Radiation Emergencies
Information for Emergency Responders
Emergency responders are responsible for protecting and preserving life, property, evidence, or the environment in the earliest stages of a mass casualty event or other emergency. Emergency responders will be responsible for rescuing and delivering care to victims of a radiation emergency at or near the incident site. To help emergency responders develop plans and response capacity for radiation emergencies, CDC has the following resources:
Patient Management
- Staff Protection (PPE)
- Initial Onsite Activities
- Triage
- Decontamination of Patients
- Onsite Medical Management
- Transport of Patients
Guidelines and Recommendations
- CDC EMS Radiation Roundtable Report
- Pocket Guide: Radiological Terrorism Emergency Management
- Guidelines for Handling Decedents Contaminated with Radioactive Materials
Radiological Terrorism:
Tool Kit for Emergency Services Clinicians
A free tool kit for planning and response
- Just-in-Time Training for Hospital Clinicians
- Radiological Emergency Management Pocket Guide
- Medical Response to Mass Casualties
- Medical Response to Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism
- The Role of Public Health in a Nuclear or Radiological Terrorist Incident
- Acute Radiation Syndrome (brochure)
- Cutaneous Radiation Injury (brochure)
- Prenatal Radiation Exposure (brochure)
To order copies, please send an e-mail to cdcinfo@cdc.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636); TTY: (888) 232-6348.
Related Links
- Equipment for Monitoring Radiation on People (EPA)
- Screening for Contamination Using Handheld Monitors
- Types of Radiation Emergencies
- Guidelines for Handling Decedents Contaminated with Radioactive Materials
- Training for Handling Decedents Contaminated with Radioactive Materials
- Countermeasures/Treatment
- Fact sheets on radiation Topics
- Mental Health
- Protecting Yourself and Your Family
- Radiological Terrorism: Tool Kit for Clinicians
- Radiological Terrorism: Took Kit for Public Health
- Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation (USUHS)
- Handbook for Responding to a Radiological Dispersal Device (CRCPD)
- Radiological/Nuclear Law Enforcement and Public Health Investigation Handbook NEW!
- Page last updated January 10, 2012
- Page last reviewed March 31, 2010
- Content source: Radiation Studies Branch (RSB), Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects (EHHE), National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention (CCEHIP)
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