Preparation for Radiation Defense

This Civil Preparedness Guide (CPG) describes the DCPA program to assist state and local civil preparedness directors and coordinators in developing within their jurisdiction a complete RADEF program. The major objectives of an RADEF program are to save lives, minimize radiation injury, and reduce loss of property that would result from radioactive fallout in the event of a nuclear attack upon the United States.

While a RADEF program is required at all levels of government – the emphasis is on developing in each community a system to provide emergency operational capability at the local level. This program is necessary to provide the plans, procedures, instrumentation, facilities and trained personnel combined into a complete operational system that can function in an organized manner during an emergency to minimize the effect of the radiation hazard in the event of a nuclear attack.

This system is a part of the emergency preparedness system that provides for detection, measurement and exposure control of the radiation hazard. It will also provide evaluation and assessment of the hazard and an application of appropriate countermeasures.

Topics covered include:

• Introduction, Policy, Purpose and Background
• RADEF Program Support by DCPA
• Guidance, Equipment, Radiological training, Fallout forecasting
• RADEF Program Implementation
• Requirements, Role of the local coordinator, Role of the local radiological defense officer, Mission, Functions, Radiological skills and knowledge required
• The RADEF System
• Description, Components, Shelter radiological monitoring capacity, Self-protection radiological monitoring capacity, Radiological monitoring reporting and assessment, Radiological decontamination capability, Relationship to other emergency operations systems
• Radiological Defense Support for Nuclear Civil Protection
• Discussion, Implementation, Check list
• Radiological Defense Support for Emergency Services
• Discussion, Implementation, Check list
• Radiological Defense Support for Direction and Control
• Discussion, Implementation, Check list
• Radiological Decontamination
• Discussion, Implementation, Check list
• Recommended Composition of RADEF Instrument Sets