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Radiological Emergency Response Team
Emergency Preparedness
and Response
The Radiological Emergency Response Team (RERT), based in EPA's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air and regional offices, responds to emergencies involving releases of radioactive materials. Working closely with EPA's Superfund Program as well as federal, state, and local agencies, the RERT responds to emergencies that can range from incidents at nuclear power plants, to transportation accidents involving shipments of radioactive materials, to deliberate acts of nuclear terrorism.
- What does RERT do during a radiological emergency?
- How quickly can the RERT respond?
- How does the RERT prepare for emergencies?
- How big is the RERT?
- What kinds of specialists are in the emergency response program?
- Where are these specialists located?
- What type of equipment and vehicles does the RERT use?
- What role do EPA's national radiation laboratories play?
What does RERT do during a radiological emergency?
The RERT coordinates or assists federal, state, tribal, and local response efforts before, during, and following a radiological incident by providing support in various forms:
- technical advice and assistance to prevent or minimize threats to public health and the environment
- advice on protective measures to ensure public health and safety
- assessments of any release for dose and impact to public health and the environment
- monitoring, sampling, laboratory analyses and data assessments to assess and characterize environmental impact (Staff from EPA's National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory and its Radiation and Indoor Environments National Laboratory provide monitoring and assessment services both at the labs and at the response site, if needed.)
- technical advice and assistance for containment, cleanup, restoration, and recovery following a radiological incident.
You can learn more about EPA's role in responding to radiological emergencies from the How We Respond pages.
How quickly can the RERT respond?
Field teams (teams that go to the scene of the emergency) will deploy as quickly as possible after notification. Shortly after arriving at the scene, the RERT begins environmental measurement and guidance activities. They begin monitoring, sampling, and laboratory analysis. They also advise state and local authorities on protecting local residents from exposure to harmful radiation levels.
If needed, the RERT can drive its mobile emergency response laboratories and support equipment to any site in the United States within 2 to 4 days.
How does the RERT prepare for emergencies?
To maintain readiness, the RERT works with other federal agencies and state and local governments to develop and fine tune plans for responding to radiological and nuclear emergencies. To test these plans, RERT personnel annually update their multidisciplinary skills, conduct emergency response exercises, and provide training to other organizations charged with responding to radiological emergencies.
How big is the RERT?
There are approximately 45 field-deployable members of the RERT stationed at EPA's two national radiation laboratories. Additional support personnel are located at EPA headquarters in Washington, DC, and EPA's 10 regional offices.
EPA can send a few specialists or the entire RERT to an emergency site. Headquarters RERT members support field operations activities from the Agency's Emergency Operations Center in Washington, DC and other coordination centers. Headquarters members also serve on the Advisory Team for the Environment, Food and Health, which assesses emergency monitoring data and develops protective action recommendations.
What kinds of specialists are in the emergency response program?
Radiological emergencies require a multi-disciplinary team which can track, contain, and clean up a radioactive release, while protecting people and the environment around the emergency site. EPA's emergency response personnel include scientists and engineers, health physicists, laboratory staff, and other emergency response specialists:
Scientists and Engineers
These specialists monitor, measure, and track the type and amount of radiation released from an accident. They conduct on-site sampling and analyze the air, water, and soil to identify the kinds of radionuclides present. Then they send field samples to EPA's national radiation laboratories for additional analyses and verification of on-site results.
Health Physicists
HPs study the effects of radiation on people and the environment. They recommend ways to protect both during an incident.
Laboratory Staff
Laboratory staff analyze the samples taken in the field by the scientists and engineers. They identify the kinds and amount of radionuclides in the environment around the incident.
Other Radiological Emergency Response Specialists
EPA's emergency response team includes other specialists who provide communications, logistical, and administrative support.
Where are these specialists located?
Radiological emergency response personnel are located across the country at EPA facilities:
- EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC
- EPA's Regional Offices throughout the country
- EPA's National Radiation Laboratories
- National Air and Radiation Environmental (NAREL), Laboratory, Montgomery, AL
- Radiation and Indoor Environments National Laboratory (R&IENL), Las Vegas, NV.
What type of equipment and vehicles does RERT use?
The RERT provides protective equipment and personal dosimeters to protect the health and safety of members in the field. It also has handheld equipment used to survey the emergency area:
- alpha, beta, gamma and neutron survey instruments
- air sampling equipment
- exposure rate and dose instruments
- field gamma spectroscopy
- GPS.
In addition, the RERT has both laboratory and emergency management vehicles:
- a mobile command post
- a mobile radiation laboratory
- sample preparation laboratory
- a van equipped to scan for gamma radiation.
These mobile facilities can can be driven to the scene of an emergency. Local, satellite, and internet-based communication capabilities help them keep in touch with response personnel from other agencies.
What role do EPA's national radiation laboratories play?
The National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory in Montgomery, Alabama, and the Radiation and Indoor Environments National Laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada, provide monitoring and assessment services at the lab and at the scene of an accident. Both the Las Vegas and Montgomery laboratories are equipped for radioanalytical services, including gamma spectroscopy, alpha/beta analyses, and liquid scintillation analyses. RERT field staff send samples requiring more extensive analyses back to NAREL and R&IENL.
You can read more about the laboratories' emergency response capabilities:
