Introduction to the Los Angeles County Multi-Agency Radiological Response Plan

1. Introduction to the Los Angeles CountyMulti-Agency Radiological Response Plan National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference April 23, 2009

2. Topics • Who?, What?, When?, Why? • Planning Process • Objectives • MARRP Overview

3. 30 local, State, and federal agencies and organizations LACo DPH, LACO Fire & Health HazMat, LACo Coroner, LACo DPSS, LACo Sheriffs, LA City Fire & PD, LA Airport, LA Port, Long Beach Fire, Police & Port, CA DPH, CA OES, CHP, USEPA & DOE, FEMA, CST, FBI, USCG, Red Cross 100 technical representatives experienced in emergency operations MARRP has list of agencies and primary contacts Who?

4. What? • Coordination plan for a significantradiological (not nuclear) incident • Coordination of response actions between local, State, and federal agencies • Does not replace, but supplements, existing plans! • Provides guidance to responders and decision makers during an incident

5. When? • Planning process started December 2007 • Draft Final Plan completed September 2008 • Final Plan completed February 2009

6. Why? • Every agency and organization has their own radiation response plan (fully or not fully developed) • Reduce responder confusion • Avoid duplication of response efforts • Eliminate gaps in response efforts

7. Planning Process • Three planning committee meetings • Purpose, Objectives, Concept of Operations • Scope of Radiological Incidents • Role and Responsibilities • RDD Table-Top Exercise • Review of proposed Draft Plan • Focused Meetings • LACo Fire Department, Health HazMat • Red Cross & Department of Public Social Services • Final Draft Plan review meeting

8. Guidance Plan • MARRP is not the law or regulation • MARRP is not a mandatory plan for responding agencies/organizations • MARRP is guidance with specific and detailed recommendations

9. Summary • Intentional or accidental, significant radiological incident • Radiological Material Release (RMR) • Radiological Exposure Device (RED) • Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) • Coordination plan with detailed response action guidance and procedures • Uniformity of decision points and contamination release levels • Critical decisions • Dynamic document that will change as necessary

10. Significant Incident • Non-routine or unusual occurrence or catastrophic event • Standard resources are insufficient to respond adequately • Rule of thumb - incident is significant when multiple agencies are required to mitigate the situation (i.e., multiple local agencies or a mixture of local and State and/or federal agencies) You’ll know it when you see it!

11. What is Not Addressed • Preparedness • Prevention • Recovery • Non-radiological incidents (e.g. chemical) and non-radiological hazards (e.g. fire) • Nuclear incident

12. Objectives of the MARRP • Describes predefined roles and responsibilities between local, State and federal responding agencies and organizations • Comprehensive plan to cover all critical radiological aspects of a response in a “handbook” format (easy to use during an actual incident) • Flexible approach for all types of radiological emergencies • Provides specific action based guidance • Standard Operating Guidance • Instructions • Forms

13. Goals of the MARRP • Save lives and reduce risk to public • Reduce responder confusion • Avoid/reduce duplication and gaps in response efforts • Coordinate response actions

14. Critical Decisions • Decisions are highly dependant on potential or actual dose to: • Responders • Victims • Public • Decisions need to be informed based on advanced knowledge of radiation protection • Decisions need to be made quickly

15. Critical Decisions & Actions Public evacuation and/or shelter-in-place Integration of local, State, and federal agencies and organizations into Incident Command/Unified Command On-scene mass decontamination or self-decontamination at home Establishing and maintaining public reception centers

16. MARRP Overview The Palladino Company Slide 16

17. MARRP Outline • Volume I: Responder Field Manual • Stand alone manual • Designed for responder use during an incident • Provides practical guidance to perform specific tasks • Provides guidance on responder decision points • Provides guidance on contamination release levels for responder/equipment and public/property • Volume II: Extended Plan • Designed based on an Emergency Operations Plan • Provides additional details not found in Volume I

18. Key Features • Detailed guidance and procedures to responders for numerous tasks in 13 Playbooks • Information boxes highlight important guidance and facts • Compliant with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Do NOT delay medical treatment for victims with life- or limb-threatening injuries to conduct decontamination!

19. Volume I: Responder Field Manual Information Cards Summary Tables Position Job Aids Activity Playbooks Standard Operating Guides Instructions Forms Tables

20. Information Card: First 30 Minutes of a Radiological Response • Rescue victims without exceeding radiation decision points • Do not delay medical treatment of victims with life-threatening injuries to perform decontamination • Wear a dosimeter if available (not required) • Contamination is a secondary concern to critical operations (lifesaving and protection of critical infrastructure)

21. Information Card: Radiological Response Rules of Thumb • Follow radiation protection principles; i.e., Time, Distance, and Shielding. • After an explosion, most airborne radioactive dust will settle to the ground within about 10 to 20 minutes. • If a radiation instrument is not available, evacuate to 1,650 feet (500 meters) from the detonation or release site in all directions. • Removing outer clothing may eliminate up to 90% of contamination.

22. Information Card: Radiological Instrument Summary • Detector: Pancake Geiger-Mueller • Detects: Alpha, Beta, Gamma • Typical Uses: Contamination surveys • Cautions: Not very sensitive to gamma radiation. Detector window has a thin mylar cover that holds a gas inside the detector, if punctured the reading will drop to zero and the detector will not function; it cannot be repaired in the field.

23. Table 1: Agencies Responsible for Playbooks (partial) NL: Not Listed

24. Table 2: Playbook Applicable for Radiological Incidents (partial) RMR: Radiological Materials Release RED: Radiological Exposure Device RDD: Radiological Dispersal Device

25. Position Job Aids • One page memory aid on radiation issues • Incident Commander • Operations Section Chief • Planning Section Chief • Public Information Officer • Safety Officer • Liaison Officer • Decontamination Team Leader

26. Playbooks • 13 playbooks for major radiological related activities • Designed as stand alone documents • Content • Activity • Resources • What to do • Considerations • Tables • Standard Operating Guides • Instructions • Forms

27. 13 Playbooks • Exclusion zone operations • Initial incident control zones • Monitor responders and equipment for contamination • Monitor injured victims for contamination • Monitor uninjured victims for contamination • Conduct advanced radiation measurements • Determine presence or absence of alpha radiation

28. 13 Playbooks • Conduct crime scene investigations in the Exclusion Zone and Extreme Caution Areas • Monitor people for contamination at public reception centers • Monitor public property for contamination • Determine need for and recommend protective actions for the public, including advice for evacuation and shelter-in-place • Control traffic in contaminated areas, create responder access corridors, and establish evacuation routes • Conduct critical hospital-based operations

29. Standard Operating Guides Procedure for Performing a Radiation Contamination Survey How to Distinguish Between Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Radiation Using a Pancake Geiger-Mueller Survey Meter

30. Instructions • Public Waiting for Decontamination • Instructions to Public on How to Perform Decontamination at Home • Instructions to Public on How to Perform Decontamination of Pets

31. Form 1: Contamination Survey

32. Form 2: Public Property Contamination Survey

33. Form 3: Responder Dose Log

34. Table 3: Radiation Incident Zones and Activities

35. Table 4: Decision Points • Decision points for dose to responders

36. Table 6: Responder Alarm Levels Suggested alarm levels for instruments or personal dosimeters It will be less confusing if everyone has the same alarm set points

37. Table 10: Responder Contamination Release Levels

38. Volume II: Extended Plan • Section 1: Introduction • Section 2: Basic Plan • Section 3: Response Planning Guides (Extended Playbooks) • Section 4: References • Attachments

39. Next Steps • RDD Table Top Exercise on Feb 25, 2009 • Functional Exercise (date undetermined) • Full Scale Exercise (date undetermined) • Review and adoption of MARRP by participating agencies and organizations

40. Contact Information Carl Palladino The Palladino Company, Inc. 720 Fillmore Street San Francisco, CA 94117 Phone: (415) 861-1945 Fax: (415) 869-6625 Mobile: (415) 336-1556 Email: cpalladino@palladinocompany.com

41. Contact Information Jeff Day Los Angeles County Radiation Management 3530 Wilshire Blvd, 9th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90010 Phone: (213) 351-7393 Fax: (213) 351-2718 Mobile: (323) 384-8957 Email: jsday@ph.lacounty.gov

42. Questions? The Palladino Company Slide 42