CDC Hosts Conference on Preparedness for Radiation Emergencies

CDC′s Roybal campus in Atlanta - credit James Gathany CDC

In light of the recent disaster in Japan, the CDC’s is holding a conference centered on ensuring that the U.S. and its agencies are prepared to handle a variety of crisis. The conference is taking place this week in Altanta, GA.

Attending the conference are leaders from state and local government agencies including Radiation Control Directors, Emergency Coordinators, First Responders, Emergency Managers and other health and emergency professionals.

According to a statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Preparing the public health and clinician workforce for radiological and nuclear terrorism incidents is a critical need in our time. To meet the need for mass casualty education and emergency response planning resources, the Radiation Studies Branch in the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will sponsor a national conference on public health preparedness for radiation emergencies.”

Some of the goals hoped to result from the conference are the creation of a network of public health professionals invested radiation emergency preparedness, as well as to create an open forum for agencies to share ideas and communicate best practices.

Source: CDC and Dept of Health and Human Services