Re: Realistic training (info)

[CHARLES BLUE <BLUE.CHARLES@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV>]

Excellent point and a major reason that EPA wishes to discuss these types of accidents and the lessons learned from the consequences to develop an overall picture of the post-emergency issues involved from a major release of radioactive material that directly impacts the public health and the environment.  Such issues includes:

‘	Post-Emergency Management
‘	Regulatory Issues
‘	Agriculture and Land Use Issues
‘	Clean-up Levels
‘	Protective Action Guidance
‘	Political, Social, Psychological and Economic Impacts on Affected Communities
‘	Financial Resources and Funding Mechanisms;
‘	Public Outreach Issues
‘	Technical Issues
‘	Post-Emergency Responses to Actual Events/Exercises/Lessons Learned
‘	Public Health Issues

The United States has a lot of policy, procedures, and plans in place to respond to major accidents/incidents, but we don't have the experience of dealing with these issues like our overseas counterparts unfortunately have.  Just review the plans (Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan, Federal Response Plan, Stafford Act, Price-Anderson Act, National Contingency Plan) and you will see for yourself the depth of detail the US plans and policy goes into to address disaster emergency issues.  They just have not been applied to a real major radiological release, therefore; the US does not have the experience in dealing with the issues involved with a major release of radioactive material.  The only event that comes close is TMI.  TMI did not involve a "real" release of radioactive material, but look at the impact it had on the Nation.  So, EPA is sponsoring an International Radiological Post-Emergency Issues Conference on September 9 - 11, 1998 in Washington, D.C. to generate discussion on this topic.  Registration is free and it is open to the general public.  For more information, please review our web site at www.epa.gov/radiation/rert/confpage.html.

Charles Blue
Health Physicist/Co-Chair
blue.charles@epamail.epa.gov

the opinions expressed above are my own and not that of EPA or anyone else.


>>> "J. J. Rozental" <josrozen@netmedia.net.il> 03/10/98 02:10pm >>>
At 12:23 PM 3/9/98 -0600, you wrote:
>In my Emergency Preparedness inspections (back in the good old days) , I
recall >some licensees using coleman lantern mantles placed on simulated
patients to add >realism and test capabilities for surveys.  I think you can
still purchase >latern mantles that contain thorium.  I also recall some
facilities that >contracted with a hospital to provide
>99mto04 which is a routinely used short-lived radionuclide.  The technetium was
>diluted and used to simulate area contamination.

>The ususal disclaimers.  KMP@NRC.COM  
>
>

Dear Mr Prendergast and Radsafers, 

       When I sent my message emphasizing that the  training needs to have a
more realistic scenario, I was not considering only the lessons learned as
cause and consequences of the TMI accident, but also and more to the causes
and consequences of the two most serious  nuclear and radiological accidents
to have occurred  to date,  April 86 and September 87. The Chernobyl and
Goiania accidents have resulted in the reexamination of many emergencies
planning principles and practices. The training should not to be addressed
to simulate only a contaminated area, but the capacity to involve all
integrated planning conception that must be activated  in  the
Infrastructure and Functional elements of the Plan. Who among us, have been
trained before in the following legacies of both accidents:
The Legacy of Chernobyl: transboundary consequences; sarcophagus; conflict
of information; contradictory value of release; contradictory value of
consequences; high migration and contamination of soil and structures;
accident not previously predicted in any scenario; fire fighting not well
prepared; psychological impact; human impact.
The Legacy of Goiania: Singular accident that happened in the Center of a
City of more than one million inhabitant;  migration and contamination of
soil; 3,500 cubic meter of Waste, now in a Repository 20 Km from Goiania;
accident not previously predicted in any scenario; total ignorance on the
fundamental of radioactivity by the population; psychological impact, human
impact; 

Many common legacies, including the media misinform and lack of Safety Culture.

I do believe that in your Emergency Preparedness inspections (back in the
good old days), as you mentioned, training for Mitigation, Communication and
Psychological Impact was not  so complex.

J. J. Rozental <josrozen@netmedia.net.il>
Israel