Dirty Bomb Rescue Worker

[rob.w.powell@exxonmobil.com]

During the last 2 years of discussions about dirty bomb response, did

anyone see/develop a maximum exposure limit for a rescue worker?  For

instance, a bomber explodes the bomb but the gamma source just becomes

unshielded, it doesn't disperse to any extent.  An injured, immobile,

bleeding employee is in the 'hot zone' near the source, and a rescue worker

arrives with a Geiger counter.  As he/she approaches the employee while

reading the Geiger counter, at what reading (exposure rate) should the

rescue worker stop after determining that his/her risk of death during the

rescue is as great as that of the bleeding employee's death?  We've been

assuming that the rescue worker takes 15 minutes to remove the employee

from the hot zone (< 2 mR/hr).  This all may seem too dispassionate, but we

have guidance about rescuing employees who have been electrically shocked,

been overcome with gases, etc.







-Rob Powell

ExxonMobil

Safety, Health, & Environment





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