[ RadSafe ] Hospital emergency response and RDD waste management

[Jose Julio Rozental]

About Response to emergency today there are two possibilities
a) Non Malevolent intent, as error, mishap, fire, damage, etc - You can
project and planning the response, you know about sources, scenarios,
sources activities, every detail that responders must put into action.

b) Malevolent intent, as RDD - In this case it is very complex to prepare
the scenario.
We, in Goiania, have to be face with many situations that we never found
before in any literature about Emergency Planning and Preparedness, and you
have to deal with.

For this reason the last US Secretary of Energy S. Abraham,  (bellow
reference), said:

"We know from experience with accidental releases of radiological sources
that they can cause widespread panic, economic hardship and significant
health concerns. Remember Brazil, in 1987. Urban scavengers found a medical
teletherapy machine left in an abandoned building. They removed the
radioactive source from its shielding, ruptured it and distributed the
beautiful blue, glowing powder they found inside to their friends, neighbors
and relatives. The powder was 137Cs. Four people died. More than 110 000
people were monitored for radiation exposure at the city's sports stadium.
Scores of buildings were evacuated and some were even demolished. Cleanup
costs were enormous. The incident generated about 3500 cubic meters of
radioactive waste. Actual fatalities were relatively light in the Brazil
incident, but panic was widespread. I can only imagine how much worse the
situation would have been had terrorists dispersed the toxic material rather
than innocent, uninformed people."
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1165_web.pdf
"International Conference on Promoting the Security of Radiological
Materials" To Expand World Framework For Tackling the Problems Posed by
"Dirty Bombs 2003, VIENNA,10-13 MARCH 2003
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONFERENCE, page 9
THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF ENERGY S. Abraham

At the moment I am writing a paper "Radiological Accident in Goiania x RDD,
similarities and differences" to be presented in any future conference on
Security and one of the topic refers to waste that we have to manage,
including in the middle of the street, one case in Goiania, about 50m. from
a Super Market. Can one imagines this situation? -- To those that want to
look this picture send me an e-mail. Let's try to understand better taking a
look in the Radiological Accident in Goiania, IAEA publication, 1988 or in
HP Special Issue, Volume 60, Number 1, January 1991 - Look my paper "The
Radiological Accident in Goiania: The initial remedial actions"

Jose Julio Rozental
joseroze at netvision.net.il
Israel