RE: New Jersey school incident

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>]

Rick Edwards stated the following:

> 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.

I agree with Rick's assertion. However, let me also point out that 
the PIOs are knowedgeable regarding radiation risks as to how much 
training they have had, and by whom. My experiences with the PIOs in 
Florida are that they are well trained in the basic hazards that 
affect the public, but are weak in radiation risks associated with 
either power reactors or other nuclear releases. One of my 
accountabilies while at FPL was "technical expert" and worked with 
the federal, state and local agencies during press briefings, be it 
emergency exercises or actual incidents. This was part of the 
Emergency Response Organization. Again, the PIOs were good at 
relaying information to the public, but their expertise in radiation 
related matters was very lacking. They relied heavily on the utility, 
in the case of an incident there, real or practice. I would bet that 
most states are in the same predicament. Hurricanes, chemical spills, 
tornados .. they are terrific, but a release of radiation, gaseous or 
otherwise, I wouldn't count on them to mollify the public.

------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
mailto:sandyfl@ix.netcom.com
mailto:sperle@icnpharm.com

Personal Homepages:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1205 (primary)
http://www.netcom.com/~sandyfl/home.html (secondary)

"The object of opening the mind as of opening 
the mouth is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -