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Follow on Google News | Radiation Safety Expert Launches Web Site For Emergency Responders Citing Preparedness Risks.The potential for radiological emergencies has increased exponentially in recent years with experts calling a dirty bomb attack inevitable. The site includes news, training, product reviews, and other resources for responders to such a catastrophe.
By: John Darrin The potential for radiological emergencies has increased exponentially in recent years. While the safety record of nuclear power plants following the Three Mile Island partial core melt-down in 1979 has been exemplary, there is a new focus on terrorist , with many experts calling a dirty bomb attack inevitable. Following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers in 2001, the Department of Homeland Security released the 15 National Planning Scenarios as part of its National Preparedness Guidelines (http://www.dhs.gov/ “There are many resources for the professional responders, the firefighters and the HazMat teams,” Darrin said, “but there is a whole category of responders, numerically it’s most of the responders, who will be pulled from their regular jobs and thrust into a potentially hazardous work environment with minimal or no training and few resources. These are the people most at risk.” Darrin maintains that the professional responders are generally trained and equipped to handle the initial response to any event, to go in and stop the bleeding, so to speak. But the next wave, the bus drivers evacuating injured and the refugees, the heavy equipment operators moving rubble, the utility workers restoring basic services, all of these people have little knowledge of even basic radiation safety techniques. The problem is, as always, limited resources. Even with DHS grants and nuclear plant fees, the states and local governments never have enough funding to do the whole job. “When it comes time to spend those precious grant dollars, what are you going to buy? Turn-out gear for the firemen who are out there every day, putting their lives on the line, or personal protective devices for bus drivers to use in the remote possibility of a radiological emergency someday? Devices that will most likely sit on a shelf for years, unused. You’ll take care of your firemen, of course.” While Federal, state, and local authorities and non-governmental groups such as the Nuclear Energy Institute (www.nei.org) The web site includes simple guides to radiation safety customized for the specific type of responder, the situations they are likely to encounter, and the tasks they’ll be called upon to perform. These can be downloaded, printed, and distributed free. There are also links to other sources of information and training, many of these free as well. Site content will be provided by the emergency responders and other radiation safety professionals. “This is not my rant,” Darrin says. “It’s too important for that. Let these men and women speak for themselves. I’m just giving them a place to voice their opinions, to express their concerns, to educate themselves, and to share their knowledge with their fellow responders.” Contributors include well-known radiological emergency response experts such as long-time radiological preparedness manager Martin Vonk, safety specialists from transportation worker and operating engineer unions, and hospitals and other employers of these potential responders. The site will be open to all related contributors and all appropriate content, and Darrin encourages users to voice their opinion and share their knowledge and experience. John Darrin has worked in the nuclear industry for 36 years, initially as a radiation health and safety technician, and most recently as a consultant for companies focused on nuclear and radiological disasters and homeland security. He worked on such unique projects as the first commercial decommissioning of a radiological research laboratory, the decommissioning of several nuclear reactors, the recovery after the Three Mile Island accident, and even on the treatment of nuclear weapons waste in China. Darrin and other contributors are attending the National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference (www.nationalrep.org) End
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