The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released
the newly developed Radiation Hazard Scale to help public health
officials communicate with the public in a radiation emergency.
Designed to be simple to understand, the tool’s scale is intended
to communicate relative hazards to people under emergency
conditions when exact radiation exposure parameters are not
available. During the emergency, environmental scientists and
radiation safety experts will evaluate the data and, in
conjunction with emergency management authorities and public
health officials, assign radiation hazard categories. More
information is available on the CDC
website.
HHS has launched a redesigned online radiation treatment
resource. The first major redesign of the Radiation Emergency
Medical Management (REMM) website since it launched in 2007 is
available at http://www.remm.nlm.gov/.
Through the management of the Radiation Emergency Assistance
Center/Training Site (REAC/TS), the Oak Ridge Institute for
Science and Education (ORISE) positions the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) as an international leader in emergency medical
response to radiation incidents.
The REAC/TS course brochure for FY2017 (October 2016 – September
2017) has been posted to the ORISE Website and
on-line registration is now available. These courses are held at
the REAC/TS Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
REAC/TS is also available to conduct one or two day training
programs at your location. Please e-mail
(reacts@orau.org) or
call (865.576.3131) for additional information.
Emergency services physicians and nurses will be among the first
clinicians to see and treat victims of radiation emergencies.
Clinicians of all specialties will be responsible for providing
care and information to:
Patients admitted to the hospital
Patients presenting for follow-up care
Concerned individuals
Others with questions about health effects related to the
emergency
CDC has developed “Radiological Terrorism: A Tool Kit for
Emergency Services” through audience research, significant gaps
in knowledge and skills among clinicians regarding their ability
to respond to a radiological emergency, particularly one related
to terrorism and involving mass casualties. This is a critical
need since clinicians in hospital emergency departments would
serve as the first receivers of casualties, and other clinicians
would present to the emergency department in order to assist.
There are numerous issues related to disaster and mass casualty
management that are unique to dealing with radiation exposure and
contamination, and CDC understands the need to provide education
and information to help clinicians better manage such an event.
The tool kit includes several items that may be useful for
emergency services clinicians.
This fact sheet was developed by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) and provides basic information about
Radiation and Potassium Iodide (KI).
