Description
The constant potential exists for a radiological or nuclear emergency to occur anywhere in the Nation. There are numerous local, State, and Federal assets available to respond to small- and large-scale emergencies but without certain elements any radiological preparedness plan is ineffective. National preparedness starts at the top; Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8) was released emphasizing the importance of taking an "All-of-Nation" approach to addressing threats and hazards to the Nation. Combining important emergency management principles with detection, plume modeling, and assessment capabilities of radiological conditions, communities can prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to, and recover from a variety of radiological disasters. Steps have been taken since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina to improve the security and resiliency of the Nation. The emergency preparedness cycle guides agencies at all levels of government in their efforts to meet the standards set forth in PPD-8 and its supplemental guidance. This thesis examines a variety of homeland security, emergency response, and technical nuclear/radiological references with the purpose of applying this guidance to enhance the local preventive radiological/nuclear detection capabilities of San Diego County and its surrounding area. During the analysis of these references, a common theme addressed by the authors was the need to improve detection, plume modeling, and assessment of radiological conditions in radiation preparedness programs at all levels of government. San Diego State University is taking a proactive approach in improving this capability by: (1) providing technical educational opportunities, (2) subject matter expertise, (3) equipment and (4) assessment tools to the local and/or regional response community in the context of the current National Preparedness framework
