Chapter 21
Reoccupying the Hot Zone
As remediation is completed and the debris is removed from the affected areas it
will be possible to collapse the Hot Zone boundaries inwards and to begin reoccupying the area; this will involve repairing or rebuilding structures, repairing damaged
utility lines and other infrastructure, and completing all the other actions needed for
the affected area(s) to again become habitable and useful. But until this work is
completed, the affected area(s) will remain unoccupied, the business and residents
located in that area will remain displaced, and the city will lose not only the area
itself, but also the jobs, business, and revenues that are no longer being generated.
In addition to the obvious (clearing rubble, remediation, demolishing buildings
that cannot be repaired or decontaminated cost-effectively, and so forth), restoring
utilities will be another prerequisite for reoccupying the Hot Zone. As with other
activities, this will likely occur in stages, as areas are cleared of rubble and contamination, but it must be done in order to facilitate remediation and reconstruction
activities and to make reoccupancy possible.
Even after the area is ready for reoccupancy there might still be difficulties
persuading the public to return to the area for short visits or for longer periods
of time due to widespread fear of radiation. For many, the lure of home will be sufficient to draw them back; for others, even this might not suffice. Government might
need to not only determine and confirm the standards required for reoccupancy to
occur, but also to find ways to persuade businesses and residents to return.
This is a subject that has been studied over the years, with lessons learned from
events of a variety of magnitudes. The National Council on Radiation Protection
and Measurements [7] provides an excellent summary of many of the points to be
addressed in this chapter and served as a reference for much of what follows.
© 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_21
263
Reoccupying the Hot Zone
As remediation is completed and the debris is removed from the affected areas it
will be possible to collapse the Hot Zone boundaries inwards and to begin reoccupying the area; this will involve repairing or rebuilding structures, repairing damaged
utility lines and other infrastructure, and completing all the other actions needed for
the affected area(s) to again become habitable and useful. But until this work is
completed, the affected area(s) will remain unoccupied, the business and residents
located in that area will remain displaced, and the city will lose not only the area
itself, but also the jobs, business, and revenues that are no longer being generated.
In addition to the obvious (clearing rubble, remediation, demolishing buildings
that cannot be repaired or decontaminated cost-effectively, and so forth), restoring
utilities will be another prerequisite for reoccupying the Hot Zone. As with other
activities, this will likely occur in stages, as areas are cleared of rubble and contamination, but it must be done in order to facilitate remediation and reconstruction
activities and to make reoccupancy possible.
Even after the area is ready for reoccupancy there might still be difficulties
persuading the public to return to the area for short visits or for longer periods
of time due to widespread fear of radiation. For many, the lure of home will be sufficient to draw them back; for others, even this might not suffice. Government might
need to not only determine and confirm the standards required for reoccupancy to
occur, but also to find ways to persuade businesses and residents to return.
This is a subject that has been studied over the years, with lessons learned from
events of a variety of magnitudes. The National Council on Radiation Protection
and Measurements [7] provides an excellent summary of many of the points to be
addressed in this chapter and served as a reference for much of what follows.
© 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_21
263