Chapter 17
Medical Response
Any attack, radiological or nuclear, will cause harm to many people and these injured
people will require medical attention. A number of governmental and other agencies
have developed recommendations, guidelines, and model procedures for addressing
the aftermath of radiological and nuclear attacks, including the International Atomic
Energy Agency [16, 17], the State of Washington [27], and the National Council
on Radiation Protection and Measurements [24]. In addition, a number of experts
from academia and medicine have also contributed valuable insights, drawing from
experiences over the course of decades (e.g. [8, 12]) that have included radiological
and nuclear accidents as well as the nuclear bombings in Japan in 1945. The result
is a fairly robust understanding of medical issues that will be faced in the aftermath
of a radiological or nuclear attack. That being said, this does not mean that the
medical effects of such an attack would be easily addressed because there are very
few physicians who have actual personal experience in this area. Luckily, many of
those who do have personal experience have written or contributed to the writing of
books, book chapters, and papers on this subject.
The American College of Radiology [2] notes that, in the event of a radiological
attack, medical facilities and staff will be required to carry out ten basic tasks:
1. Initially focus on treating injuries and stabilizing the patient in the event of an
incident that combines radiation exposure and physical injuries
2. Hospitals must prepare to manage large numbers of frightened people and may
be overwhelmed at first
3. Hospitals must have a plan to distinguish those requiring medical care from
those who can be sent to an off-site facility (e.g. a Community Reception
Center)
4. Hospital staff must know how to set up an area for treating radiological victims
5. Hospital staff should approach decontaminating a radioactively contaminated
patient as though the patient is contaminated with raw sewage, taking similar
precautions
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2_17
191
Medical Response
Any attack, radiological or nuclear, will cause harm to many people and these injured
people will require medical attention. A number of governmental and other agencies
have developed recommendations, guidelines, and model procedures for addressing
the aftermath of radiological and nuclear attacks, including the International Atomic
Energy Agency [16, 17], the State of Washington [27], and the National Council
on Radiation Protection and Measurements [24]. In addition, a number of experts
from academia and medicine have also contributed valuable insights, drawing from
experiences over the course of decades (e.g. [8, 12]) that have included radiological
and nuclear accidents as well as the nuclear bombings in Japan in 1945. The result
is a fairly robust understanding of medical issues that will be faced in the aftermath
of a radiological or nuclear attack. That being said, this does not mean that the
medical effects of such an attack would be easily addressed because there are very
few physicians who have actual personal experience in this area. Luckily, many of
those who do have personal experience have written or contributed to the writing of
books, book chapters, and papers on this subject.
The American College of Radiology [2] notes that, in the event of a radiological
attack, medical facilities and staff will be required to carry out ten basic tasks:
1. Initially focus on treating injuries and stabilizing the patient in the event of an
incident that combines radiation exposure and physical injuries
2. Hospitals must prepare to manage large numbers of frightened people and may
be overwhelmed at first
3. Hospitals must have a plan to distinguish those requiring medical care from
those who can be sent to an off-site facility (e.g. a Community Reception
Center)
4. Hospital staff must know how to set up an area for treating radiological victims
5. Hospital staff should approach decontaminating a radioactively contaminated
patient as though the patient is contaminated with raw sewage, taking similar
precautions
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2_17
191