19 RADIATION EMERGENCIES

States Parties will have surveillance and response capacity for radiological and nuclear emergencies. This requires effective coordination, communication and collaboration among all sectors involved in radiation emergency preparedness and response, including health, industry, transport, environmental protection, food safety and consumer protection, law enforcement, civil defence and others.

IMPACT:

Timely detection and effective response to potential radiological and nuclear emergencies with cross-sectoral coordination.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION:

Mechanisms and an enabling environment are established and functioning for preventing, detecting and responding to radiological and nuclear emergencies.

Benchmark 19.1

Mechanisms are in place for detecting and responding to radiological and nuclear emergencies, supported by an enabling environment

Objective To establish policies, legislation, plans and capacities to detect and respond to radiological and nuclear emergencies

01 NO CAPACITY

  1. No mechanism (such as policies, plans, coordination and communication) is in place for the detection, assessment and response to radiation emergencies.

02 LIMITED CAPACITY

  1. Conduct a comprehensive assessment of potential radiological risks in the country, identify potential radiation emergency scenarios and map high risk areas, most vulnerable regions and sites. *
  2. Review and identify gaps in legislation, policies and plans for the detection, assessment and response to radiation emergencies. *
  3. Identify key technical experts from relevant sectors to develop technical guidelines or SOPs for the management of radiation emergencies (including risk assessment, reporting, event confirmation, notification and investigation). *
  4. Develop policies, strategies, costed plans and SOPs for the detection, assessment and response to radiation emergencies, including provisions for coordination and communication between relevant national authorities clearly indicating roles and responsibilities (including those for the health authorities and IHR national focal points). *
  5. Disseminate policies, plans and legislation for radiological event surveillance, alert and response to relevant stakeholders. *
  6. Develop capacity to monitor radiation exposure in the environment, food and drinking water. *
  7. Identify medical countermeasures required for radiation emergencies depending on the national risk profile, and develop a plan for procurement or access to such countermeasures. *
  8. National competent authority licenses all activities involving radiation sources and collects and maintains a database of available information on existing and potential radiological or nuclear hazards at the national and subnational levels. *
  9. Identify, map and maintain a directory of stakeholders (including public and private sector) involved in all activities using, generating, or disposing radiation and radioactive sources and responsible for radiation related hazards and emergency responses. *
  10. Establish a multidisciplinary cross-sectoral coordination mechanism including sectors involved in radiation protection, nuclear safety, meteorological services, environment, food safety, health, trade, travel, law enforcement, civil defence, security and other relevant sectors involved in the surveillance, alert and response to radiation emergencies at the national and subnational levels according to the national emergency response plan. *

03 DEVELOPED CAPACITY

  1. Develop, evaluate and/or update technical guidelines or SOPs for the management of radiation emergencies (including risk assessment, reporting, event confirmation and notification, and investigation). *
  2. Procure and establish access to a national stockpile of medical supplies required for nuclear and radiation emergency countermeasures (as recommended by the WHO policy advice on stockpiles, 2023), and develop SOPs for use, storage, deployment and replenishment. *
  3. Designate health facilities and develop/maintain the capacity for clinical management of radiation injuries and plan for building sustainable capacity for healthcare facility response to radiation emergencies. *
  4. Develop case management guidelines to manage radiation injuries, contaminated casualties and internal contamination (either as a standalone guideline or as part of the case management guidelines for all hazards). *
  5. Train relevant health workers on the protocols and guidelines including management of radiation injuries, handling of contaminated casualties and radioactive waste in hospitals and ensure health facilities have arrangements in place to support these actions. *
  6. Develop a mechanism for systematic information exchange between competent radiological authorities and human health surveillance units about radiological events and potential risks. *
  7. Develop mechanisms to alert the population in a nuclear emergency (as well as for other disasters and emergencies) and disseminate recommendations, taking into account the potential shutdown or failure of classic communication channels. *
  8. Develop policies, protocols and strategies for national and international transport of radioactive materials, samples and waste management and ensure the logistical requirements for transportation are in place. *
  9. Develop guidelines for the management of radiological waste including that from hospitals and medical services. *
  10. Establish a waste management site with the required capacity for monitoring it. *

04 DEMONSTRATED CAPACITY

  1. Establish arrangements to rapidly facilitate the monitoring of populations at risk of having been contaminated in order to mitigate contamination as necessary and/or provide reassurance that people are not contaminated at levels which require mitigation. *
  2. Develop and conduct emergency response drills, SimEx/AAR/IAR (as relevant) on radiation emergencies and update the response plan, mechanisms and guidelines accordingly. *
  3. Respond to any radiological threats with joint risk assessment, investigation and implementation of the response plan. *
  4. Share information with relevant stakeholders regularly on the risk and threats that are potential for emergencies. *
  5. Regularly monitor (quantity and quality) of the national stockpile of medical nuclear and radiation emergency countermeasures. *
  6. Expand health facilities with capacity to manage patients of radiation emergencies. *
  7. Provide arrangements for evacuation and relocation plans for high risk regions, premises and facilities.by national competent authority *

05 SUSTAINABLE CAPACITY

  1. Document and disseminate best practices of test results and reviews. *
  2. Conduct regular training of staff of health facilities to manage patients in the event of a radiation emergency. *
  3. Regularly review and adapt response plan, mechanisms and guidelines based on findings from emergency response drills and SimEx/AAR/IAR (as relevant). *
  4. Sustain a mechanism to establish the response capacity at national and subnational levels. *
  5. Support research programmes to generate evidence for detecting and responding to radiological and nuclear emergencies for planning, prioritizing and decision-making processes. *
  6. Share country experiences in surveillance, alert and response to radiological or nuclear events or emergencies and play a mentoring role with other countries. *

* Participation and contribution of other sectors to action.

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