U.S. Unprepared for Major Radiation Emergency: Survey

U.S. Unprepared for Major Radiation Emergency: Survey
Lack of comprehensive response plans puts public health at risk in many states, experts say

 

From a March 15 Health Day news article by Robert Preidt

TUESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) — Most U.S. states are poorly prepared to deal with a major nuclear plant crisis such as the one now unfolding in Japan, suggests a survey of state health departments.

The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists said that “38 (76 percent) of state health departments responded to the [2010] survey, including 26 of the 31 states with nuclear power plants.”

The findings were published online March 14 in a special supplemental issue of the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. [ This issue is freely available to all online ]***

Click here for the rest of the Health Day news article

A few of the surveys findings

• Thirty-eight (76%) state health departments responded to the survey, including 26 of the 31 states with nuclear power plants.
• Specific strengths noted at the state level included that the majority of states had a written radiation response plan and most plans include a detailed section for communicationsissues during a radiation emergency.
• In addition, more than half of the states indicated that their relationship with federal partners is sufficient to provide resources for radiation emergencies, indicating the importance states placed on federal resources and expertise.
• Specific weaknesses are discussed and include that most states had completed little to no planning for public health surveillance to assess potential human health impacts of a radiation event; less than half had written plans to address exposure assessment, environmental sampling, human specimen collection and analysis, and human health assessment.
• Few reported having sufficient resources to do public health surveillance, radiation exposure assessment, laboratory functions and other capabilities.

 

*** Other articles in this special supplemental issue include

• [Editorial]Italo Subbarao and James J. James

Nuclear Preparedness
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 2011 v. 5, p. S8-S10. [Full Text] [PDF]

• [Review Article]  Andrea L. DiCarlo, Carmen Maher, John L. Hick, Dan Hanfling, Nicholas Dainiak, Nelson Chao, Judith L. Bader, C. Norman Coleman, and David M. Weinstock

Radiation Injury After a Nuclear Detonation: Medical Consequences and the Need for Scarce Resources Allocation
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 2011 v. 5, p. S32-S44. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
• Andrea L. DiCarlo, Carmen Maher, John L. Hick, Dan Hanfling, Nicholas Dainiak, Nelson Chao, Judith L. Bader, C. Norman Coleman, and David M. Weinstock
  Radiation Injury After a Nuclear Detonation: Medical Consequences and the Need for Scarce Resources Allocation
  Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 2011 v. 5, p. S32-S44. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

• Evan B. Douple, Kiyohiko Mabuchi, Harry M. Cullings, Dale L. Preston, Kazunori Kodama, Yukiko Shimizu, Saeko Fujiwara, and Roy E. Shore

Long-term Radiation-Related Health Effects in a Unique Human Population: Lessons Learned from the Atomic Bomb Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 2011 v. 5, p. S122-S133. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

• Daniel Dodgen, Ann E. Norwood, Steven M. Becker, Jon T. Perez, and Cynthia K. Hansen

  Social, Psychological, and Behavioral Responses to a Nuclear Detonation in a US City: Implications for Health Care Planning and Delivery
  Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 2011 v. 5, p. S54-S64. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]