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

washing the hands and face are especially important to prevent internal contamination
when eating and drinking.
Women who are breastfeeding should be especially concerned about the products they
are ingesting. Fruit may be eaten if thoroughly washed or after the skin has been
removed. Many types of fallout can become more concentrated in breast milk. For
example, commercial milk can become contaminated with radioactive fallout if the milk
was produced by cows grazing in the contaminated area. Contamination is further
concentrated in human breast milk. Commercial formula reconstituted with bottled water
is a safe alternative to breastfeeding until the mother’s milk is demonstrated to be safe.
Bottled water and canned food products or foodstuffs imported from noncontaminated
areas or produced before the radiological incident occurred should be free of radioactive
contamination.
Pets may bring radioactive material into the house on the bottoms of their paws and
should be kept indoors. Wiping or washing the pet’s paws can be helpful to reduce the
spread of contamination into the house.
Mortuary Affairs
The body retains radioactive materials after death. The body itself provides adequate
shielding for alpha and beta-emitters. For gamma emitters (e.g., cesium-137), which are
more penetrating radiation sources, radiation levels will be emitted by a contaminated
corpse. Cremation should be avoided to prevent the radioactive material from vaporizing
and becoming airborne. Guidance should be sought from local health physicists or city or
State radiation safety experts or health departments. Concerns about burying the victims
of radiation accidents have, in the past, raised fears in a community; specifically, the
radiation accident in Goiania, Brazil, in 1987, and this possibility will need to be
considered.
Bibliography
Radiological Threats
• American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health. Policy
statement: radiation disasters and children. Pediatrics. 2003; 111(6):1455-1466.
• Glasstone S, Dolan P, eds. The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, 3 rd ed. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Defense and the Energy Research and Development
Administration; 1977.
• National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. NCRP Report No.
65, Management of Persons Accidentally Contaminated with Radionuclides.
Bethesda, MD: National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements;
1979.
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