Pediatric Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness: A ... - PHE Home

home immediately after the incident. A prearranged plan of where the children should go,
if not in school, should be discussed and agreed on ahead of time.
Long-Term Habitation Versus Abandonment
The decision whether to remain long-term in an area or to abandon the area will depend
on the levels of radiation remaining, the decay properties of the material, and the ability
to physically remove the contaminated material. The decision should be reached in
coordination with qualified health physicists because of complicating factors.
Rehabilitation/Abatement
Response organizations (local, State, and Federal) will need to prepare a site remediation
plan. The clean-up process is lengthy and depends on the type of contamination and the
site contaminated. There are temporary measures to fix radioactive material in place that
will stop the spread of contamination. For example, flour and water mixtures, road oil,
and water can be used to wet ground surfaces and prevent resuspension of the radioactive
material.
Rehabilitation of contaminated areas, equipment, and facilities depends on the physical
removal of contaminated particles. Usually, this will be done by trained personnel. It is
important to determine whether or not water sources have been contaminated.
Hard surfaces are easier to rehabilitate than porous ones. Walls will generally be less
contaminated than top and ground surfaces. Washing clothes and blankets in home
washing machines can remove most contamination. It may not be possible to remove all
contaminated material, however. Some articles can no longer be safely used (e.g., toys
that have been left outside).
Contamination of Crops, Water, Food Animals, and Milk Sources
RDDs can also be used to contaminate livestock, fish, and food crops. However, huge
quantities of radioactive material would be required to effectively contaminate food or
water, and most radioactive material is not soluble in water. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has guidance for accidental radioactive contamination of human food and
animal feed.
Water may also be contaminated as an aftereffect of an explosion involving an RDD or
IND. The safety of water sources should be evaluated after the attack. Water filtration in
the home can reduce levels of radiation by removing many of the radioactive particles,
but boiling or chlorination is not beneficial. Until the water supply has been determined
to be safe, only bottled water should be used for drinking and cooking.
Water of questionable quality can be used for cleaning contaminated skin. This is because
radiation exposure follows the principles of time, distance, and shielding. Radioactive
material left on the skin will cause a higher level of exposure to an individual than
exposure to water or the exposure from washing with contaminated water. Cleaning and
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