Reducing the Consequences of a Nuclear Detonation.
The 2002 National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction states that 'the United States must be prepared to respond to the use of WMD against our citizens, our military forces, and those of friends and allies'. Scenario No.1 of the 15 Department of Homeland Security national planning scenarios is an improvised nuclear detonation in the national capitol region. An effective response involves managing large-scale incident response, mass casualty, mass evacuation, and mass decontamination issues. Preparedness planning activities based on this scenario provided difficult challenges in time critical decision making and managing a large number of casualties within the hazard area. Perhaps even more challenging is the need to coordinate a large scale response across multiple jurisdictions and effectively responding with limited infrastructure and resources. Federal response planning continues to make improvements in coordination and recommending protective actions, but much work remains. The most critical life-saving activity depends on actions taken in the first few minutes and hours of an event. The most effective way to reduce the enormous national and international social and economic disruptions from a domestic nuclear explosion is through planning and rapid action, from the individual to the federal response. Anticipating response resources for survivors based on predicted types and distributions of injuries needs to be addressed.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 924010
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-CONF-236443; TRN: US200805%%86
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at: Threats At Our Threshold: Securing And Defending The United States In The 21st Century, Army War College, PA, United States, Nov 14 - Nov 15, 2007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
The National Response Plan and the Problems in the Evaluation and Assessment of the Unconventional Modes of Terrorism
Draft Guidance: Response, Restoration, and Recovery Checklist for Biologically Contaminated Facilities