title: Radiological incident preparedness: planning at the local level.
abstract: Radiological terrorism has been recognized as a probable scenario with high impact. Radiological preparedness planning at the federal and state levels has been encouraging, but translating complex doctrines into operational readiness at the local level has proved challenging. Based on the authors' experience with radiological response planning for the City of Baltimore, this article describes an integrated approach to municipal-level radiological emergency preparedness planning, provides information on resources that are useful for radiological preparedness planning, and recommends a step-by-step process toward developing the plan with relevant examples from the experience in Baltimore. Local governmental agencies constitute the first line of response and are critical to the success of the operation. This article is intended as a starting framework for local governmental efforts toward developing a response plan for radiological incidents in their communities.
authors.affiliation: Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA. cmtan@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Clive M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stolz
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Links
mesh_terms: D015142:Baltimore; D002959:Civil Defense / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D035082:Federal Government; D006285:Health Planning; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D054043:Nuclear Weapons; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013219:State Government; D023481:Terrorism