Health physics
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In November 2007, the Wisconsin Division of Public Health Hospital Disaster Preparedness Program State Expert Panel on Radiation Emergencies issued a report titled The Management of Patients in a Radiological Incident. Gundersen Lutheran Health System was selected to conduct a demonstration project to implement the recommendations in that report. A comprehensive radiological incident response plan was developed and implemented in the hospital's Trauma and Emergency Center, including the purchase and installation of radiation detection and identification equipment, staff education and training, a tabletop exercise, and three mock incident test exercises. The project demonstrated that the State Expert Panel report provides a flexible template that can be implemented at community hospitals using existing staff for an approximate cost of $25,000.
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An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck the Niigata-Chuetsu region of Japan at 10:13 on 16 July 2007. The earthquake was followed by the sustained occurrence of numerous aftershocks, delaying the reconstruction of community lifelines. The earthquake affected the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plants (NPPs), the biggest NPP site in the world. ⋯ DMAT members are critical to any mass casualty incident, whether caused by humans or nature. We have learned from this earthquake that there is urgent need for an all-hazards approach, including a "combined disaster" strategy, which should be emphasized for current disaster planning and response. This is the first report on DMATs deployed to an earthquake site with damage to NPPs.
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The possibility of the occurrence of radiation accidents is increasing in the Asian region. However, training/education programs for medical professionals have not been established to improve the medical preparedness for radiation emergencies in the Asian region. As one of the activities for radiation emergency medical preparedness, Korea and Japan have started training programs for radio-nuclear emergencies in the region. In this article, the medical response systems for radiation emergency in the two countries and the training programs for the Asian region will be introduced.
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Radiation emergencies are rather new to humankind, as compared to other types of emergencies such as earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes. Fortunately, they are rare, but because of that, planning for response to large-scale radiation emergencies is least understood. ⋯ The paper brings forward such general considerations as applicable to radiation mass casualty events, including (1) clear lines of communication; (2) scalability of approach; (3) whole-of-health approach; (4) knowledge based approach; and (5) multisectoral approach. Additionally, some key considerations of planning for mass casualty management systems are discussed, namely, health systems surge capacity and networking, risk and resources mapping, and others.
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A short guidebook for medical professionals has been published in Finland, summarizing essential knowledge of radiation accidents, including diagnosis and treatment of radiation injuries. The work was undertaken by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), which is a liaison institution of the World Health Organization Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network. The booklet is available in all hospital emergency departments and health care centers throughout the country.