Radiation - Emergency Response
How to Prepare for a Radiological Emergency
CT DEEP Emergency Response
The Radiation Division plays a major role in maintaining and implementing the state's Radiological Emergency Plan and responds to all transportation, industrial and research facility emergencies/incidents involving ionizing radiation.
The Radiation Division is charged with performing an independent assessment and providing its findings to the Governor on the adequacy of the nuclear power plant licensees off site radiation exposure control, dispersion analysis, and protective action recommendations during a nuclear incident at either of the two nuclear power/spent nuclear fuel sites in Connecticut.
To accomplish this task, a three-phase evaluation process is conducted:
Phase 1 - Plume Exposure Pathway
Responsibilities:
- Review information from facility
- Make independent assessment based on dispersion analysis
- Using EPA's Protective Action Guides, give recommendations concerning the protective action necessary to protect the public
- Assume responsibility of liaison with the plant operator at the Emergency Operations Facility.
Phase 1 is accomplished by using projected and real time meteorological data in conjunction with sophisticated computer models to predict the off-site dose consequences and make protective action recommendations as necessary. Some of the models currently used are MIDAS (Meteorological Information and Dose Assessment System), RASCAL (Radiological Assessment System for Consequence Analysis) and NARAC (National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center) 3-D model.
Phase 2 - Deployment of Radiological Response Teams
Responsibilities:
- Deploy emergency response teams to the effected area to make radiation measurements with portable radiation monitoring equipment to confirm or follow-up on the results of the facility's initial accident assessment and perform a secondary assessment.
Phase 2 is accomplished by the command and control of highly trained emergency radiological response teams consisting of one health physicist, one driver and two way radio equipped four wheel drive vehicles with extensive portable radiation monitoring equipment. The Radiation Division presently has a standing MOU with Electric Boat to provide additional Health Physicists for radiological response teams. Field teams provide real time information on the types of radiation present, concentration and location. This information is used at the Emergency Operations Center in Hartford for additional consequence analysis.
Phase 3 - Ingestion Pathway
Responsibilities:
- Coordinate inter-agency and interdepartmental sample efforts
- Define where and what samples are to be taken for identification
- Define what pathways are to be sampled
- Define what analysis with priority is to be performed for each sample
- Implement the Ingestion Pathway exposure procedure.
Phase 3 is accomplished by using computer models in conjunction with actual field data that is derived from radio-analysis of food pathways and environmental samples. Command and Control of radiological response teams is crucial to the success of this phase.
Content Last Updated January 2020