Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation

Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation: First Edition

The Homeland Security Council has just published the first edition of its planning guidance for responding to a nuclear detonation in the United States. The HSC is a Federal interagency committee with representation from the Executive Office of the President (homeland Security Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy), the Departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation, Veteran’s Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

According to the document, “The purpose of this guidance is to provide emergency planners with nuclear detonation-specific response recommendations to maximize the preservation of life in the event of an urban nuclear detonation. This guidance addresses the unique effects and impacts of a nuclear detonation such as scale of destruction, shelter and evacuation strategies, unparalleled medical demands, management of nuclear casualties, and radiation dose management concepts.”