RE: New Jersey school incident

["Edwards, Richard W" <Richard.Edwards@PSS.Boeing.com>]

I have been intimately involved in integrating radiation emergency and
haz-mat emergency response and in the training of haz-mat emergency
responders for several years. What Zack Clayton says is true. Haz-mat
teams are trained to assume the worst until proven otherwise. They're
training also emphasizes chemical hazards, even though they are usually
expected to deal with the infrequent cases of etiological and
radiological agents run amok.

I suggest the most practical solution to the problem of an inappropriate
response in radiological "emergencies" is to volunteer your services
under your localities VOAD (Volunteers Offering Assistance in a
Disaster?) or "Good Samaritan" programs and to do so in advance. Every
haz-mat team I have ever worked with welcomes specialists if they are
willing to function with the team's command structure.

If there was someone at fault (and from the perspective of the haz-mat
team, I'm not sure there was), it was the team's Public Information
Officer. Perhaps someone should point out to the PIO the kind of damage
a news release of this nature could cause.

Rick Edwards, Analyst

The Boeing Company, Radiation Protection Technical Services Group
(425) 393-8250
>