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Community preparedness for radiation emergencies: How can the MRCs help?

Community preparedness for radiation emergencies: How can the MRCs help?. Medical Reserve Corp. Issue. In the event of a radiation emergency that impacts a large population , we face serious challenges in meeting the radiological health needs of every affected community.

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Community preparedness for radiation emergencies: How can the MRCs help?

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  1. Community preparedness for radiation emergencies: How can the MRCs help? Medical Reserve Corp

  2. Issue In the event of a radiation emergency that impacts a large population, we face serious challenges in meeting the radiological health needs of every affected community.

  3. Assessment of Health and Medical Care Delivery Rapid Assessment of Community Health/Medical Needs Delivery of Health and Medical Care Pharmaceutical Supply Potable Water, Safe Food, and Sanitation and Hygiene Injury and illness Surveillance Vector Control Solid Waste Hazardous Materials Registry Mental Health Sheltering and Housing Mass Congregation Handling of the Deceased (humans and animals) Staffing Rumor Control Public Service Announcements/Media Public Health Issues After Any Disaster

  4. Public Health Physics In a radiation emergency: Your state radiation control program is a key partner!

  5. Need for Radiation Professionalsin a large scale radiation emergency • Monitoring environment and workplace • Monitoring people • Supporting operations at: • Hospitals • Public and special needs shelters • Emergency operations centers • Community reception centers • Etc. • Communications

  6. Where Does Radiation Expertise Come From? • State? • Federal? • Mutual Aid? • Your local community

  7. “Planners should identify radiation protection professionals in their community and encourage them to volunteer and register in any one of the Citizen Corps or similar programs in their community.”

  8. State Volunteer Registry Radiation Control State boundary MRC Jurisdiction Radiation Volunteers General/Public Health/Medical Volunteers MRC 2 MRC 3 MRC 4 MRC 1

  9. Community Preparedness for Radiation Emergencies: How Can the Medical Reserve Corps Help? Elizabeth Fitch, MPA National Technical Assistance Coordinator Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps

  10. Mission: Engage volunteers to strengthen public health, emergency response and community resiliency • Key Points: • Organize/utilize locally • Affiliate/integrate with existing programs and resources • Volunteer management - identify, screen/verify credentials, train

  11. MRC Emergency Preparedness and Response Activities

  12. Additional Activities Disaster Behavioral Health First Aid/Comfort Stations First Responder Rehabilitation Mass Fatality Radiation Response Many others, based on local needs and resources

  13. Volunteer Types

  14. Public Health MRC Activities Upper Merrimack Valley (MA) MRC Blood pressure screening Sedgwick County (KS) MRC Health Screening and Education Emergency Preparedness and Response Omaha (NE) MRC Evacuee Shelter Bergen County (NJ) MRC Dispensing Clinic

  15. Why Incorporate MRC? • Identified, Organized • Credentialed, Often Incorporated into State ESAR-VHP Databases • Trained • Partnering with others, such as CERT • Familiar with large-scale activities

  16. MRC’s and Radiation Response • Florida’s RRVC • MRC GEM (GA) • Albany County MRC and Rensselaer County MRC (NY) – Empire ’09 Exercise • Central Texas MRC • Onslow County MRC (NC) • Southern Nevada MRC (NV) – NLE 2010

  17. Making the Connection • Educating MRC Units about Radiation Response and Population Monitoring • Educating professionals about the MRC • Providing specific training to MRC volunteers

  18. MRC Program Office MRCcontact@hhs.gov (301) 443-4951 MRC website www.medicalreservecorps.gov MRC Regional Coordinators MRC State Coordinators Contact existing MRC units For Additional Information

  19. Contact Information Elizabeth H. Fitch, MPA National Technical Assistance Coordinator (301) 443-0920 elizabeth.fitch@hhs.gov www.medicalreservecorps.gov

  20. Community Preparedness for Radiation Emergencies: How Can the Medical Reserve Corps Help?Connect State Radiation Control Resources with Radiation Volunteers Ruth E. McBurney Executive Director Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc.

  21. Responsibilities of State and Local Radiation Control Programs • License, register and inspect sources of ionizing radiation • Radioactive material • X-ray machines and accelerators • Register and inspect sources of nonionizing radiation • Lasers • Ultraviolet (e.g., tanning salons)

  22. Responsibilities of State and Local Radiation Control Programs • Emergency planning and response • Offsite accident assessment, monitoring, and recommendations for actions for nuclear power plant exercises and emergencies • Accident assessment, monitoring and protective action recommendations for other radiological incidents and accidents • Environmental monitoring around nuclear facilities

  23. TOPOFF 4The initial blast from the detonation of the radiation device in Portland, OROctober 2007

  24. Potential Victims of an RDD TOPOFF 2007

  25. Where Can a Radiological Event Occur? • May not occur in a city with state resources • States without nuclear power plants have less expertise in emergency planning and response • Most state radiation control programs are located in capital cities, although some have regional staff as well • Host cities for displaced citizens with contamination will also be impacted • YOYO (You’re On Your Own) for several hours until other state and federal resources can arrive • State radiation control programs will quickly run out of resources for mass population monitoring

  26. Involvement of Trained Volunteers • Registration through Medical Reserve Corps • Establishment of roles and responsibilities • Use of volunteers already trained in radiation safety and contamination monitoring, such as: • Health physicists • Medical physicists • Nuclear medicine technologists

  27. “Population Monitoring” Reception Center

  28. Specialized Training through Workshops and Web Resources • National Response Framework, Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex • Population monitoring of large groups of people • Walk-through monitors • Hot-line techniques • Effective communication to the public on monitoring results and remedial actions

  29. Summary • Radiation control programs will need the assistance of trained volunteers in a mass radiological or nuclear emergency. • Trained radiation workers in hospitals, education and industry can be used with a small amount of additional training as volunteer emergency personnel, specifically for population monitoring. • Although some states have implemented the radiation response volunteer program, more states will need to do so in the near future.

  30. Contact Information Ruth E. McBurney, CHP Executive Director Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. rmcburney@crcpd.org www.crcpd.org (502) 227-4543

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