Overview - Radiation Emergency Assistance Center Training Site, Prepared by G T Smith

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I.OVERVIEW - RADIATION EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE CENTER TRAINING SITE This i s probably one of the most unique C.E. programs i n the United States,if not in the world today. education and consul t ation in radiation accidents and incidents. the management and health problems associated w i t h radiation accidents has provided expertise i n these areas by the professionals from Oak Ridge through lectures, demonstrations, professional exhibits, newsletters and reports, such a s the one generated for the Department of Transportation. the emphasis on the accident registry system is without parallel, the inclusion i n the United States Radiation Accident Registry but the medical follow-up information o f radiation victims and communications o f medical therapies t o those professionals potentially involved make this a laudatory This is true because of the assistance, The importance of In reviewing the division programs of REAC/TS and its ambulatory space for decontamination of radiation accident victims, emergency medical training , we found the staff to be highly trained i n the management of human radiation injuries. My overall reaction to this is that (1) itis not well enough known and (2)it should be open t o other agencies in sites where needed. interested i n the development of such a program f o r the VA medical center facilities. In this instance, i t would seem t o me that out of the 172 VA medical centers in the United States there is atleast one located close t o every nuclear energy site. t o opening this program t o the various ambulatory care centers within the VA I would, therefore, recommend a consideration be given as

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evaluation) as an educational specialist to oversee the design i n your programs. This could be particularly helpful i n terms procedures, I am enclosing a simple evaluation procedure uti1 University of Alabama which f o r instance could help you begin a recor facilities such as the one located close t o the Three Mile Island nuclear equipment and experienced staff required for the medical management of patients exposed t o ionizing radiation o r contamination with radioactive materials. keep pace with this increasing potential, itis essential that your Organization consider adding extra dimensions t o the REAC/TS Program, In terms o f Organization, few facilities possess the specialized I would like to The addition of atleast one Ph,D, (adult education design and system which would then allow an educational specialist to do longitudinal studies and examine over a period of time the benefits derived from the attendance of your courses a t Oak Ridge. Dr. Ricks a c t s as Program Coordinator or Program Manager, He does a particularly good job with the program as itis now defined. However, I question whether or not the number of programs are adequate t o meet the needs f o r potential trainees as new applications of nuclear technology are developed in industry, medicine, research defense and i n other consumer areas. I am really questioning whether or not there isa need toput on more programs and have more trained personnel as nuclear techno1 ogy increases inits appl icati on t o

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Because the courses are kept to relatively small numbers due t o the facilities and specialized equipment which i s available, the role o f the secretaries a s the logistics personnel has been sufficient. If,in deed, there isa need for further expansion of these programs with added educational dimensions, I would recommend the eventual employment of a full-time logistics coordinator i n order t o make certain that rooms, coffee breaks, transportation, etc., are fully complemented and that these necessary small items do not fall between the cracks. A t the present time television equipment i s inadequate, Furthermore, i t has become the responsibility of local individuals to utilize the present equipment during simulation exercises such as the practice session simulating radiation exposures and decontamination. Eventually what will be needed within this area are individuals trained i n television production, editing and technology. T h i s will be particularly true i n the future as transportation becomes increasingly expensive due t o increasing energy costs. over 30% during the past year and i s expected t o increase substantially during the course of the next year. Airline travel has now increased As a result of this, new types o f educational activities will be required, Certainly- . one educational activity which should be considered i s audiovisual television programming. In this particular i n - stance i t would be possible t o place various types o f learning demonstrations on TV which could be utilized by the various hospital personnel attending your meeting both as a continuing education effort, once they have attended a meeting and secondly, t o update individuals asto the changing medical, safety and allied health management of nuclear o r ionizing radiation. Case reports, for instance, could be well demonstrated i n such a manner.

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I t was obvious that the various nationally and internationally renown nuclear medicine professionals have been inv&ved-j-n-theg_ast_int- your program design and development. A suggestion might be that this group of individuals be formalized and meet atleast activities and programs which would help bring the national medical community up-to-date on the items which are considered most important. such a formalized review committee could have a task force on safety factors, decontamination procedures, medical treatment of radiation injuries, federal registry, and preparation of reports. All of these have a continuing educational value which i s absolutely essential for the future of the United States. By formalizing your review committee you would be developing a g r o u p of outstanding experts who could both sanction the objectives and may be o f assistance i n the development o f further funding for new educational activities. During my short stay in Oak Ridge, i t was apparent t h a t each of the nuclear energy sites that selected certain hospitals within their immediate vicinity to take care of potential hazards developed a t each facility. An educational activity which might be helpful would be for each of these hospitals and/or nuclear test sites to name a liaison official who would deal directly with REAC/TS. These liaison representatives could be brought to Oak Ridge once a year or as often as was deemed necessary, for an up-date i n your various procedures, These individuals in turn could go back to their centers and develop training programs for their own personnel. Such a program would . be consistent with training the trainer, who could then have educational responsibilities at the local level.

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1 . Programs. The programs presently utilized are ( a ) medical planning and care in radiation accidents, (b) health physics in radiation accidents , ( c ) hand1 i n g of radiation accidents by emergency personnel Whether ornot these should be expanded t o include, for instance, the of radiation since you have on your staff atleast two well-known ind in this field, should be considered. 2. Seminars. The medical basis f o r radiation accident preparedness represents a type of seminar which you have done i n the past andI am not clear whether you intend t o continue this type of educational activity in the future or not. should be given as t o whether or not these should be continued on a formal annual basis, a t what level, and f o r what groups. For example, I could see such seminars being conducted a t the Regional Medical Education Centers f o r the VA medical centers i n the United States. The seminar, however, appeared t o be excellent. Consideration 3. Training Films. Although equipment precludes t h i s type of development a t the present time, I believe this is something that will become essential in the future. 4. Audio Films. Updates on the basis for radiation accident preparedness updates are calphysics, radiation accidents, medical planning a n d care, and so f o r t h , could be excellent examples of audio tapes prepared by your center. 5. Newsletters. I t is my understanding that newsletters are prepared and sent t o various constituencies throughout the country. way o f keeping people informed as t o your courses, registry, research which i s going on i n the division. included i n your newsletter t o be most helpful. This i s an excellent I particularly found the selected bibliography

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6. Publications. Time and staff seem t o be the major limitation t o your publications, ifI understand the situation correctly, It would be appropriate for a continuing education report from the medical a n d health science division similar t o your research report t o be developed each year forat least the associated universities and other constituencies. f o r the Department of Transportation was excellent and i n terms of growth reports such a s these should certainly be supported with great vigor, The report done 7. Computer Assistance -Instruction. I n medicine andin engineering particularly, this mode of educational activity will be markedly increased during the decade of the 80's a n d 9 0 ' s . utilization of the computer modality as a teaching instrument for your types Consideration should be given t o the 8. Circuit Riding. The philosophy a t the present time, as I believe .is dictated by the Department of Energy, is to bring the ''goats into enjoy the hay" a t Oak Ridge. energy and new consumer interest,it might be appropriate t o consider the possibility of taking your programs on the road or " taking the hay t o the tion is presently fostered, butI believe itis an area which should be given future consi deration In the future, because of travel costs, expenditure of I do not completely understand the conservatism on which t h i s assumpI am enclosing an editorial and goals for the 80's as we are presently discussing them a t the University of Alabama, some use t o you. I hope that these may be of