National Security and Emergency Management

ORISE prepares DOE and other government agencies by managing and conducting programs, studies, research, exercises and training related to national security and emergency preparedness.

Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site

ORISE provides expertise in the medical management of radiation incidents through the operation of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS), a dedicated DOE facility located in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Worker Health Studies

ORISE provides DOE and the scientific community with important information regarding the long-term health outcomes affecting current and former energy workers.

Health Communication and Training

ORISE collaborates with federal, state and local agencies to provide health communication and training solutions that enhance the well-being of the public and the nation’s workers.

Scientific Peer Review

ORISE manages a credible and customizable peer review process that is helping DOE and other government agencies make informed decisions about the quality of the science they pursue.

University Radioactive Ion Beam Consortium

The University Radioactive Ion Beam (UNIRIB) consortium consists of eight member universities that partner to perform basic nuclear physics research using the fast-growing technique of radioactive ion beams.

Scientific Research Opportunities

ORISE manages research participation programs at the undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate and faculty levels at DOE and other government facilities across the United States.

Climate and Atmospheric Research

Through the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, ORISE works closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to perform research focused on air quality, contaminant dispersion and climate.

Environmental Assessments and Health Physics

ORISE instills confidence in environmental cleanup through survey assessments, health physics evaluations and hands-on, laboratory-based training in the radiation sciences.

Climate and Atmospheric Research

Through the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, ORISE works closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to perform air quality, contaminant dispersion and climate research.

Health Physics

Through Oak Ridge Associated Universities, ORISE's managing contractor, health physics and radiation safety training courses are offered for participants performing work in the radiation sciences.

Radiation Emergency Medicine

Continuing education courses taught through the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) at ORISE focus on radiation emergency medicine and the medical management of radiation incidents.

Emergency Preparedness

ORISE emergency planners train government agencies on how to build effective response and preparedness plans, as well as teach best practices to improve communication among emergency response teams.

Health Communication and Training

ORISE develops training and education programs designed to address public health topics. Training is delivered via e-learning, multimedia applications and traditional classroom instruction.

REAC/TS

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Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education

Emergency Response Services

The Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) is a deployable, U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) asset that is on-call 24 hours a day/seven days a week to offer expertise on managing the medical component of a radiation incident.

REAC/TS provides incident response and consultation to physicians across the globe. We also maintain specialized response teams consisting of a physician, nurse/paramedic and a health physicist to ensure our readiness to respond to a radiation emergency. This enables rapid dose assessment, radiological and medical triage, diagnosis and medical management of radiation incidents.

Our response teams are equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment that can be transported to a site or used in our unique facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., located within Methodist Medical Center. Within these facilities, the staff are equipped to administer:

Medical and radiological triage
Decontamination
Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and Prussian Blue therapy for specific radiological materials
Diagnostic and prognostic assessments of radiation-induced injuries
Biological and radiological dose estimates by methods that include cytogenetic analysis, bioassay and in vivo counting

A cytogenetic biodosimetry laboratory, as well as several health physics laboratories, are also located on the ORISE campus. Cytogenetic biodosimetry can be used for determining the radiation doses to victims.