General on-scene response to a radiological emergency

User:

Incident Commander or senior first responder

When to apply:

In case of potential or actual significant public external exposure or radioactive contamination

Actions (as appropriate and practical):

• Being the senior first responder assume the role of the IC until relieved

Protect self and assess (size up) the situation

• Observe from a distance (at least 30 metres) and look for:
  • possible radiological hazard and other possible hazards (see instructions for assessment of hazard and establishment of inner cordoned area)
  • people at risk
  • security concerns such as: armed individuals, explosives
  • placards and labels or UN number markings indicating dangerous transport goods
• Assess the situation. Determine the inner cordoned area. Reposition personnel, vehicles and equipment accordingly and establish an incident command post (ICP) (see instructions for assessment of hazard and establishment of inner cordoned area)
• Respond following personnel protection guidelines
• For criminal/terrorist activity, assume that perpetrators are among the public and avoid the use of mobile phones and radio communications until the area is cleared of explosives, secondary devices and booby traps

Save lives and prevent escalation

Ensure implementation of the following:

• Rescue people in life threatening situations
• Establish and mark the safety perimeter (inner cordoned area boundary) in accordance with instructions for assessment of hazard and establishment of inner cordoned area. Within this area:
  • Keep account of personnel
  • Limit entry to response personnel only
  • Follow personnel protection guidelines
  • Continue life saving actions, searching for and rescuing the injured
  • Evacuate the public
  • Assume that people from the area are contaminated
  • Deal with serious conventional hazards (e.g. fire)
• Take actions to protect the public in accordance with public protection guidelines
• Establish an incident command post (ICP) and a staging area outside the inner cordoned area
• Conduct interviews to locate suspected radioactive devices and to identify possibly exposed individuals
• For a transport emergency attempt to obtain the shipping papers from the driver or shipper and determine the UN number and description of the dangerous goods
• Request, through the national EOC, a radiological assessor/team and obtain advice by phone
• Obtain from a user of radioactive material (e.g. hospital, university, research reactor) a person equipped and experienced to perform tasks of first responder monitor (see first responder monitor's action guide)
• Perform triage and provide first aid outside the safety perimeter (see instructions for field triage for mass casualties)
• Transport the injured and inform the receiving hospital of potential contamination and the need to follow the local hospital's action guide and personnel protection guidelines
• Register and monitor (if possible) people from within the inner cordoned area or who may be exposed (see instructions for public registration and monitoring of the public and responders)
• Have first responder monitor support operations in accordance with the first responder monitor's action guide
• Have the first responder monitor or radiological assessor/team screen public groups and locations, e.g. hospitals, to ensure that any sources with ambient dose rates above 100 µSv/h at 1 metre are isolated
• Establish a security perimeter (outer cordoned area boundary)
• Establish response areas and facilities as appropriate
• Until proven otherwise, treat the scene as a crime scene
• Inform all appropriate authorities of the situation and of the name of the IC
• For a security event:
  • Provide security where there is interaction with the public at the scene and at the hospital
  • Search for weapons before registration, transport and decontamination
• Inform the local hospital of the potential for receiving contaminated self-presenters and worried-well and advise them to implement controls
• Interview people who may have information useful to a criminal or safety investigation
• Control contamination at the inner cordoned area boundary in accordance with instructions for monitoring of the public and responders, public decontamination, response contamination control and monitoring/decontamination of vehicles and equipment
• For possible contamination of public food, water, or transport (e.g. buses) act to limit possible public exposure until advised by the radiological assessor/team
• Have the PIO issue appropriate public media releases (see sample press releases) coordinated locally and nationally and prepare for media interest (see public information officer's action guide)
• For the public who may have left the scene have the PIO issue instructions on the actions they should take (see public protection guidelines)
• Notify the national EOC if other States or their citizens may be affected (transnational emergency)
• Take practical actions to limit the spread of contamination but do not let this interfere with life saving actions

Extension of the response

• Re-evaluate the initial response
• Have resource coordinator assess and obtain needed resources (see resource coordinator's action guide) and develop a 24 hour plan
• Ensure that function specific action guides are followed
• Confirm that responders are following personnel protection guidelines and that public protection guidelines have been implemented
• Consider the possibility of a second event — commitment of all resources at one event is not advisable
• Do not attempt recovery or decontamination of the scene until:
  • the recovery plan is prepared and radiological assessor has implemented procedures to control the dose and
  • coordinated with the FEMT, if applicable
• For a major emergency, form a command group and prepare for long term operations