Radiation Disasters: Preparedness and Response for Radiology
The American College of Radiology (ACR) Disaster Planning Task Force—in collaboration with the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)—offers this Web page as part of an educational program to enable the radiology community to respond effectively in a crisis. As we learned on September 11, a large-scale disaster can strike without warning. The attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and several incidents of anthrax in the mail placed our colleagues on the front lines in New York, Washington D.C. and other venues, triaging the injured and diagnosing those infected.
A radiation disaster is a possibility for which we must be prepared. Radiologists, radiation oncologists and medical physicists will play a vital role as responders and as sources of accurate information for patients, the public and the medical community.
The links on this page provide quick access to current information on preparing for a radiation emergency, handling contaminated persons, dose assessment, radiation health effects, and accessing emergency assistance. Links are also provided on medical responses to bioterrorism.
The College will continue to expand its educational resources for disaster preparedness and will provide updates as new materials are added. Please check this Web page regularly for information.
You may download and print one copy for personal use free of charge from the ACR web site. Anyone wishing to print multiple copies must obtain copyright permission by contacting Brad Short at 1 (800) 227-5463, ext. 4975, or brads@acr.org.
To request a license for use of the primer PDF file on a commercially distributed CD ROM, please contact Gloria Romanelli at 1 (800) 227-5463, ext. 4550, or gromanelli@acr.org.
The links on this page will take you off the American College of Radiology's Web site. The ACR does not assume responsibility for the content of other sites.
Physician Preparedness
- Disaster Preparedness for Radiology Professionals: Response to Radiological Terrorism. A primer for radiologists, radiation oncologists and medical physicists, produced by the ACR Disaster Planning Task Force. (PDF - requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
- The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute provides information on disaster preparedness for health care providers in their handbook Medical Management of Radiological Casualties. PDF version that can be printed out (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
- Initial Management of Irradiated Personnel: Department of the Navy, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
- National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) Report No. 138, Management of Terrorist Events Involving Radioactive Material (can be ordered from NCRP).
- NCRP Report No. 65, Management of Persons Accidentally Contaminated with Radionuclides (can be ordered from NCRP).
Hospital Preparedness
- ACR Members Contribute to New Guidelines on Radiological Incident Response
- For an overview of the needs of the nation's hospitals related to future mass casualty events, go to the American Hospital Association Web site.
- Guidance for pre hospital and hospital medical management of radiation casualties is available from the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS).
- The Health Physics Society has prepared a presentation titled "Emergency Department Management of Radiation Casualties." This set of slides is designed for training the staff of the hospital emergency department in the medical management of persons injured in radiation accidents or by terrorist events involving radioactive material. The presentation includes talking points which can be viewed if you right click and "Save As" a Power Point file to your computer.
Bioterrorism Response
- The American Medical Association Web site provides extensive information on disaster preparedness and medical response to bioterrorism.
- For radiological diagnosis of Anthrax go to the AFIP/ INOVA Fairfax Hospital Web site.
- The Medical Management of Biological Casualties Handbook: U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases can be printed from a PDF file.
Federal Resources
- The Department of Homeland Security Working Group on Radiological Dispersal Devices Preparedness' Medical Preparedness and Response Subgroup has formulated this Radiologic Medical Countermeasures document as a resource guide to be used in preparation of a nuclear radiologic attack/ disaster.
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides information on preventing and preparing for disasters, as well as disaster assistance.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site offers public health and human services activities in response to disasters. The site includes
- Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
- National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, providing information on Emergency Response and Medical Management of Hazardous Material Incidents
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers information on how to help or get help.
- The U.S. Department of Energy offers information on national security.
State Resources
- To locate your state's emergency management director, go to the State Offices and Agencies of Emergency Management Web site.
Are You Prepared?
As the ACR Disaster Planning Task Force considers projects to help prepare radiologists, radiation oncologists and medical physicists for the role they will play in radiological disaster preparedness, we want your help. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Your responses to the following questions will be kept confidential and will only be used by the ACR to shape our future strategy in this area. Your candid responses will help us improve the types of services the ACR offers to its members, and ultimately to both the profession and the community.