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Information for Public Health Professionals
Public health professionals will play an important role in any radiation emergency. Key responsibilities (in addition to traditional public health functions) will include:
- Conducting population monitoring
- Initiating health surveillance and epidemiological investigations
- Coordinating the distribution of medical resources and providing guidance regarding the use of altered standards of care and managing scarce medical resources
- Addressing food and water safety
- Providing protective action and other key messages for the public and other key audiences
- Ensuring safe shelter operations
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To help state, local, tribal, and territorial public health professionals develop plans and response capacity for radiation emergencies, CDC has the following resources:
Planning
- Radiation Response Briefing Manual: A Guide for Key Leaders and Public Health Decision Makers (July 2020) pdf icon[PDF – 20 MB]
- Public Health Planning for Radiological/Nuclear Terrorism
- Success Stories in Radiation Emergency Preparedness
- Population Monitoring in Radiation Emergencies pdf icon[PDF – 12.7 MB]
- Virtual Community Reception Center (vCRC)
- Community Reception Center (CRC) Drill Toolkit
- POD to CRC Planning Tool word icon[DOCX – 1 MB] |pdf icon[PDF – 3 MB]
- CRC Operations in Radiation Emergencies: An Overview for Public Health Personnelexternal icon
- A Guide to Operating Public shelters in a Radiation Emergency pdf icon[PDF – 8 MB]
- Guide for Handling Radioactive Contaminated Decedents pdf icon[PDF – 1.4 MB]
- Use of Environmental Monitoring Data to Support Public Health Decision Making in Radiation Emergencies
- Radiation Basics Made Simple
- Radiation Emergency Training for Poison Center Staff
Other Response Tools and Resources
CDC has many other training and education resources, communication and response tools, and guidance documents for public health professionals and others involved in preparedness and response to a radiation emergency:
- Key Radiation Emergency Training, Education, and Tools
- Radiological Terrorism: Tool Kit for Public Health Officials
- Radiation Emergencies Resource Library
- Public Health Preparedness Capabilities
Related Links
- Tool Kit for Clinicians
- Summary of CDC Roundtable on Population Monitoring pdf icon[PDF – 334 KB]
- Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonationexternal icon
- Countermeasures/Treatment
- Protecting Yourself and Your Family
- Types of Radiation Emergencies
- Strategic National Stockpile
- Report on the NACCHO/CDC Workshop on Operating Public Shelters During a Radiation Emergency (August 2010) pdf icon[PDF – 8 MB]
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Page last reviewed: August 6, 2021