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Disaster Management During a Nuclear Accident

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

J. Ward Donovan
Affiliation:
From the Divisions of Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine and Health Physics, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center,Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033.
Joseph J. Trautlein
Affiliation:
From the Divisions of Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine and Health Physics, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center,Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033.
Kenneth L. Miller
Affiliation:
From the Divisions of Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine and Health Physics, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center,Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033.
H. Arnold Muller
Affiliation:
From the Divisions of Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine and Health Physics, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center,Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033.

Extract

Disaster preparedness as developed by civil authorities and hospitals has not adequately addressed the special characteristics of mass casualties from nuclear accidents, as demonstrated during the accident at the Three Mile Island (TMI) Nuclear Power Generating Plant. Experiences gained by the Radiation Emergency Task Force of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, established during the TMI incident, have resulted in reexamination of emregency medical services (EMS) systems response, population and hospital evacuation, decontamination procedures, communications, triage and psychologic impact during such an event. From these investigations, it is now possible to restructure disaster protocols to accommodate accidents involving toxic contamination. Although this report primarily deals with nuclear accidents, it is also useful in planning for large-scale biologic or chemical accidents.

Type
Part III: International Organizations - Planning - Disaster Events
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1985

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References

1. Blakcly, I. The Care of Radiation Casualties. Charles C. Thomas, Publ., 1968.Google Scholar
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