Public Response to a Dirty Bomb Attack while at Work

1. Public Response to a Dirty Bomb Attack while at Work The 2011 National Capital Region Behavioral Survey Association of Legal Administrators Capital Chapter June 6, 2012

2. Why a Behavioral Study? • Much of emergency planning is based upon having an understanding of what people are likely to do in response to an emergency, which impacts such things as traffic and transportation and the need for mass care, sheltering and the distribution of commodities and resources, and the priorities for re-establishing services and infrastructure. Behavioral studies are particularly important in any emergency event in which evacuation is or may become a significant factor.

3. About the 2011 NCR Behavioral Study • Sponsored by the All Hazards Consortium, which includes DC, Maryland and Virginia • Research conducted by the Center for Survey Research at the University of Virginia • Objective of the Study: To determine what employees likely to do in response to the detonation of a radiological dispersion device(s) (dirty bomb) while they were at work. • Follow up to Previous Study in 2009

4. Purpose of the Study • To guide policy and planning to encourage more workers to stay at work in such an emergency • Keeping workers at their jobs serves several purposes simultaneously: • protects those in the path of the bomb’s radiation from exposure • Prevents them from carrying radioactive particles to other parts of the region • Allows for orderly response and decontamination operations • Helps continuity of critical services • Reduces the severity and extent of traffic gridlock that might otherwise occur

5. Study Approach • Telephone Survey, Random Universe • Different scenarios presented to respondents • 1 Bomb Exploded Far from your location (ie, Rockville vsDC vs Alexandria • 1 Bomb Exploded 1 mile from your workplace • 1 Bomb Exploded far from your location, but 1 mile from the workplace/location of a loved one • Multiple Bombs exploded, one is 1 mile from you and one is 1 mile from workplace/location of a loved one • Assume everyone w/i one-mile instructed by authorities to remain where they were for up to 24 hours 5 | ALA June 6 2012

6. Study Approach, continued • Respondents asked series of questions, eg • For each scenario, would you leave or stay (and for how long up to 24 hours) • If leaving, what is the primary reason and where would you go • Would you make stops along the way • If you knew your building/employer had plans to take care of you, or your loved ones employer/school, etc had plans to take care of them, would it make any difference in your decision to stay or leave • What other reasons would encourage you to stay or go 6 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

7. Study Approach • Respondents asked the same set of questions again, this time assuming that all means of communication are NOT available, including: • Landline phones • Mobile phones • Text messaging • Internet (including computer and smart phones) 7 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

8. General Findings • The study confirmed in general that if an RDD were to explode in the region during the workday, large numbers of workers would choose to leave work immediately in hopes of heading home, meeting with loved ones or evacuating to destinations they believed to be safe • This was not the result necessarily hoped for 8 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

9. Role of Workplace Preparedness • If phone service remains functional following an emergency, workers more likely to shelter in place • Workers who believed their workplace “definitely” has emergency plan are twice as likely to shelter in place as those whose workers are less certain • Employment in a job necessary to the functioning of one’s workplace has no effect on evacuation behavior • Those who thought of an adult as their “loved one” were less likely to leave immediately than those who thought of a child as their loved one • Parents who were confident their child’s school could provide care much more likely to shelter in place 9 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

10. Perception of workplace Preparedness • About half of respondents believe their workplace “definitely” has an emergency plan and 70% think there is “probably” a plan to accomodate shelter in place • Two-thirds of respondents are very confident they could shelter at their workplace • Those who work for government more confident their workplace has an emergency plan and they can shelter at work • Respondents who work in high-rise buildings more confident their workplace has an emergency plan than those in smaller buildings 10 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

11. Perception of workplace preparedness • Confidence in the existence of a workplace emergency plan is roughly correlated with the workplace’s proximity to the District of Columbia 11 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

12. Role of School Preparedness • Parents most often receive information regarding emergencies at their children’s school via telephone • 80% of parents report that their child’s school definitely or probably has an emergency plan • Vast majority of parents confident their child’s school could take care of their children for 24 hours or longer • Main concern of parents is their child becoming afraid, or that school would lack necessary resources 12 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

13. Means of Communication • Normally most popular means are cell phone and e-mail • In emergency, 75% of respondents would use cell phone to contact loved ones • If preferred mode not available, back up is landlines and e-mail • Most people not aware that text messaging may work even if mobile phone does not ALA June 6, 2012

14. The Decision to stay or leave work • If official announcements from government authorities discourage workers from leaving their offices (ie, shelter in place for some period of time) 80% of people said they would comply, however: • Workers are more likely to leave immediately if: • The phones and internet stop working • They don’t think their workplace has an emergency plan in place • Their workplace does not have a critical function in an emergency, and • They have a child in school 14 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

15. The decision to stay or leave, continued • Parents with children in school are more likely to leave immediately if; • The child is pre-school or elementary age • They are not sure about the school’s emergency plan • They are not very confident that the school can care for the child • They think the school’s primary goal should be reuniting the child with parents (as opposed to caring for them) 15 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

16. “Takeaways” to think about • In this type of emergency situation, were you aware that the official policy of government agencies will be to encourage people to shelter in place for as long as 24 hours? (This policy may also be applicable to other disaster situations) • Does your emergency plan or that of your landlord contemplate the “shelter-in Place” option in addition to continuity of operations? • The two primary indicators of whether employees would need to leave the workplace in the event of an emergency, regardless of what instructions are give, are whether communications are lost and or they have a child in school 16 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

17. “Takeaways” continued • Do your employees who are parents understand the nature and limitations of the emergency plans of the schools their children attend, especially whether they see their role as reuniting children with parents or caring for children until parents arrive, up to 24 hours? 17 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011

18. Thank You • For more information, or a copy of the complete study, contact: Laurence W. Zensinger, Vice-President, Dewberry Phone: 703-849-0139 e-mail: lzensinger@dewberry.com 18 | Powerpoint title goes here December 20, 2011