Medical Preparedness in Radiation Accidents: a Matter of Logistics and Communication not Treatment! (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Radiation Research, 2015
Herein we summarize the public health actions taken to mitigate exposure of the public to radiation after the Fukushima accident that occurred on 11 March 2011 in order to record valuable lessons learned for disaster preparedness. Evacuations from the radiation-affected areas and control of the distribution of various food products contributed to the reduction of external and internal radiation exposure resulting from the Fukushima incident. However, risk communication is also an important issue during the emergency response effort and subsequent phases of dealiing with a nuclear disaster. To assist with their healing process, sound, reliable scientific information should continue to be disseminated to the radiation-affected communities via two-way communication. We will describe the essential public health actions following a nuclear disaster for the early, intermediate and late phases that will be useful for radiological preparedness planning in response to other nuclear or radiological disasters.
Education in Radiation Protection and Radiation Risk Communication to the Public
RAD Conference Proceedings, 2016
The paper summarizes basic radiation protection aspects important for risk communication to the public in the case of radiation/nuclear accidents or radiological attacks. The present system of radiation protection quantities and units, as well as the associated terminology, is too complicated for those who are not professionally engaged in the field but who need to have some basic understanding of how to protect themselves and others against the harmful effects of ionizing radiation. Emphasis is placed on the education and training of members of the general public in order for them to acquire some basic understanding of radiation protection. This is important for achieving better cooperation and coordination between the public and the first responders as well as relevant authorities and stakeholders during radiation or nuclear emergency situations, where the main goal is the minimization of the consequences of such events in terms of personal exposure and the radioactive contamination of the environment.
Local, regional and national responses for medical management of a radiological/nuclear incident
Dose-response : a publication of International Hormesis Society, 2013
Radiological and nuclear devices may be used by terrorists or may be the source of accidental exposure. A tiered approach has been recommended for response to a terrorist event wherein local, regional, state and federal assets become involved sequentially, as the magnitude in severity of the incident increases. State-wide hospital plans have been developed and published for Connecticut, New York and California. These plans address delineation of responsibilities of various categories of health professionals, protection of healthcare providers, identification and classification of individuals who might have been exposed to and/or contaminated by radiation and, in the case of Connecticut response plan, early management of victims. Regional response programs such as the New England Regional Health Compact (consisting of 6 member states) have been developed to manage consequences of radiation injury. The Department of Homeland Security is ultimately responsible for managing both health ...
SRP Workshop on “Communication of Radiation Risk in the Modern World”
Journal of Radiological Protection, 2019
Communicating radiation risk is an important part of radiation protection. However, achieving effective risk communication is challenging given the negative public perception of radiation and conflicting views presented by both media and social media. Noting the importance of building capacity amongst radiation protection professionals to communicate radiation risk effectively, the Society for Radiological Protection (SRP) ran a half-day workshop at its Annual Conference on the 22nd May 2019 in Scarborough Spa, UK. A number of key factors were identified that should be considered when communicating with the public post a nuclear or radiological incident, communicating with government and local authorities, and communicating with the public as part of public outreach. The following memorandum provides a summary of the points presented and discussed. It also outlines proposed future activities of the SRP focused on further developing the communications aspect of radiation professionals' practice.
Nuclear/radiological terrorism: Emergency department management of radiation casualties
Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2007
Recent world events have increased concern that hospitals must be prepared for radiological emergencies. Emergency departments (EDs) must be ready to treat patients suffering from injuries in combination with radiation exposure or contamination with radioactive material. Every hospital should have a Radiological Emergency Medical Response Plan, tested through periodic drills, which will allow effective handling of contaminated and injured patients. Treatment of life-threatening or severe traumatic injuries must take priority over radiation-related issues. The risk to ED staff from radioactive contamination is minimal if universal precautions are used. The likelihood of significant radiation exposure to staff under most circumstances is small. Educating medical staff on the magnitude of the radiological hazards allows them to promptly and confidently provide the necessary patient care. Measures must be taken to prevent the "worried well" and uninjured people with radioactiv...
2010
Analysis of performed rescue operations during previous nuclear and radiation accidents highlights several problems impacting the quality of emergency response: unsatisfactory preparation of the population and the medical profession for action in extreme circumstances; presence, along with pure radiation damage, of varied spectrum of psychological side effects. According to the authors, in order to reduce the health risk for the affected people, preliminary preparation and training is required. This publication presents a training concept, together with related levels and means of realization.
From 'Risk Communication' to Participatory Radiation Risk Assessment
2015
In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear accident, many of the post-disaster responses undertaken by the Japanese government sparked vivid debates and criticisms from the civil society. These concern emergency responses such as the revision of public exposure dose limit, designation of evacuation zones, distribution of iodine tablets, and risk communication as well as mid and long-term policies including radiation dose monitoring, decontamination, waste management, return of evacuees, and health and food monitoring. Convinced that such public agitation derived from their lack of scientific knowledge, the authorities undertook a strategy to enhance their communication on radiological risk and its health effects. In this paper, we attempt to challenge the traditional notion of “risk communication” which considers that the concerned risks have been clearly defined by the scientific community and that the problem simply remains in communicating them “rightly” to the population. We argu...
Academic Responses to Fukushima Disaster
Asia-Pacific journal of public health, 2017
Since radiation accidents, particularly nuclear disasters, are rarer than other types of disasters, a comprehensive radiation disaster medical curriculum for them is currently unavailable. The Fukushima compound disaster has urged the establishment of a new medical curriculum in preparation for any future complex disaster. The medical education will aim to aid decision making on various health risks for workers, vulnerable people, and residents addressing each phase in the disaster. Herein, we introduce 3 novel educational programs that have been initiated to provide students, professionals, and leaders with the knowledge of and skills to elude the social consequences of complex nuclear disasters. The first program concentrates on radiation disaster medicine for medical students at the Fukushima Medical University, together with a science, technology, and society module comprising various topics, such as public risk communication, psychosocial consequences of radiation anxiety, and ...
2009
Analysis of performed rescue operations during previous nuclear and radiation accidents highlights several problems impacting the quality of emergency response: unsatisfactory preparation of the population and the medical profession for action in extreme circumstances; presence, along with pure radiation damage, of varied spectrum of psychological side effects. According to the authors, in order to reduce the health risk for the affected people, preliminary preparation and training is required. This publication presents a training concept, together with related levels and means of realization.