Public Health Planning for Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism (Web-Based)

Course Number: WB1204

This activity offers proactive education on the most up-to-date information on state and local public health emergency response planning for radiological and nuclear terrorism incidents. Public health officials at the state and local levels requested additional guidance on adapting all-hazards state and local emergency preparedness plans for radiological and nuclear incidents involving mass casualties. In response to these requests, this course will provide public health officials with the most current information regarding public health planning for response to radiation emergencies, including information on local government roles and responsibilities, radiologic monitoring of people, pharmaceutical countermeasures deployed by the strategic national stockpile, and the role of communications in a radiation emergency.

TARGET AUDIENCE: Public health officials involved in developing an emergency response plan for a radiological or nuclear terrorism incident involving mass casualties. This may include state, local, tribal, and territorial health agency senior officials, emergency planners, epidemiologists, environmental health specialists, public health physicians and nurses, public health students, sanitarians, hazardous materials team members, and first responders.

MATERIALS: The participant will read materials (including slides, graphics, handouts) while listening to videotaped expert lecture segments on the Web or on a DVD at their convenience at home, work or as part of a group education initiative in a room with a large screen DVD player.

The web-based program will be available through the CDC Radiation Emergency Preparedness web site at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation and flagged as a "NEW!" product. Additionally, a message will be posted o this web site indicating that a copy of the program in a DVD format may be ordered from CDC by sending an email to cdcinfo@cdc.gov.

PREREQUISITES: Participants should have basic knowledge of public health emergency response planning. Some introductory knowledge of response to radiological terrorism incidents such as that provided in earlier CE-approved CDC programs produced by the Radiation Studies Branch is highly recommended. Those programs include a video webcast on “The Role of Public Health in a Nuclear or Radiological Terrorist Incident” and “Preparing for Population Monitoring and Decontamination” located at the CDC Radiation Emergencies website at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/publichealth.asp.