EPA's Radiological and Nuclear Emergency Response Program

1. EPA's Radiological and Nuclear Emergency Response Program June 18, 2009Presented by:Ronald Fraass, Lab DirectorNational Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory

2. EPA’s Role in Terrorist Incidents • Pre-release • Support the DHS and the FBI in threat credibility assessment • Can pre-deploy at Nationally Significant Special Events (NSSEs) or on Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST) • Incident-specific • Post-release • Forensic assets assist in evidence collection • Emergency response assets respond to consequences of incident at the tactical level • Clean-up efforts

3. Consequences Response Role • Provide overall response coordination (NRF/ESF#10) – emergency response management/support to federal, state, tribal, and local governments • Perform and coordinate radiological monitoring and assessment • Develop Protective Action Guides (PAGs) • Provide “Special Teams” emergency response radiological expertise and support under the NCP and also as NIRT members if requested by FEMA • Serve as Coordinating Agency under the NRF’s Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex in some circumstances:

4. US EPA’s SPECIAL TEAMSWorking Together to Support National Emergency Response

5. EPA Response Assets ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ● ■ ■ ■ ● ● ■ ■ * ● ■ ■ ■ ■ * ■ ■ ■ ■ ● ■ ■ ■ ● ■ ■ ■ ● ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ - OSC Locations ■ - National Labs & Centers ● - RERT Locations ● - ERT Locations ●- NDT Location *- NCERT

6. Radiological Emergency Response Team (RERT)Established in 1971 • Mission - leads or assists federal, state, tribal, and local response efforts before, during, and following a radiological incident • Focus: Radiation monitoring & evaluation • Sampling / monitoring • Lab analysis • Hazard evaluation • Characterization • Clean-up decontamination • Risk Assessment • Waste disposal

7. Environmental Response Team (ERT)Established in 1978 • Mission: Support the nation’s response, cleanup and renewal of its contaminated land, water and air. • Focus: “classic environmental” emergencies and more… • Characterization • Sampling / monitoring • Hazard evaluation • Risk Assessment • Health & Safety • Decon / disposal

8. National Decontamination Team (NDT) Established 2003 Mission – to provide on-site scientific and technical expertise in response to incidences of national significance involving environmental contamination and acts of terrorism related to weapons of mass destruction. Focus: WMD agents • Sampling • Health and Safety • Decontamination • Waste Disposal • Nature and extent of contamination Buildings, infrastructure, indoor environments, agriculture, environmental media

9. AMERITHRAX DC National Counterterrorism Evidence Response Team (NCERT)Established in 2001 MISSION – To provide specialized law enforcement management of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents Focus : provide special agents for crime scene forensics and evidence collection in contaminated zones RNC 2004 NYC RICIN INCIDENT DC

10. Special Team Assets • PERSONNEL • Environmental Scientists • Health Physicists • Medical Officers • Geologists • Industrial Hygienists • Toxicologists • Chemists • Biologists • Engineers (Chem, Env, Civ, Nuc) • Env Protection Specialists • Special Agents – Law Enforcement

11. Special Team Assets • Mobile Labs – MERLS, TAGA, Phyllis, ASPECT, field lab systems • Scanner Van/ERGS/Robots • Real time Air Monitoring • Mobile Command Posts/platforms • Sampling and Monitoring equipment for rad/chem/bio • Forensic sampling • RadNet – Fixed & deployable monitors • Fixed Labs: Radiological and Mixed Waste

12. National Radiation Monitoring • EPA has upgraded its national radiation air monitoring • because air is a likely pathway of exposure from a terrorist incident • Previously known as the Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System (ERAMS) • Nationwide, continuously operating environmental radiation monitoring system • Upgraded air monitoring to include both fixed and deployable components • Air monitoring provides near real-time gamma spectroscopy & beta detection • Milk, precipitation, and drinking water also routinely monitored • Helps decision-makers estimate the effects of national scale radioactive releases on human health and the environment • Developed system to meet data quality objectives based on response timeline

13. Fixed Monitor Systems • Major Components • Air Sampler • Radiation Instruments : Gamma Spectroscopy & Beta Detectors transmit data in near-real time • Data Processing & Storing • Data Telemetry—4 options

14. RadNet Fixed Air Monitors

15. Deployable Monitors • 40 deployable air monitors improve system coverage around an incident or potential threat • Automatically transmit near-real-time external exposure rate • Provide more flexible monitoring capability • Include high and low volume air samplers and simplified weather station

16. Radiological Incident Response Challenges • Maintaining radiation emergency response, clean-up capabilities, and preparedness • Application of DHS guidance for establishing cleanup levels • Practical planning and exercises to make this approach viable and acceptable to affected state and local officials • Expanding national laboratory operating capacity for radionuclides • Processing and integrating massive incident data • Ensuring that appropriate research is being conducted to help support our radiological clean-up mission • Transferring decontamination & clean-up technologies to urban environments • Integrating limited technical specialists into national response