Nuclear and Radiation Emergencies

The purpose of this page is to prepare individuals, health care facilities, and regional health care coalitions to respond to incidents that cause an influx in patients due to a nuclear or radiological emergency.

On this page:
Assessment Tools
Planning Tools and Templates
Education and Training Tools
Exercise Tools and Templates
Response Tools
Additional Resources

Assessment Tools

Never had a conversation about nuclear or radiation preparedness? Start here! Use these tools as a starting place to determine where your facility or region are in the planning process for a nuclear or radiological emergency.

• Facility Nuclear Surge Emergency Checklist (PDF)
• Emergency Medical Services Checklist for Nuclear Emergency Planning (PDF)

Planning Tools and Templates

Having assessed where you are, use the tools below to help you create a surge plan for your health care facility.

• Health Care Facility Nuclear and Radiation Emergency Plan Template (Word) 
  This template covers the basics of planning and includes job action sheets (JAS) for roles in a response.

Education and Training Tools

Want to learn more or train your staff specifically in radiation medical surge preparedness? Below are educational materials for disciplines ranging from physician to emergency manager.

• National Alliance for Radiation
  Radiation Readiness 101 resources for public health, health care, and emergency management.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Radiation Emergency Training, Education, and Tools
  Extensive training, resources, and information from the CDC on radiological emergencies.
• FEMA Emergency Management Institute Courses
  The following courses have a Radiological Emergency focus: IS-3, IS-301, IS-302, IS-331, IS-346, IS-808, IS-836.
• Radiologic Dispersion Device Injuries – Hospital Triage and Initial Treatment (PDF)
  Algorithm for treatment.
• Radiologic Countermeasure Distribution Algorithm – Radiologic Dispersion Device (PDF)
  Algorithm for distribution of countermeasures fater a radiologic dispersion device.

Exercise Tools and Templates

Below you will find material to help you design the right exercise to test your plans for your facility or region.

• Health Care Coalition Exercises
  • RITN: Health Care Coalition Functional Radiation Exercise
    HSEEP compliant functional exercise kit for health care coalitions. Each of the six modules take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
  • ASPR TRACIE Tabletop Exercise
    • Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing HCC Radiation Surge TTX (Word)
    • Situation Manual (Word)
    • Exercise PowerPoint (PPT)
    • Participant Feedback Form (Word)
    • Participant Sign in Sheet (Word)
    • HCC Exercise in a Box—Nuclear Detonation Scenario TTX (Word)
      HSEEP compliant TTX for health care coalitions and their partners. Scenarios included for each region.
• Hospital Nuclear Surge Exercise in a Box TTX (Word)
  HSEEP compliant TTX for health care facilities to discuss their role in a nuclear detonation.
• Laboratory Services Exercise in a Box—Nuclear Detonation Scenario TTX (Word)
  HSEEP compliant TTX for laboratories to discuss their role in a nuclear detonation. Two scenarios to pick from or create your own.

Response Tools

Here are useful materials to use during a nuclear or radiological event. You can print and use these forms or modify them to work for your facility or region.

• HHS: Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM)
  Triage guidelines, hospital order sets, medical countermeasures, use of blood products, decontamination procedures and more practical resources for hospitals and EMS.
• RITN Treatment Guidelines
  Medical order sets and treatment guidelines for adult and pediatric patients for acute radiation syndrome (ARS) and aplastic anemia protocols, just-in-time training, and more.
• CDC Radiological Terrorism: Just-in-Time Training for Hospital Clinicians (Video: 17 minutes)
  Video covering key radiation principles and radiological procedures including demonstrations in emergency services settings.
• MDH: Burn Surge
  Includes Adult and Pediatric order sets, as well as just-in-time materials for determining burn depth and size.
• MDH: Disaster Mental/Behavioral Health & Emergency Preparedness
  A range of resources to address mental/behavioral health issues that occur during and after a disaster in both victims and the professionals who respond to an event.
  • Minnesota Psychological First Aid Just-in-time Training Video (Video: 11 minutes)

Additional Resources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Radiation Emergencies (English/Spanish)
  Information, resources and education for professionals and individuals.
• FEMA: Radiological Emergency Preparedness
  Materials focused on the national REP program.
• HHS: Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM)
  Guidance on diagnosis and treatment for health care providers.
• HHS: ASPR TRACIE Topic Collection: Radiological and Nuclear
  A repository of useful materials for preparing for radiological and nuclear disasters.
• Radiation Injury Treatment Network® (RITN)
  RITN is a national network of medical centers with expertise in the management of bone marrow failure and the management of acute radiation syndrome (ARS) and its health-related consequences.