses without basements provide only minimal shelter.
These structures may not provide adequate shelter for extended periods in the DF
zone.
Figure 3.1 a: Building as shielding –
numbers represent a dose reduction
factor". A dose reduction factor of 10
indicates that a person in that area
would receive 1/10th of the dose of a
person in the open.
Figure 3.1 b: Building as shielding:
numbers represent a dose reduction
factor. A dose reduction factor of
200 indicates that a person in that
area would receive 1/200th of the
dose of a person out in the open.
52
Radiation Reduction Factors of Buildings and Structures
Structure Gamma Reduction Factor
3-feet Underground 5000
Frame House 2-3
Basement 10-20
Vehicle 1-2
Multi-story Buildings
Apartment
Upper stories 100
Lower stories 10
Concrete Blockhouse Shelter
9-inch walls 11-140
12-inch walls 30-1000
24-inch walls 500-10,000
Table 3.1: Radiation reduction factors for various structures; adapted from Glasstone and
Dolan (Glasstone and Dolan 1977). A reduction factor of 1 indicates no reduction. A factor of
10 is presumed adequate shelter.
Sheltering is implicitly short term; everyone sheltering should be evacuated at some point
until the safety of the area can be confirmed by officials. The duration of time spent in
shelter may range from short, on the order of hours, to several days, depending on the fallout
dose rates, adequacy of shelter, local factors and operational factors, and individual
circumstances.
Evacuation
Sheltering should be followed by staged, facilitated evacuation for those in fallout-impacted
areas. Evacuations should be prioritized based on the fallout pattern and radiation intensity,
adequacy of shelter, impending hazards (e.g., fire and structural collapse), medical and
special population needs, sustenance resources (e.g., food and water), and response
operational and logistical considerations. Evacuations should be planned so as not to
obstruct access to transportation routes that are critical for ongoing life-saving missions.
In far downwind areas, officials may be able to implement an orderly evacuation before the
arrival of fallout, and should develop plans to communicate and carry out a rapid, orderly
Evacuations should be prioritized based on the fallout pattern and radiation intensity,
adequacy of shelter, impending hazards (e.g., fire and structural collapse), medical and
special population needs, sustenance resources (e.g. food and water), and response
operational and logistical considerations.
53
evacuation. For areas closer in (including the DF zone), where fallout arrives quickly,
evacuations should take place after a period of sheltering.
Staged or Phased Evacuation
Early evacuation may be needed to protect some people shortly following sheltering. The
staging of evacuations should be driven by the hazard to members of the public and logistical
considerations. Early evacuation should be considered for individuals who (1) are close to
the detonation (generally within 10 miles), (2) are in the fallout area, (3) who do not have
adequate shelter, and (4) who have special vulnerabilities, such as children or the elderly.
In undamaged areas beyond the LD zone, evacuation should only be critical within the DF
zone, but may be considered outside the DF zone as long as it does not hinder DF zone
evacuation or other response operations. For some people in the LD, MD, and DF zones that
are not adequately sheltered, are critically injured, or threatened by building collapse or fire,
early evacuation may be required for their survival. Prioritization of early evacuation of at
risk populations should be balanced against responder risk, modes of transport, ease of access
and egress, control of fires in the area the ability to communicate with them, etc.
Uninjured individuals with adequate shelter conditions may not be the highest priority for
early evacuation. Similarly, priority evacuation should not be considered beyond twenty
miles from the detonation as long as people have access to minimally protective shelter,
including single-story frame houses without basements.
Rapidly defining populations or areas that need early evacuation is a high priority. But, no
evacuation should be attempted until basic information is available regarding fallout
distribution and radiation dose rates. Evacuation strategies must take into account the
dimensions and distribution of the fallout pattern and radiation dose rates. When evacuations
are executed, travel should be at right angles to the fallout path (to the extent possible) and
away from the plume centerline, sometimes referred to as “lateral evacuation.” This strategy
maximizes dose reduction during the course of the evacuation. The fallout direction and
deposition pattern may be difficult to ascertain without substantial field measurement of
radioactivity, therefore, determining the deposition pattern is a high priority in the early
hours after a nuclear explosion. Once the hazard area is defined and has been communicated
to responders and the public, evacuations may proceed. Many people in the LD zone and
beyond may be able to reach safety on their own, if they receive basic instructions.
In issuing evacuation recommendations responders must consider route conditions such as
rubble and debris in streets, traffic gridlock, uncontrolled fires, collapsed bridges, other
No evacuation should be attempted until basic information is available regarding
fallout distribution and radiation dose rates.
When evacuations are executed, travel should be at right angles to the fallout path (to
the extent possible) and away from the plume centerline, sometimes referred to as
“lateral evacuation.”
54
obstacles to mobility, and natural or manmade barriers (e.g., rivers and fenced areas).
Attempting to evacuate everyone in too large an area could divert key resources from the
zones of highest dose close to the detonation where radiation exposure control is most
essential. Responders should assess the status of the transportation infrastructure as one of
the top priorities in the first hours after a nuclear explosion. A poorly planned evacuation
could result in unnecessary fatalities from radiation exposure, or other hazards that were not
foreseen.
If radiation measurement equipment is not available, and data and modeled projections are
not available in a timely fashion, responders may need to rely on visual observations. Fallout
particles may be visible as fine sandy material, either actively falling out as the plume passes,
or visible on clean surfaces. Visible fallout is strong evidence of dangerous levels of
radioactivity. But, fallout may not be noticeable on rough or dirty surfaces, and there is no
method to reliably estimate radiation dose rates based on the quantity of visible fallout.
Therefore, visible fallout may possibly be used as an indicator of a direct radiation hazard,
but the lack of apparent fallout should not replace appropriate radiation measurements.
It is also possible that the direction of the fallout plume may be estimated by some observers
several miles away in unaffected areas. Such information would be of great value to the
Incident Commander in making early protective action decisions. However, confirming and
communicating fallout observation information in a timely fashion poses a significant
challenge.
In those areas subject to fallout, internal exposure (inhalation or ingestion) will be a
secondary radiation protection concern. For evacuees, use of respiratory protection should
not interfere with the primary objective of avoiding excessive external radiation exposure.
Using even crude respiratory protection (e.g., breathing through a cloth mask) while in
fallout areas can further reduce this concern. Responders, however, should maintain
respiratory protection at all times during operations in contaminated areas. Responders
should consider other potential critical needs of evacuees, such as critical medical care, and
how those needs can be met in a timely manner. Decontamination of persons, however, is
generally not a lifesaving issue. Simply brushing off outer garments in the course of
evacuation will be useful until more thorough decontamination can be accomplished.
Decontamination of persons is generally not a lifesaving issue. Simply brushing off
outer garments will be useful until more thorough decontamination can be
accomplished.
55
Self Evacuations
There may be circumstances where planned
evacuation efforts are not practical given
circumstances and time constraints. For
instance, physical damage, impassible streets,
and very high dose rates in the NG and MD
zones will limit the ability of responders to
access areas in standard ways to support an
evacuation. In such cases, consideration should
be given to supporting those who are able to
self-evacuate. It is recognized that some selfevacuation
will spontaneously occur following a
nuclear explosion. Planners should anticipate self-evacuations and be prepared to assist
those who self-evacuate to the extent possible. Assistance could include providing
information to self-evacuees, including instructions about how best to leave the area, what
direction to travel, and when to go. Support may also be provided to evacuees as they leave
(e.g., public reception centers, medical treatment, transportation, self-decontamination
instructions, etc.). Self-evacuation may also present a significant obstacle to emergency
responder life-saving operations. Unnecessary evacuations can complicate those that are
necessary. Public messaging and communication should clearly instruct self-evacuees what
to do for their safety and protection, and to avoid hindering critical operations.
No Evacuation
For people who were initially sheltered but who are in areas where there is no fallout (or
negligible fallout), evacuation based on radiation hazard will not be necessary (EPA 1992).
It is possible, however, that non-radiological hazards may warrant protective actions. Once
an area has been determined to be without significant fallout or other hazards from the
incident, protective actions are no longer necessary.
Decontaminating Vehicles
The public may attempt to self-evacuate in either official or personal vehicles that may be
contaminated. Although this may result in some spread of contamination, concern over
spread of minor contamination should not hinder time-sensitive evacuations. The public
should simply be directed to rinse or wash down vehicles as soon as practical once they are
out of danger. More detailed instructions should be provided at a later time. When possible,
official transit vehicles that are used to evacuate individuals from contaminated areas, should
be surveyed and controlled (e.g., simple washing or rinsing in a common area) so as to
minimize the potential for spreading contamination; however as in the case of personal
vehicles, these actions should be implemented in a manner that does not restrict or inhibit
necessary evacuations. If there is potential that these simple protective actions will slow
down evacuations then they should be avoided.
Planning Considerations
Planning considerations are key factors to consider in planning for and ultimately
implementing public shelter and evacuations. The planning considerations provided below
Examination of the New York and
Washington, D.C. events on 9/11
showed that when numerous people
evacuate a downtown business district,
they are often on foot and headed
toward public transit stations. A large
proportion of the evacuees will have
their residence as their intended
destination, even if it is far beyond the
distance they need to travel to be safe.
56
are not in priority order and the list is not exhaustive. Additional factors unique to each
community should be considered during the planning process.
Situation Assessment
The path of fallout transport and deposition and the delineation of the DF zone are key pieces
of information for early shelter and evacuation decision making. Planners should anticipate
the need for this information and consider what resources and means they will use to obtain
initial fallout projections. Weather information, computer models, visual observations, and
access to early federally developed17 data and fallout projections will all be useful. Standard
emergency response tools, including radiation detection instrumentation, used in other highhazard
emergency situations will also be necessary. Planners should continuously assess
information and be looking to fold in new resources as time passes and new information
becomes available. It is recommended that state and local response officials immediately
request federally produced fallout projections and recommendations on protective actions.
Response officials will also need to quickly assess the status of infrastructure and the general
impacted environment. Within a few hours, responders will need a basic assessment of the
status of transportation systems (i.e., roads, bridges, rails, subways/tunnels, airports, and
harbors); communications infrastructure; the electric power grid; water, sewer, and gas
infrastructure; the number, location, and severity of fires; and building structural damages.
These factors have a major influence on shelter and evacuation decisions. Prior to an
incident, models and simulations can help estimate planning needs and constraints.
Adequacy of Shelter
Because the radiation protection properties of potential shelter structures are of significant
importance, planners should evaluate the types of shelter commonly available in their
planning area (e.g., basements and other below-ground structures, concrete structures, and
multi-story structures) that can generally provide adequate shelter. Planners should
specifically evaluate the occurrence and general locations of single-story, wood frame
structures without basements. These structures provide limited protection against fallout
radiation and may not be adequate for shelter. Planners should consider areas where
adequate shelter is not readily available and develop options for protection of the public,
including information and awareness messaging, evacuation plans, and self-protection
measures the public may take. Planners in communities that generally lack adequate shelters
should consider implementing a public shelter program that would meet the needs of the
community. For example, cities in regions of the country where residential basements are
uncommon should consider pre-designating large buildings as public shelters in which
people nearby can quickly find adequate shelter.
People occupying inadequate shelter may need to be selectively evacuated early to avoid
acute exposures and minimize overall dose. Other factors that would warrant early selective
evacuation include stability of the structure, critical medical needs, lack of basic resources
such as water (especially after 24 hours), occurrence of fire, and other hazards that may
threaten people’s lives.
17 The Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC) is the official federal center for
making fallout projections.
57
Time
For all protective actions, but especially for the immediate actions after a nuclear explosion
has occurred, the speed with which protective action recommendations are issued and
implemented is of primary importance. Delays in issuing and implementing
recommendations (or orders) could result in a large number of unnecessary fatalities.
Planners can expedite these early messages by preparing messages in advance and by
planning how they will be communicated in an emergency.
The following guidelines are designed to help planners. It is recognized that conditions may
limit the ability of responders to meet these guidelines. They are provided for planning
purposes only and as a basis for identifying planning and resource needs.
• Initial projections of fallout deposition should be communicated to responders as
rapidly as possible; at most within the first hour and updated every hour.
• Initial self-protection recommendations should be communicated to the public as
rapidly as possible, at most within the first hour.
• Early evacuations, if appropriate, should begin as soon as possible and be completed
within four hours.
• Staged or phased evacuations (or relocations following sheltering-in-place) should
begin, where appropriate, within 48 hours, depending on estimated radiation exposure
of the subject population, and logistical and other factors.
Communications
The effectiveness of protective action recommendations depends on the ability to
communicate with responders and the public. Planners should specifically consider
communications problems that will be caused by a nuclear detonation (i.e., EMP and
infrastructure damage) and recognize in their planning that normal means of communication
may not be available. Mass communication methods and public guidance on stocking of
battery powered radios may be appropriate.
Transportation Planning
A nuclear explosion will create particularly challenging circumstances for carrying out an
evacuation. In a preplanned evacuation, information is available during the readiness phase
of the incident and the factors that necessitate an evacuation. When no advance warning is
given, incomplete, imperfect, and, at times, contradictory information about the incident is
likely, at the same time decisions need to be made. Decision makers have little or no time to
wait for additional or better information in a no-notice scenario because any delay will likely
have a significant effect on the safety of their citizens; they must make decisions with the
information available at the time.
Because of the central role of evacuation in a response, transportation planners should be an
integral element of the planning effort. Transportation and other planners should consider
the full range of planning elements associated with a nuclear explosion. These may include
the following:
58
• Priority areas for evacuation and how to identify them
• Access to the impacted zones
• Transportation resources (vehicles, public transit, air, rail and water routes of egress)
• Massive infrastructure damage (roads, bridges, tunnels, electricity), and
• Evacuation routes, impediments to evacuation, and evacuation time estimates
Further information may be found in the references listed at the end of this chapter in the
Evacuation Bibliography.
Long-Term Planning
It should be anticipated that many people will be relocated for a lengthy period (months to
years), even at great distances downwind, to avoid unnecessary exposure to fallout radiation.
The EPA PAG for relocation in the intermediate phase is 2 rem in the first year. This should
be taken into consideration when planning how far to extend recommendations for shelter
during the first 72 hours.
Evacuation Bibliography
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 2004. Effective Risk Communication (NUREG/BR-
0308): The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Guideline for External Risk
Communication. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/
nuregs/brochures/br0308/index.html.
NRC. 2005a. Identification and Analysis of Factors Affecting Emergency Evacuations -
Main Report (NUREG/CR-6864, Vol. 1). http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/
nuregs/contract/cr6864/v1/.
NRC. 2005b Identification and Analysis of Factors Affecting Emergency Evacuations -
Appendices (NUREG/CR-6864, Vol. 2). http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/
nuregs/contract/cr6864/v2/.
NRC. 2005c Development of Evacuation Time Estimate Studies for Nuclear Power Plants
(NUREG/CR-6863). http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/
nuregs/contract/cr6863/index.html.
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Federal Highway Administration (FHA). 2006a.
Operational Concept – Assessment of the State of the Practice and the State of the Art
in Evacuation Transportation Management, FHWA-HOP-08-020.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08020/fhwahop08020.pdf.
U.S. DOT. FHA. 2006b. Interview and Survey Results: Assessment of the State of the
Practice and the State of the Art in Evacuation Transportation Management, FHWAHOP-
08-106.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08016/fhwahop08016.pdf.
U.S. DOT. FHA 2006c. Literature Search for Federal Highway Administration –
Assessment of the State of the Practice and State of the Art in Evacuation
59
Transportation Management, FHWA-HOP-08-015.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08015/fhwahop08015.pdf.
U.S. DOT. FHA 2006d. Technical Memorandum for Federal Highway Administration on
Case Studies – Assessment of the State of the Practice and State of the Art in
Evacuation Transportation Management, FHWA-HOP-08-014.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08014/task3_case.pdf.
U.S. DOT. FHA 2006e. Routes to Effective Evacuation Planning Primer Series: Using
Highways during Evacuation Operations for Events with Advance Notice, FHWAHOP-
06-109. http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/evac_primer/primer.pdf.
U.S. DOT. FHA 2007a. Using Highways for No-Notice Evacuations: Routes to Effective
Evacuation Primers Planning Series, FHWA-HOP-08-003.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/evac_primer_nn/primer.pdf.
U.S. DOT. FHA 2007b. Common Issues in Emergency Transportation Operations
Preparedness and Response: Results of the FHWA Workshop Series, FHWA-HOP-
07-090.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/etopr/common_issues/etopr_common_issues.pdf
.
U.S. DOT. FHA 2007c. Best Practices in Emergency Transportation Operations
Preparedness and Response: Results of the FHWA Workshop Series, FHWA-HOP-
07-076.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/etopr/best_practices/etopr_best_practices.pdf.
U.S. DOT. FHA 2007d Communicating with the Public Using ATIS during Disasters: A
Guide for Practitioners, FHWA-HOP-07-068.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/atis/atis_guidance.pdf.
U.S. DOT. FHA 2007e. Managing Pedestrians during Evacuation of Metropolitan Areas,
FHWA-HOP-07-066.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/pedevac/ped_evac_final_mar07.pdf.
References
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 2008. Planning Guidance for Protection
and Recovery Following Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) and Improvised
Nuclear Device (IND) Incidents, Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 149.
http://www.fema.gov/good_guidance/download/10260.
60
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Radiation Programs. 1992. Manual of
Protective Actions Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear Incidents, EPA-400-R-
92-001, May 1992.
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/docs/er/400-r-92-001.pdf.
Glasstone, Samuel and Philip J. Dolan. 1977. The Effects of Nuclear Weapons.
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
61
Chapter 4 – Early Medical Care
KEY POINTS
1. There will be a spectrum of casualties including one or more of blast, radiation, and
thermal injury. Initial triage and management will be based in part on victim’s postdetonation
location history, physical examination, dosimetry predictions from initial
models and real-time physical dosimetry (dose measurements), and from available
clinical laboratory studies.
2. To maximize overall preservation of life with insufficient resources to manage mass
casualties, severely injured victims may be placed into an “expectant” (expected to
die) category early on although the criteria for “expectant” will vary depending on
resources available. Although expectant, palliation (treatment of symptoms) should
be performed when possible.
3. Because of the damage to the infrastructure, the limited availability of resources, and
presence of radiation paramedics and clinicians will have to bypass conventional
clinical standards of care, preferably using predetermined criteria, in order to
maximize the overall preservation of life. Such conditions are to be expected until
medical staffing, logistical support, and infrastructure can be restored.
4. Management of serious injury takes precedent over decontamination.
Decontamination of personnel and patients from fallout or visible debris involves
brushing off, shaking, washing or wiping off the radioactive dust and dirt and should
not be a limiting factor in providing medical care.
5. Initial mass casualty triage, also known as sorting, should not be confused with
follow-on clinical triage for more specific medical management.
6. There is no established USG interagency medical triage system specifically validated
for an urban nuclear detonation; therefore, existing emergency triage algorithms are
used with modification for the impact of radiation.
7. For the time frame covered by this guidance processing of the deceased will likely not
be a priority in lieu of saving lives; however, fatality management will be one of the
most demanding aspects of the nuclear detonation response and should be planned for
as early as possible.
Overview
The human injury consequences of a nuclear detonation in a modern urban area will impact
the medical system well beyond any disaster previously experienced by the nation. Large
numbers of casualties with traumatic, thermal, and radiation injuries, in all possible
62
combinations, will be generated. The death toll will be high, but there is an opportunity to
save tens or hundreds of thousands of injured victims with appropriate mitigation (before
symptoms develop) and treatment strategies. Increased survival will necessitate deployment
of medical, surgical, burn, and other treatment assets to the location of the mass casualties for
several weeks while evacuation to distant care facilities around the entire nation will be
necessary to distribute the large number of injured. Assets for evacuation of burn and trauma
patients will be very limited. Currently, the majority of clinicians, including emergency
medicine physicians and nurses, are not familiar with triage or treatment methods for nuclear
casualties.
Maximizing the overall preservation of life will force many paramedics and clinicians to adjust
clinical standards of care to the disaster situation. Mass casualty care will be resource limited
and require that the response be optimized for the circumstances. Such conditions are to be
expected until medical staffing, logistical support, and infrastructure can be restored. Planners
can use hospital surge models (e.g. http://www.hospitalsurgemodel.org/) to estimate casualty
arrival patterns, number of expected hospitalizations, number of deceased, and the resources that
would be consumed to care for the patients (Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
2008a).
Initially, the nature of mass casualties will invoke a patient sorting system (i.e., initial triage)
to maximize care to the most people. Initial triage and management will be based in part on
victim’s location history post-detonation, physical examination, dosimetry predictions from
initial models and real-time physical dosimetry (dose measurements), and from available
clinical laboratory studies. It must be recognized that extremely difficult decisions and
actions will be required of responders and clinicians regarding who will receive early
treatment, who will not, and who will be classified as expectant.18 To maximize overall
preservation of life with insufficient resources to manage mass casualties, severely injured
victims may be placed into an “expectant” (expected to die) category early on although the
criteria for “expectant” will vary depending on resources available. Although expectant,
palliation (i.e., treatment of symptoms) should be done when possible. The skill and moral
courage to designate severely injured victims into the expectant category in the first day
following a detonation can serve to maximize overall preservation of life taking into account
the lack of resources on hand to manage mass casualties. Implementing broad use of rapid
“grab and drag” techniques will allow earlier rescue and treatment of more casualties than
will traditional rescue methods. Local and regional preplanning is required to modify
emergency response procedures (e.g., when to use or not use backboards and neck braces,
etc.) for a mass casualty response. In fallout areas, such techniques will also minimize
responder doses during the first hours or days into the response. Consideration should be
given to concentrate medical personnel in treatment facilities with plans to avoid using them
for first aid type duties. Instead, volunteers, support personnel and possibly minimally
injured ambulatory victims can be asked and/or directed to help with a range of tasks
including limited first aid, assisting the more severely injured, etc.
18 Patients that will die regardless of medical intervention, but should be afforded palliative or comfort care.
63
From the medical intervention perspective, survival rates will increase with rapid evacuation
of individuals in the damage zone following a nuclear explosion to mass medical triage and
staging areas for subsequent transport of stabilized and decontaminated patients to care
facilities around the nation. Survival rates will decrease if transportation is constrained by
policies imposed by EMS and ambulance providers and medical facilities that will not
transport and/or accept potentially contaminated patients. Because typical evacuation assets
(e.g., buses, aircraft) will be heavily tasked, additional assets such as rail or water
transportation should be included in medical evacuation planning.
Decontamination of personnel and patients from fall out is easy. Brushing off, shaking,
washing or wiping off the radioactive dust and dirt is an effective decontamination technique
in the field. Removing clothing and appropriately storing it away from people in collection
bags, for example, and showers are an exceptionally good way to decontaminate individuals.
Internal contamination of people is not a priority concern following a nuclear detonation and
should not be considered a priority in medical care for the first few days of response.
Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS)
The essential feature distinguishing a nuclear detonation from other types of mass casualty
events is the presence of radiation. Radiation produces its own medical effects (called the
Management of serious injury takes precedent over decontamination.
Decontamination of personnel and patients from fallout or contaminated debris
involves brushing off, shaking, washing or wiping off the radioactive dust and dirt and
should not be a limiting factor in providing medical care.
Because of the damage to the infrastructure, the limited availability of resources, and
presence of radiation paramedics and clinicians will have to bypass conventional
clinical standards of care, preferably using predetermined criteria, in order to
maximize the overall preservation of life. Such conditions are to be expected until
medical staffing, logistical support, and infrastructure can be restored.
To maximize overall preservation of life with insufficient resources to manage mass
casualties, severely injured victims may be placed into an “expectant” (expected to
die) category early on although the criteria for “expectant” will vary depending on
resources available. Although expectant, palliation (treatment of symptoms) should be
performed when possible.
There will be a spectrum of casualties including one or more of blast, radiation, and
thermal injury. Initial triage and management will be based in part on victim’s
location history post-detonation, physical examination, dosimetry predictions from
initial models and real-time physical dosimetry (dose measurements), and from
64
Acute Radiation Syndrome, or ARS) and worsens an individual’s survival from other injuries
(called “combined injury”). The presence of radiation limits the amount of time responders
can spend taking care of victims.
Acute radiation sickness is generally seen at whole body doses above approximately one Gy.
Temporally, ARS presents in phases. The first phase shows prodromal symptoms (these are
general symptoms that indicate a more serious process may follow later on) that may be
useful during early triage (e.g., nausea, vomiting, heavy fatigue); second with a lethargic but
otherwise asymptomatic latent period; and third by a manifest illness phase that results in
either recovery or death. More information on ARS is provided in the grey box below.
Acute Radiation Sickness - General Considerations
(Details available in REMM at www.remm.nlm.gov and AFRRI at www.afrri.usuhs.mil)
Phases: Radiation victims may have some initial symptoms, such as nausea or vomiting in
the prodromal phase that may then clear for a few days or weeks (the latent phase) followed
by the eventual onset of ARS possibly 3-4 weeks later (the manifest illness phase).
Classical Subsyndromes: Hematopoietic (blood and immune system), Gastrointestinal
(digestive tract), Dermatological (skin), Cerebrovascular (spinal system and brain)
These are dose related in ascending order with mitigation and treatment of the hematopoietic
syndrome being considered at a whole body dose of > 2 Gy.
Good Prognosis:
• Vomiting starts > 4 hours after incident
• No significant change in serial lymphocyte counts within 48 hours after an incident
• Erythema (reddened skin) absent in first 24 hours
• No other significant injuries
Poor Prognosis:
• Central Nervous System (CNS) syndrome (e.g., Coma, Seizures)
• Severe erythema (reddened skin) within 2-3 h of exposure indicates dose of >10 Gy
• Vomiting less than 1 hour after incident
• Serial lymphocyte counts drop more than 50% within 48 hours
• Gastrointestinal syndrome (e.g., bloody vomitus or stool) (> 6 Gray)
• Other serious injuries (so called, combined injury)
LD50/60: The radiation dose at which half the victims will die without intensive treatment by
60 days (called the Lethal Dose 50, or LD50/60) is approximately 400 rem (4 Gy) (Anno and
coauthors 2003)). Vigorous medical management, which would be available for victims of a
small-sized radiation emergency can increase the LD50 possibly to 600 – 700 rem (6 – 7 Gy),
but the capacity to provide this level of care will be limited in a mass casualty nuclear
detonation.
65
Radiation Exposure Risks Years
after the Nuclear Detonation
The precise relationship between
radiation dose and cancer risk is the
subject of debate. There is a relative
long latency between exposure to
radiation and development of a
radiation-induced cancer, often 5-10
years for leukemia and decades for
“solid tumors.” As a general estimate,
5 rem, the annual limit for a radiation
worker but not necessarily the limit to
be used for an event such as this,
would increase the lifetime risk of
cancer by <0.5%. The average
lifetime risk is around 25% so this
dose would add <0.5% to that risk.
For 25 rem the increased risk is
approximately 2%, and for 100 rem,
approximately 6-8%.
DHHS Concept of Operations
A Concept of Operations (CONOPS) model recently developed by DHHS is presented here. The
intent of providing this concept is to provide standardized terminology for local and State
consideration, and to provide more detailed perspective on the impact of radiation on traditional
response.
This CONOPS is for consideration at the State
and local level to help organize their response and
to best plan for receiving federal medical assets as
they arrive in the hours and days that follow a
detonation. Familiarity with DHHS CONOPS
terminology could prove useful in planning and
perhaps provide an opportunity to standardize
medical response CONOPS terminology. State
and local medical response planners may choose
to consider evaluating the DHHS CONOPS for
nuclear detonation response as a possible template
for State and local plans. The DHHS CONOPS
was developed with emergency medical
physicians with the idea that this operational
theory could be readily used in the community
(Hrdina and coauthors 2009).
The DHHS CONOPS includes consideration of
the zones that account for damage and radiation
introduced in Chapters 1 and 2. It makes sense
for planners to account for staging areas designed
to receive federal medical response resources that
may start to arrive within hours but certainly
within days of a nuclear detonation, the following text describes a model for the Emergency
Support Function #8 of the National Response Framework: Public Health and Medical Services.
Federal CONOPS for Nuclear Detonation Response – the RTR System. RTR is a
function-oriented care system and not an individual medical triage system (Hrdina and
coauthors 2009). It stands for Radiation TRiage, TRansport, and TReatment and is
illustrated in Figure 4.1. Following a nuclear explosion there will be three types of sites that
form spontaneously as follows:
• RTR1 – sites will have victims with major trauma coupled with radiation that limits
operational response time and exacerbates victim injuries; many victims may be
expectant; the location will be near the no-go (NG) boundary and/or in the moderate
damage (MD) zone; rubble may prevent entry into this zone
• RTR2 – sites will be for triaging victims with radiation exposure only or possibly
with minor trauma; the location will be along the outer edges of the dangerous fallout
(DF) zone and the light damage (LD) zone and may have ambient radiation; most
victims are anticipated to be ambulatory
66
• RTR3 – sites are collection points where radiation is not present and will allow for
occupation for many hours or more; victims are anticipated to have limited trauma
injuries such as glass injury; most victims ambulatory, including people displaced by
the explosion without any injury or exposure; extensive self-evacuation is likely to be
observed at these sites; these may occur in the LD zone and beyond
The locations of the RTR sites will be compatible with the infrastructure damage, as outlined
in Chapters 1 and 2 and are summarized in Figure 4.1.
MC
AC
RTR2
RTR3
RTR1
Prevailing Upper Winds
MC
AC
MC
AC
RTR1
Dangerous Fallout Zone (DF)
Light Damage Zone (LD)
Moderate Damage Zone (MD)
No Go Zone (NG)
RTR2
RTR3
RTR3
EC
EC
RTR1
Outside Facilities &
Expert Centers
Assembly Centers AC
Medical Centers MC
Tiered Triage Sites RTR
Self Evacuation
Evacuation Centers EC
Critical Care Patients
Ambulatory, Possible ARS
Critical Care Patients
Ambulatory, Possible ARS
Figure 4.1: The RTR system for a nuclear detonation response; theoretical zones in a 10 KT
nuclear explosion at surface level
From the RTR sites victims will be directed and/or transported to appropriate secondary sites
as follows: medical care (MC) sites, including hospitals, healthcare facilities and alternative
care sites for those who need immediate medical care and assembly centers (AC) as
collection points for displaced persons or those who do not need immediate medical
attention. Locations for MC and AC sites will have been largely predetermined as much as
possible by an ongoing project at DHHS called MedMap and by the local responders in
planning. RTR3 sites will have formed in various locations spontaneously or by direction of
the Incident Commander as opposed to preplanned AC sites. From MC sites victims
requiring medical care may be sent to medical treatment centers and hospitals nationwide,
including the Radiation Injury Treatment Network (RITN -
http://www.nmdp.org/RITN/index.html), National Disaster Medical System, Veteran’s
Administration Hospitals, etc., or to temporary housing using predetermined transportation
hubs. Major transportation hubs may include airports, seaports, railroad stations, and
67
designated highway and other road routes. Victim flow will be mainly away from the
incident although many people not too far from the incident should remain safely in their
buildings. At all RTR, MC and AC sites, efforts will be made to track victims and evacuees
as they are moved to MC or AC sites nearby or transported to appropriate destinations
regionally and nationally.
The presence of radiation will limit the time that responders can spend at various RTR 1 and
2 locations. A radiation event differs substantially from a non-radiation mass casualty event
because of the presence of radiation and the time limit for responders to be within radiation
areas. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Planning Guidance (DHS 2008)
includes time limitations based on the lifetime risk of an exposed person developing a
radiation induced cancer, but the decision to enter the zone will be made by the Incident
Commander and responders. Planning for response in elevated radiation environments is
strongly suggested.
Initial Mass Casualty Triage (i.e., Sorting)
Initial mass casualty triage, also known as sorting, should not be confused with follow-on
clinical triage for more specific medical management. There are several established triage
systems for a mass casualty events, typically related to trauma, but there are, at present, no USG
or internationally agreed upon medical triage systems overlaying radiation issues onto mass
casualty trauma categories expected from a nuclear detonation. The Department of Defense
(DOD) has done extensive triage planning, some of which is accessible in various documents.
The DOD effort serves as an important underpinning for developing a civilian response and has
been used by Waselenko and coauthors to assess how radiation may affect the triage of trauma
victims (Waselenko and coauthors 2004).
Recently, a major consensus meeting on mass casualty triage in the US resulted in the
publication: “Mass casualty triage: an evaluation of the data and a proposed national guideline”
(Lerner and coauthors 2008). Based on extensive review of the various systems, this committee
proposed a new five-category mass casualty triage system called SALT (Sort, Assess, Life-
Saving Intervention (LSI), Treatment and/or Transport). This new system was quickly endorsed
by several major US professional societies with expertise in emergency medicine. It must be
emphasized that a modified SALT algorithm (or any of the other standard triage algorithms)
would be necessary for a nuclear detonation because it may be the ambulatory and responsive
There is as yet no established USG interagency medical triage system specifically
validated for an urban nuclear detonation; therefore, existing emergency triage
algorithms are used with modification for the impact of radiation.
Initial mass casualty triage, also known as sorting, should not be confused with
follow-on clinical triage for more specific medical management.
68
victims that would take priority over those with more obvious serious injury because of scarce
resources.
The military has traditionally used a mass casualty triage system entitled DIME: Delayed,
Immediate, Minimal and Expectant, which includes four of the categories of the SALT (DOD
2003). DOD has developed a triage system for a nuclear detonation such that a future mass
casualty triage and treatment approach for an nuclear detonation that is under development
would include structure and content from both SALT and DIME.
A landmark series of papers recently addressed how mass casualty planning and resource
allocations must address scarcities of “staff, space and stuff” (Chest series and Kaji and
coauthors 2006) for pandemic flu. The papers addressed exactly how “optimal care algorithms”
would change when resources become progressively more scarce. Similar issues surely need to
be addressed for a nuclear detonation as well.
To address the extraordinary complexity of triage and treatment of potentially hundreds of
thousands of patients following a nuclear detonation, DHHS is convening a multi-specialty
expert group in 2009 with the goal of creating recommendations for national medical planning.
Any new or modified triage system suggested will need to account for complexities related to
ranges of severity for the following:
• Conventional injury categories (trauma and burns)
• Radiation (alone and/or as part of combined injury)
• Scare resources [staff, stuff, and space (Kaji and coauthors 2006)] and how resource
availability and treatment effect triage
• Importance of life-saving interventions including mitigation for acute radiation syndrome
that will impact the triage category
• Co-morbidities and special needs in the civilian population
Any new mass casualty radiation triage system must be flexible enough to reflect new medical
countermeasures and deployed field technologies and procedures. Optimally any new system
should provide responders with easily understood and implementable algorithms that would be
available and adaptable on REMM.
The following discussion provides planners with a sense of the current state of the art and
science of radiation mass-casualty triage, including information from SALT, scarce resources,
and the DOD. The medical care chapter of this first edition planning guidance will be modified
significantly over the next year as a result of the progress being made in the following:
• Establishing standard terminology, victim coding, and a response algorithm (such as
SALT) for a mass casualty event
• Developing guidance and linking medical response to availability of resources
• Access to a nuclear detonation triage and casualty planning systems developed by the
DOD that have potential application to a civilian event.
69
SALT Color Codes
The logic for this specific system and for
the use of the grey color for expectant is:
“Unlike the other triage categories (i.e.,
immediate = red, delayed = yellow,
minimal = green, and dead = black), the
color designation for expectant patients
is not common among the existing mass
casualty triage systems. Some systems
use the color blue; however, that may
potentially lead to confusion because
blue also has been used to designate
patients who need decontamination. In
an effort to reflect the fluid nature of this
category and to have a distinct color
associated with it, the committee selected
grey” (Lerner and coauthors, 2008)
The SALT system (Figure 4.2) refers to mass
casualty triage in general (i.e., mostly trauma). It
uses common terminology for triage categories and
places them in a five category and color system,
adding grey for expectant (Lerner and coauthors
2008).
Figure 4.2 below is included to only illustrate the
general organization of mass casualty triage. The
nuclear detonation algorithm to be developed in
future work will use the general concepts behind
SALT (Lerner and coauthors 2008), DIME (DOD
2003) and the DHHS 2009 effort previously
described. In Figure 4.2, S is for initial sorting; A is
for individual assessment in that the initial sorting
may misclassify a person; and LSI is for life-saving
intervention (if appropriate). The LSI for a nuclear
detonation response could include mitigation of
hematopoietic ARS. A triage category is then assigned to one of the 5 categories- Minimal,
Delayed, Immediate, Expectant or Dead. Patients then undergo treatment and transport
(represented by T). This is presented only as an example of how SALT is used for mass casualty
events. A nuclear detonation-related SALT system will have radiation specific interventions and
the sorting and triage will depend on the scarcity of resources.
70
Figure 4.2: Illustrates the steps in the SALT system for mass casualty triage (Lerner and
coauthors 2008).
Data on the impact combined injuries have on survivability are limited. However, because of
the detrimental effect on the hematological systems (blood cells and immune systems) it is
likely that whole body radiation doses above 200 rad (2 Gy) will have a substantial negative
impact on survival of patients with significant burn or blast injuries. Additionally, the size of
a nuclear detonation and availability of resources and expert care would dictate what
treatment would be administered and who might move into the palliative or expectant
category (Waselenko and coauthors 2004). Medical management for radiation effects
includes drugs for both mitigation of subsequent medical deterioration and treatment.
Effective mitigation for ARS that would make fatal injuries survivable by preventing or
reducing the serious deterioration in the hematological and immune systems would become a
LSI. Similar advances may be possible for the dermatological and gastrointestinal syndromes
using drugs or cell-based therapies under investigation. Standard supportive care is perhaps
the most important medical intervention and the degree of scarcity of resources will certainly
be a critical factor in supportive care decision-making. The scarcity of resources will be
extraordinarily variable as one moves away from the zones immediately surrounding ground
zero to facilities miles away and then further to facilities around the nation. Therefore, a
given set of medical circumstances for a victim would lead to a different triage category,
which must be considered as SALT or any other system is applied.
71
The military DIME system (DOD 2003) includes Delayed, Immediate, Minimal and
Expectant categories, SALT adds a fifth category, “Dead”, and includes “Individual
Assessment”. Because the civilian population has a much wider range of individuals
including co-morbidity and special populations, the individual assessment will be more
complex. Additionally, the spectrum of injuries will likely differ between a tactical nuclear
explosion in a battlefield situation compared to a nuclear explosion within a city.
The DIME categories for a nuclear explosion are defined in the following grey box material
for the DOD (courtesy of AFRRI). As noted, the DOD nuclear casualty planning factors are
based on a young healthy adult population. The more detailed triage system to be developed
by the consensus group to be convened by DHHS in 2009 will include specifics such as
percentage of burns, radiation dose, and medical countermeasures and will take into account
the scarcity of resources. Note that enhanced availability of resources may remove victims
from the expectant category.
72
DoD DIME Triage for Early Nuclear Casualty Assessments and Planning (Adapted
from FM 4-02.283 (DOD 2001) and unpublished DoD reports courtesy of AFRRI)
(NOTE: The DoD text below was not designed for use by civilian clinicians. Future
work by the USG Interagency is expected to yield civilian-specific information on
nuclear casualty planning factors and early nuclear triage assessments)
DIME: D = Delayed, I = Immediate, M = Minimal, and E = Expectant
Triage decisions and classifications for nuclear victims differ from conventionally injured
patients and must consider physical injury and radiation exposure. The first step in triage is
based primarily on the presentation of conventional injuries and is then modified by radiation
injury level. That is, triage and care of any life-threatening injuries should be rendered without
regard for the probability of radiation exposure or contamination. Medical personnel must also
make a preliminary diagnosis of radiation injury based on those who display the appropriate
radiation exposure symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hyperthermia, and so forth
but also on assessment of their potential exposure based on history, physical location during
the event and initial laboratory assessment when possible because early intervention for
those at risk for ARS can effect their ultimate triage category and outcome. Many of the
victims that can benefit from early ARS mitigation will come from the Dangerous Fallout
Zone and may have no or only very minor physical injury. Understanding the types of
casualties that will receive early triage is also useful in response planning. So both casualty
assessments and planning factors are provided for the DIME method of triage codes with the
very important caveats that the DoD uses nuclear casualty planning factors designed for
young healthy adults and that the spectrum of injuries for civilian IND events is not yet fully
determined.
Delayed group (D).
Early Casualty Assessment: Those needing surgery, but whose conditions permit
delay without unduly endangering safety. Life-sustaining treatment such as intravenous fluids,
antibiotics, splinting, catheterization, and relief of pain may be required in this group.
Examples are fractured limbs, spinal injuries, and uncomplicated burns, and all casualties with
only radiation injury who do not exhibit gross neurological symptoms. NOTE: Early wound
closure for patients with doses above 100-200 rads (1-2 Gy) will improve outcomes.
Consequently, combined injury patients become the highest priority immediately after those
requiring life or limb-saving surgery.
Casualty Planning Factors: Nuclear casualties in this group are generally those
suffering injury that requires professional medical treatment but that is not immediately
threatening to life, limb or sight. These injuries include lacerations without extensive
hemorrhage, closed fractures, first degree burns covering a moderate to large Body Surface
Area (BSA), second degree burns covering a small BSA (perhaps in the 5 to 15% BSA range),
and third degree burns covering a very small BSA (perhaps in the 1 to 5% BSA range). Also
in this category are patients with moderate to high radiation dose in the 200-600 rads (2-6 Gy)
range that have either minimal or no other injuries.
73
DoD DIME Triage for Early Nuclear Casualty Assessments and Planning (Adapted
from FM 4-02.283 and unpublished DoD reports; Courtesy of AFRRI) - continued
DIME: D = Delayed, I = Immediate, M = Minimal, and E = Expectant
Immediate group (I).
Early Casualty Assessment: Those requiring immediate lifesaving surgery.
Procedures should not be time-consuming and should concern only those with a high chance
of survival, such as respiratory obstruction and accessible hemorrhage. Pure radiation injury is
not acutely life-threatening unless the irradiation is massive. If a massive dose has been
received, then the patient is classified as expectant (E). NOTE: Early wound closure for
patients with doses above 100-200 rads (1-2 Gy) will improve outcomes.
Casualty Planning Factors: Nuclear casualties in this group are generally those
suffering serious injury that requires prompt professional medical treatment to save life, limb
or sight. These injuries include hemorrhage to a readily accessible site, multiple lacerations,
correctable mechanical respiratory defects, fractures of long bones, crushed extremities,
incomplete amputations, fractured skull or spine, ruptured internal organ, second degree burns
covering a moderate BSA (perhaps in the 15 to 50 % BSA range), and third degree burns
covering a small to moderate BSA (perhaps in the 5-25% BSA range).
Minimal group (M).
Early Casualty Assessment: Those with relatively minor injuries who can be helped
by untrained personnel, or who can look after themselves, such those who have minor
fractures or lacerations. Buddy care is particularly important in this situation. Patients with
radiological injury should have all wounds and lacerations cleaned meticulously and then
closed.
Casualty Planning Factors: Nuclear casualties in this group are generally those that
suffer nonincapacitating injury that requires some kind of medical treatment.
Nonincapacitating injuries imply limited lacerations, contusions, concussions, eardrum
rupture, first degree burns to a moderate to large BSA (perhaps less than 50% BSA), second
degree burns covering a small BSA (perhaps less than 5% BSA), very small third degree
burns (perhaps less than 1% BSA), or mild to moderate radiation exposure (roughly 75 to 200
rads or 0.75 to 2 Gy) that may result in mild nausea, anorexia or fatigue four or more hours
after being exposed. This initial triage category aligns with the early "treat-and-release"
patient load.
Expectant group (E).
Early Casualty Assessment: Those with serious or multiple injuries requiring
intensive treatment, or with a poor chance of survival. These patients receive appropriate
supportive treatment compatible with resources, which will include large doses of analgesics
as applicable. Examples are severe head and spinal injuries, widespread burns, or neurological
symptoms from massive doses of radiation. These casualties may be removed from this
category as additional medical assets become available.
Casualty Planning Factors: Nuclear casualties in this group are generally those that
suffer from obvious injuries to the respiratory and central nervous system, significant
penetrating abdominal wounds, multiple severe injuries, second degree burns covering a large
BSA (perhaps more than 50 % BSA), and third degree burns covering a moderate BSA
(perhaps in more than 25% BSA), high radiation doses that result in obvious cerebrovascular
dysfunction or vomiting within one hour of being exposed.
74
Figure 4.3 below illustrates the following concepts:
• How radiation can impact triage categories
• Importance of appropriate early intervention for radiation mitigation of ARS
Figure 4.3: Illustrates how radiation can impact triage category and the importance of appropriate
early intervention for radiation mitigation of ARS (courtesy of AFRRI).
Emergency Care
For managing mass nuclear casualties with blast and thermal injuries, the focus is first to
provide only emergency medical care and essential surgical procedures. Expect a setting of
resource constraints to extend for several days. Time consuming procedures must be
deferred initially in order to direct attention to many others that can be saved. Current
recommendations are that all wounds should be closed within 36 to 48 hours for
patients with doses above 1-2 Gy. If this is not possible, wound closure should be delayed
until hematopoietic recovery is evident although newer approaches to care of
immunosuppressed patients may alter this recommendation.
Although doses in the higher ranges [500-800 rad (5-8 Gy)] are most often fatal within six
weeks, nearly all of these patients will exhibit a latency (asymptomatic) period of days to
weeks immediately following their initial symptoms. Finding opportunities to provide
definitive care, to include treatment during the latency period, will improve survival rates
among these patients. Currently available data indicate that to mitigate the acute
75
hematological syndrome, drug treatment with cytokines is recommended for the >2 Gy dose
range and should be administered within 24 hours. In general, experts in hematology and
oncology are involved in medical management as the cause of morbidity and death is usually
a result of sepsis and bleeding days to weeks following exposure, similar to that seen in
cancer treatment. Note that cytokines are not of benefit to people with lower doses (<2Gy)
and would take resources from those who need it. Thus, cytokines must not be used without
clinical indication. Also, regardless of whether or not cytokines are available, supportive care
alone will increase survivability to as much as 50% for patients with ARS. Supportive care
includes fluids, cytokines, antibiotics when needed. Overall supportive care is the most
important aspect of victim management. Additional details are on the REMM website
(http://www.remm.nlm.gov).
The currently used US follow-on clinical triage and medical management system is dose-based,
recognizing that there will be heterogeneity in exposure, dose-rate, combined injuries and special
populations (e.g., age, co-morbid diseases, etc). To estimate dose, the use of medical history,
physical dose reconstruction (location during the event), dose-plots such as those from
Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC) and on-site measurement,
and blood studies will be used. The latter includes complete blood counts (CBCs) and
cytogenetic biodosimetry. Research is being done to develop technologies for high throughput
screening.
Referral to Expert Centers
Following the initial sorting and the subsequent identification of those either already with
manifestations of ARS or at risk for developing it over days to weeks, medical management
will require highly specialized expertise. The medical specialties most familiar with diseases
that require similar treatment to ARS are hematology, medical oncology, and radiation
oncology. The Radiation Injury Treatment Network (http://www.nmdp.org/RITN/) is
working with DHHS and also with international partners to develop medical management
protocols (REMM - http://www.remm.nlm.gov.). As noted above, the current US clinical
triage and medical management system at tertiary care centers (e.g., bone marrow transplant
and cancer centers) for managing radiation patients is dose-based. While specific organ
syndromes are usually noted (e.g., hematological, gastrointestinal, dermatological and central
nervous system), victims will have some degree of multi-system injury so that medical
management will be both algorithm-based and individualized. Tertiary care may be done
with international partners. In Europe, a tertiary triage and management system has been
developed based on organ system dysfunction, which is presented here as an example for
consideration by planners (Fliedner and coauthors 2001). Aspects of both dose-based and
organ-dysfunction are mutually compatible and subject matter experts are working to further
harmonize the medical management approaches.
76
METREPOL: This approach is an example of the European system (Medical Treatment
Protocols) for radiation casualty triage at tertiary care centers. The METREPOL system for
radiation management depends on medical signs and symptoms and requires serial analysis to
determine the ultimate response category (1-4) for each of the four systems (H for
hematological, G for gastrointestinal, N for neurovascular, and C for cutaneous); see Figure
4.4). This current system is not based on radiation dose but on clinical manifestations. Figure
4.4 illustrates how the METREPOL response category based system could be used for triage.
It is emphasized that this system is intended for limited size events such as industrial accidents
and the applicability to the initial triage at a nuclear detonation is limited. However, once
victims are under the care of medical experts, the METREPOL system could be employed to
refine the initial triage category and treatment plans
Degree of Cutaneous, Gastrointestinal, and
Neurovascular Symptoms
1 2 3 4
Ambulatory
Monitoring
Hospitalization
Hematologic Degree
2 3 4
Routine
Care Floor
Critical
Care Unit
.
Figure 4.4: METREPOL response category based system (Fliedner and coauthors 2001)
77
Fatality Management
In a nuclear detonation, fatality management may be one of the most demanding aspects of
the incident response, and the way it is executed will have a direct impact on the recovery of
the community and the nation. The catastrophic significance of a nuclear detonation is
quickly understood through the number of casualties it produces, including fatalities.
Fatalities from the detonation can come about in essentially two ways: (1) those who are
promptly killed by the blast, and possibly vaporized; and (2) those who die from mortal
wounds later, either in the field or in the care of emergency personnel. This second group
includes the “walking dead” and its effect should not be underestimated because it is likely
that large numbers of people directly affected by the blast or fallout who would seemingly
benefit from medical intervention are in fact expectant resulting from their combined injuries
or radiation exposure. The quantity and phenomenon of “walking-dead” were not
understood in the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack because large numbers of people died after
varying latency periods following the detonation. Because of the potentially high number
of deceased persons produced by a nuclear detonation, there is a complexity that stems from
the overwhelming numbers of bodies versus the scarce resources available to manage them
and our national values that lead us to respect the traditions of the deceased. This dichotomy
means fatality management has the potential to become one of the most demanding aspects
of the nuclear detonation response because of the concerns of respect for the deceased versus
capability limitations to provide these gestures. Incident commanders must consider means
to fairly accommodate public expectations while efficiently and appropriately handling
human remains in a way that is consistent with their capabilities.
While fatality management is a very significant concern, it is also important to note that in
the first 72 hours of the response, which is the time frame covered by this guidance, the
processing of the deceased will likely not be a priority in lieu of saving lives. However,
personnel in the field and in definitive care centers, assembly centers, etc. must have an
option for handling persons who die in their care. Because bodies in the field do not pose a
significant biohazardous threat to response personnel (Morgan 2004), it is not necessary to
immediately begin fatality management operations. The main priority should be saving lives.
When fatality management becomes a feasible operational capability, a few days after the
response, incident commanders should consider the following:
1. Determine capabilities (e.g., personnel, equipment, supplies)
2. Develop a strategy for proper identification and respectful handling of the deceased
victims including transport, storage, and disposition in the context of the available
capabilities
3. Strive to keep cross-contamination to a minimum including the use of radiation
monitors (DHHS 2008b)
4. Develop and disseminate a public communications strategy that outlines the efforts to
respect the bodies and discusses the outcomes of the body handling, especially where
survivors will not be able to recover family members who are deceased and
contaminated, or unidentifiable
78
The Centers for Disease Control Guidelines for Handling Decedents Contaminated with
Radioactive Materials (Centers for Disease Control) details points for consideration to
appropriately manage remains. Additionally the Mass Fatality Management for Incidents
Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (DOD 2005) and Joint Publication 4-06, Mortuary
Affairs in Joint Operations, (DOD 2006), provide guidance that primarily focuses on
chemical, biological, and nuclear detonations, and may be useful for planners as well.
However, DOD doctrine may not always be applicable to civilian planning and should be
considered appropriately.
In summary, fatality management will be one of the most demanding aspects of the nuclear
detonation response, because:
• There will be an overwhelming need for immediate care for those who can be treated
• Many people who are expectant will live for a period of time and then die
• Concerns of respect for the deceased versus limited capability to provide these
gestures
Additional Resources
REMM: A comprehensive set of medical management guidelines is available at the
Radiation Event Medical Management (REMM) website (http://www.remm.nlm.gov).
Emergency Room and other medical response assets should download REMM and join
the Listserve. The REMM system was created in collaboration between the National Library
of Medicine and DHHS, with input from subject matter experts worldwide. REMM provides
radiation, algorithms for medical evaluation and management. Detailed support information
can be readily updated as new information becomes available, assuring just-in-time and upto-
date information for medical personnel. REMM is available online as a download to a
laptop or other computer, and as a PDA.
In addition to REMM, the AFRRI Medical Management of Radiological Casualties Handbook,
the AFRRI Emergency Radiation Medicine Pocket Guide (DOD 2008), the AFRRI
Biodosimetry Assessment Tool and a few other useful and free products are available for
download at www.afrri.usuhs.mil. As well, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) (http://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation) and the Radiation Emergency Assistance
Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) (http://orise.orau.gov/reacts) websites address several key
aspects of radiological emergencies.
For the time frame covered by this guidance processing of the deceased will likely not
be a priority in lieu of saving lives; however, fatality management will be one of the
most demanding aspects of the nuclear detonation response and should be planned for
as early as possible.
79
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81
Chapter 5 – Population Monitoring and Decontamination
KEY POINTS
1. Radiation survey methods, screening criteria used for radiation screenings, and
decontamination guidance or services offered or recommended should be adjusted to
reflect the prioritized needs of individuals and availability of resources at any given
location.
2. Identification of individuals whose health is in immediate danger and require urgent
care is the immediate priority of any population monitoring activity.
3. The primary purpose of population monitoring, following a nuclear detonation, is
detection and removal of external contamination. In most cases external
decontamination can be self performed, if straightforward instructions are provided.
4. Prevention of acute radiation health effects should be the primary concern when
monitoring for radioactive contamination.
5. Population monitoring and decontamination activities should remain flexible and
scalable to reflect the available resources and competing priorities.
6. Radioactive contamination is not immediately life threatening.
7. Self-evacuating individuals will require decontamination instructions to be
communicated to them in advance of the event (e.g., public education campaign) or
through post-event public outreach mechanisms. Instructions should be provided with
consideration of languages appropriate for the affected community.
8. Planning must provide for consideration of concerned populations because it is
anticipated that a significant number of individuals, who should remain safely
sheltered, will begin to request population monitoring to confirm that they have not
been exposed to radiation.
9. Use of contaminated vehicles (e.g., personal or mass transit) for evacuation should not
be discouraged in the initial days following a nuclear detonation; however, simple
instructions for rinsing or washing vehicles once decontamination can be achieved
without impeding evacuation should be provided.
10. There is no universally accepted threshold of radioactivity (external or internal) above
which a person is considered contaminated and below which a person is considered
uncontaminated.
11. State and local agencies should establish survivor registry and locator databases as
early as possible. Initially, the most basic and critical information to collect from each
person is his or her name, address, telephone number, and contact information.
12. Planners should identify radiation protection professionals in their community and
encourage them to volunteer and register in any one of the Citizen Corps or similar
programs in their community.
82
Overview
Population monitoring is the process of identifying, screening, and monitoring people for
exposure to radiation or contamination with radioactive materials. Decontamination is the
process of washing or removing radioactive materials on the outside of the body or clothing
and, if necessary, facilitating removal of contamination from inside the body.
The population monitoring process begins soon after a nuclear emergency and continues until
all potentially affected people have been monitored and evaluated as appropriate for the
following:
• Needed medical treatment
• Presence of radioactive contamination on the body or clothing
• Intake of radioactive materials into the body
• Removal of external or internal contamination (decontamination)
• Radiation dose received and the resulting health risk from the exposure
• Long-term health effects
Assessment of the first five elements listed above should be accomplished as soon as
practical. However, long-term health effects are usually determined through a population
registry and an epidemiologic investigation that will likely span several decades, and are
beyond the scope of this guidance.
It is important to recognize that early decisions by emergency responders and response
authorities related to monitoring for radioactivity and decontamination should be made in the
context of the overall response operations. For example, as stated in Chapter 4, survival rates
will decrease if evacuation is constrained by policies for nontransportation or acceptance of
potentially contaminated patients imposed by ambulance providers and medical facilities.
Furthermore, the needs of a displaced population and concerned citizens hundreds of miles
away are different from those of the immediate victims near the site of detonation.
Therefore, radiation survey methods, screening criteria used for radiation screenings, and
decontamination guidance or services offered or recommended should be adjusted to reflect
the prioritized needs of individuals and availability of resources at any given location.
The recommendations in this chapter are derived from the Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publication
“Population Monitoring in Radiation Emergencies: A Guide for State and Local Public
Health Planners” (http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/pdf/population-monitoring-guide.pdf)
(DHHS 2007). The relevant portions of the CDC guidance are summarized here; however,
readers are referred to that document in its entirety for more information.
Radiation survey methods, screening criteria used for radiation screenings, and
decontamination guidance or services offered or recommended should be adjusted to
reflect the prioritized needs of individuals and availability of resources at any given
location.
83
Primary Considerations
There are several priority considerations that should be applied in any radiation emergency,
especially in a nuclear emergency where life-threatening conditions exist for a potentially
large number of individuals.
1. Identification of individuals whose health is in immediate danger and require
urgent care is the immediate priority of any population monitoring activity.
Near the incident scene, this monitoring need is accomplished as part of the medical
triage already described in Chapter 4. Management of serious injury takes
precedence over radiological decontamination.
2. The primary purpose of population monitoring, following a nuclear detonation,
is detection and removal of external contamination. In most cases external
decontamination can be self performed, if straightforward instructions are
provided. There are two types of decontamination. External decontamination
removes fallout particles and other radioactive debris from clothes and external
surface of the body. Internal decontamination, if needed, requires medical treatment
to reduce the amount of radioactivity in the body.
3. Prevention of acute radiation health effects should be the primary concern when
monitoring for radioactive contamination. Population monitoring personnel
should offer or recommend gross external decontamination, such as brushing away
dust or removal of outer clothing. Cross-contamination issues (e.g., from transport
vehicles) are of secondary concern, especially in a nuclear emergency where the
contaminated area and the potentially impacted population are large.
4. Population monitoring and decontamination activities should remain flexible
and scalable to reflect the available resources and competing priorities. For
example, if water is a scarce commodity or is needed to fight fires, dry methods can
be used for decontamination. Moist wipes can be used to wipe the face and hands in
addition to a change of outer clothing. Instead of pouring water as in a shower, small
amounts of water can be used to wet paper towels and clean the skin.
5. Radioactive contamination is not immediately life threatening. Individuals who
are self evacuating may be advised to self decontaminate. Suggestions for monitoring
and decontamination in this chapter assume radioactivity is the only contaminant, and
that there are no chemical or contagious biological agents present.
Identification of individuals whose health is in immediate danger and require urgent
care is the immediate priority of any population monitoring activity.
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Impacted Population
Victims who may be suffering from severe burn and trauma injuries are addressed in Chapter
4. Evacuating those critical patients away from the scene should not be hindered by lengthy
or restrictive decontamination and transport policies. People who are not critically injured
may fall into four broad categories that can be linked with general decontamination
considerations as follows:
1. Individuals who self evacuate from the affected and surrounding areas and who
are not under the direction of emergency response officials — These are
individuals who self evacuate before emergency responders arrive. Even after
responders arrive, there may not be sufficient responders to direct all of the
individuals who may continue to self evacuate. For this group of individuals,
responders will not have an opportunity to provide on-the-scene decontamination
assistance before they leave the area. Decontamination instructions will need to be
communicated to these individuals in advance of a nuclear detonation (e.g., public
education campaign) or through post-event public outreach mechanisms. Some of
these individuals may go directly to hospitals or seek care in public shelters.
2. Individuals who leave the affected areas under the direction of emergency
response officials — These are people leaving the immediate impact zone (e.g.,
moderate damage (MD) or light damage (LD) zones) of the incident may require
assistance from responders to evacuate (e.g., search and rescue, emergency medical
service). Some people may be able to leave unassisted but will be part of an
organized immediate evacuation. Responders will need to make decontamination
decisions regarding these individuals. As stated earlier, these decisions must be made
in the context of the overall response effort and reflect the prioritized needs of the
evacuating individuals and available resources.
Radioactive contamination is not immediately life threatening.
Population monitoring and decontamination activities should remain flexible and
scalable to reflect the available resources and competing priorities.
Prevention of acute radiation health effects should be the primary concern when
monitoring for radioactive contamination.
The primary purpose of population monitoring, following a nuclear detonation, is
detection and removal of external contamination. In most cases external
decontamination can be self performed, if straightforward instructions are provided.
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3. Individuals who initially sheltered, both in the immediate impact area as well as
in the fallout zone, then evacuate as part of an organized evacuation — As in the
previous category, these individuals will be dependent on responders to make and
communicate decontamination decisions.
4. Individuals who are in the surrounding area of the detonation, have not received
an evacuation notice, but who are concerned about possible contamination and
seek screening from public officials to confirm that they have not been exposed
— These individuals may report to hospitals or public shelters. This group could
represent a significant number of individuals and planners will need to ensure they
adequately address this group’s concerns. Community reception centers, as described
in CDC’s publication “Population Monitoring in Radiation Emergencies: A Guide for
State and Local Public Health Planners,” recommend an infrastructure to address the
needs of this population, as well as those of the displaced population reporting to
reception centers (DHHS 2007).
The public may self evacuate using personal vehicles that may be contaminated. Although
this evacuation may result in the spread of some contamination, such actions should not be
discouraged during the initial days following a nuclear detonation. Simple rinsing or
washing of vehicles in a common location before or after use should be considered; however,
these actions should be implemented so that they do not restrict or inhibit necessary
evacuations. The public should be directed to rinse or wash down vehicles as soon as
practical once they are out of danger. In communities where people do not speak English as
their primary language, instructions should be provided in languages appropriate for the
affected community. At later times following the detonation, more detailed instructions
should be provided along with protective action guidance basing mitigation measures on
potential for contamination, dose, and residual risk.
If public mass transportation (e.g., rail, bus) is used to evacuate individuals from
contaminated areas, the vehicles should be surveyed and controlled, to the extent practical, to
minimize the potential for contaminating land and people. During the early phase, simple
rinsing or washing of mass transit equipment in a common location before or after use should
be considered; however, these actions should be implemented in a manner so they do not
restrict or inhibit necessary evacuations. If there is a potential that these simple protective
actions will inhibit needed evacuations then they should be delayed.
Planning must provide for the consideration of concerned populations because it is
anticipated that a significant number of individuals, who should remain safely
sheltered, will begin to request population monitoring to confirm that they have not
been exposed to radiation or contaminated with radioactive materials.
Self-evacuating individuals will require decontamination instructions to be
communicated to them in advance of the event (e.g., public education campaign) or
through post-event public outreach mechanisms.
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External Contamination
The first step in external monitoring is to check people for radioactive contamination on their
bodies and clothing. Note that detailed radiological surveys are not necessary and initial
screenings for external contamination can be done in a matter of seconds by trained
professionals using proper radiation detection instruments. Depending on the situation, and
if adequate staff and decontamination resources are available, more restrictive radiological
screening criteria may be used.
There is no universally accepted level of radioactivity (external or internal) above which a
person is contaminated and below which a person is uncontaminated at a ‘safe’ level. A
discussion of key considerations in a selecting a contamination screening criterion and a
number of benchmark screening criteria are described and referenced in Appendix C of the
CDC population monitoring guide (DHHS 2007). Screening values may also be found in
other agency documents such as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-REP-21
(1995) and FEMA-REP-22 (2002), National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP)
Commentary 19 (2005), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (2006), and
Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) (2006) (DHS 1995; DHS
2002; NCRP 2005; IAEA 2006; CRCPD 2006), as well as military manuals.
As uncontaminated people are referred to discharge stations and contaminated people to
washing (decontamination) stations, care must be taken not to co-mingle contaminated and
uncontaminated people while making sure families are not separated. Wrist bands or similar
tools can be used to distinguish people who have been cleared through decontamination.
It would be prudent to assume that most people will be able to self decontaminate, but
provisions for those who cannot, such as people using wheelchairs or people with other
disabilities, must also be made. A best practice during the decontamination process would be
to determine if parents can assist their children with washing. For people who do not have
wounds, direct them to perform the following actions:
• Remove contaminated clothes and place them in a bag
• Wash with warm water
There is no universally accepted threshold of radioactivity (external or internal) above
which a person is considered contaminated and below which a person is considered
decontaminated.
Use of contaminated vehicles (e.g., personal or mass transit) for evacuation should not
be discouraged in the initial days following a nuclear detonation; however, simple
instructions for rinsing or washing vehicles once this can be achieved without
impeding evacuation should be provided.
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• Use the mechanical action of flushing or friction of cloth, sponge, or soft brush
• Begin with the least aggressive techniques and mildest agents (e.g., soap and
water)
• When showering, begin with the head and proceed to the feet
• Keep materials out of eyes, nose, mouth, and wounds; use waterproof draping to
limit the spread of contamination
• Avoid causing mechanical, chemical, or thermal damage to skin
Use of pumper fire truck systems for mass decontamination (Capitol Region Metropolitan
Medical Response System 2003), although effective in decontaminating large numbers of
people at a hazardous materials scene, is not necessary and may not be even advisable when
other decontamination methods are considered. If water resources are scarce or not
available, a change of outer clothing or carefully brushing off the fallout dust can
significantly reduce exposure. When cold temperatures or poor weather conditions exist, the
use of water-based decontamination techniques may not be advisable. Furthermore,
firefighting resources may be more urgently needed to fight fires or to conduct search and
rescue operations.
To the extent possible, responders should take reasonable measures to control the spread of
contamination from runoff or solid waste generated by decontamination activities. However,
these control measures should not slow down or delay the processing of contaminated
individuals or contaminated vehicles leaving the impacted area to address imminent threats to
human life or health. Addressing people’s needs and facilitating their decontamination or
evacuation to protect human life or health takes priority (EPA 2000).
People with wounds must be directed to a medical treatment facility or to a designated
medical triage station, if established. Supporting response organizations should be prepared
to provide for the security of the designated monitoring, decontamination, and staging areas
as well as items of personal value.
Internal Contamination
Internal contamination is radioactive material that has entered the body through, for example,
ingestion or inhalation, or through a wound. In a nuclear detonation scenario, a radiation
dose received from internal contamination will not be a major concern relative to burn and
traumatic injuries received or relative to potentially large external radiation doses from
prompt radiation or nuclear fallout. However, there is potential for internal contamination
and regardless of how significant or insignificant it may be, internal contamination can be a
source of anxiety and concern for the public. After all, while people can self decontaminate
themselves from external contamination, any internal contamination stays with them and
does not go away quickly.
While certainly not an immediate priority, following a nuclear detonation, having accurate
information about the levels of internal contamination is important in deciding whether
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medical intervention is warranted (see www.remm.nlm.gov for more information). The
methods and equipment needed for assessing internal contamination are more advanced than
the equipment required to conduct external monitoring. Collectively, internal contamination
monitoring procedures are referred to as “bioassays,” and in general these bioassays require
off-site analysis by a clinically certified commercial laboratory or hospital. Although some
results will be available quickly, monitored individuals should be advised that depending on
the size of the population monitored and the radionuclides involved, it may be some time,
perhaps weeks or months, before all results are available. Knowledge of the physical location
of the individuals during the incident or the extent of external contamination on their bodies
prior to washing can be helpful indicators of the likelihood and magnitude of internal
contamination. However, laboratory results can provide definitive information, especially in
the case of alpha-emitting radionuclides.
Registry – Locator Databases
State and local agencies should establish a registry system as early as possible. This registry
will be used to contact people in the affected population who require short-term medical
follow-up or long-term health monitoring. Initially, the most basic and critical information to
collect from each person is his or her name, address, telephone number, and contact
information. If time permits, other information can be recorded, including the person’s
location at time of the incident and immediately afterwards and other epidemiological
information, but this is not essential and should not become a bottleneck in the registration
process. Additional information can be collected later as individuals are processed and
evacuated out of the area, sent to shelters or when they report to community reception
centers. Extensive resources will be required, and federal agencies, specifically CDC and the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), will provide assistance in
establishing, coordinating and maintaining this registry. Emergency responders should be
registered and monitored through a mechanism provided by their respective employers.
State and local authorities must work with Emergency Support Function #6 (Mass Care,
Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services) and the American Red Cross to
establish an evacuee tracking database system. This system will assist in promptly locating
evacuees, patients, fatalities and any other survivors or displaced persons. Extensive
experience from response to hurricanes can be used to meet this need.
Volunteer Radiation Professionals
As stated in the National Response Framework, population decontamination activities are
accomplished locally and are the responsibility of local and State authorities (DHS 2008).
Federal resources to assist with population monitoring and decontamination are limited and
State and local agencies should establish a survivor registry and locator databases as
early as possible. Initially, the most basic and critical information to collect from each
person is his or her name, address, telephone number, and contact information.
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will take some time to arrive. Radiation control staff, employed by local and State
governments, are few in number. However, there are tens of thousands of radiation
protection professionals across the country that can be tapped into and encouraged to
volunteer and register in any one of the Citizen Corps programs in their community
(www.citizencorps.gov). Specifically, the Medical Reserve Corps
(www.medicalreservecorps.gov) offers a mechanism to recruit and train radiation
professionals already in the community who can assist public health and emergency
management agencies in population monitoring or shelter support operations. The
Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESARVHP)
is a program to establish and implement guidelines and standards for the registration,
credentialing, and deployment of medical professionals in the event of a large scale national
emergency. The same infrastructure can be used to recruit and register radiological health
professionals (health physicists, medical physicists, radiation protection technologists,
nuclear medicine technologists, etc.) for response to a potential nuclear emergency. The
ESAR-VHP program is administered under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness &
Response (ASPR) within the Office of Preparedness and Emergency Operations of the
Department of Health and Human Services (www.hhs.gov/aspr/).
Mutual Aid Programs
Many States, especially those with nuclear power plants, have established mutual aid
agreements with their neighboring and other States to provide assistance in case of a
radiation emergency. The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is a
Congressionally ratified organization that provides form and structure to interstate mutual aid
and addresses key issues such as liability and reimbursement (www.emacweb.org). Through
EMAC, a disaster impacted State can request and receive assistance from other member
States quickly and efficiently. EMAC has been used effectively to respond to natural
disasters, but resources specific to nuclear emergency response has not yet been incorporated
into EMAC.
References
Capitol Region Metropolitan Medical Response System. 2003. Rapid Access Mass
Decontamination Protocol for the Capitol Region Metropolitan Medical Response
System. www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/mmrs/mass_decon.pdf.
Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. 2006. Handbook for Responding
to a Radiological Dispersal Device. First Responder’s Guide— the First 12 Hours.
http://www.crcpd.org/RDD_Handbook/RDD-Handbook-ForWeb.pdf.
Planners should identify radiation protection professionals in their community and
encourage them to volunteer and register in any one of the Citizen Corps or similar
programs in their community.
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International Atomic Energy Agency. 2006. Manual for First Responders to a Radiological
Emergency. http://wwwpub.
iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/EPR_FirstResponder_web.pdf.
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. 2005. Key Elements of
Preparing Emergency Responders for Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism,
Commentary No. 19 (Bethesda).
US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Centers for Disease Control
(CDC). 2007. Population Monitoring in Radiation Emergencies: A Guide for State
and Local Public Health Planners.
http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/pdf/population-monitoring-guide.pdf.
US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA). 1995. Contamination Monitoring Standard for a Portal Monitor Used for
Radiological Emergency Response, FEMA-Report-21 (Washington, D.C.).
US DHS. FEMA 2002. Contamination Monitoring Guidance for Portable Instruments
Used for Radiological Emergency Response to Nuclear Power Plant Accidents.
FEMA-REP-22. https://www.rkb.us/contentdetail.cfm?content_id=140772.
US DHS. FEMA. 2008 Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex of the National Response
Framework
www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf_nuclearradiologicalincidentannex.pdf.
US Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Emergency Management. 2000 First
Responders’ Environmental Liability Due to Mass Decontamination Runoff. EPA-
550-F-00-009. www.epa.gov/OEM/docs/chem/onepage.pdf.
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SubPCC Membership – January 2009
Interagency Members Department or Agency
Korey Jackson, Co-
Chair Homeland Security Council, Executive Office of the President
Tammy Taylor, Co-
Chair
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Executive
Office of the President
Armin Ansari Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Radiation Studies
Branch, National Center for Environmental Health
Manuel Aponte Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Homeland Defense & Americas' Security Affairs
Julie Bentz Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Assistant to the
Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters
David Bowman Department Of Energy, National Nuclear Security
Administration, Office of Emergency Response
Norman Coleman
Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Planning and
Emergency Operations, Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Preparedness and Response
Donald Daigler Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Disaster Operations Directorate
Sara DeCair Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Radiation and
Indoor Air, Office of Air and Radiation
John Dixon Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Radiation Studies
Branch, National Center for Environmental Health
Michael Fea Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Larry Flesh Department of Veteran’s Affairs
Chad Hrdina Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Preparedness and Response
John MacKinney
Department of Homeland Security,
Radiological/Nuclear/Chemical Threats and Science and
Technology Policy Development, Policy Directorate
John Mercier Department of Defense, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research
Institute
Patricia Milligan Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Security and
Incident Response
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Rick Poeton Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10
Peter Prassinos National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Safety
and Mission Assurance
Laurel Radow
Department of Transportation, Emergency Transportation
Operations Team, Office of Operations, Federal Highway
Administration
Alan Remick Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration,
Office of Emergency Response
Jean Schumann Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Emergency
Management
Emily Snyder Environmental Protection Agency, National Homeland Security
Research Center
Colby Stanton Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Radiation and
Indoor Air, Office of Air and Radiation
Thomas Strother
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Radiological Emergency Preparedness
Program
Andrew Wallo Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Safety, Quality
Assurance and Environment
Robert Whitcomb Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Radiation Studies
Branch, National Center for Environmental Health
Michael Zanker Department of Homeland Security, Office of Health Affairs
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