Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors National Radiological Emergency Preparedness Conference Charleston, SC May 3, 2016 Ken Evans, HS/ER-5 Committee Chair Ken Yale and Stephen Woods, HS/ER-5 Committee

Support of Southern Exposure Ken Evans and Steve Woods served as FRMAC evaluators for Southern Exposure Ken Yale played the ROSS role during Southern Exposure

The Role of the Radiological Operations Support Specialist (ROSS)

ROSS Concept DHS and DOE Initiative Radiological Technical Experts Provide support to Incident Command Tested in support of IND and NPP

ROSS at Southern Exposure Plume Phase Support to Field Team Incident Commander Transitional Phase Briefing to Incident Management Team (IMT) Post-Plume Phase Support to IMT responsible for field activities

Plan for the ROSS Identify Technical Staffing Gaps Determine If You Need More Than One Identify Critical Interface Points

Plan for the ROSS Know How the ROSS Differs From a Liaison Understand What Skills the ROSS Brings Can Serve as a Force Multiplier

Prepare for the ROSS Develop Briefing About Your Organization Have Contact List Available With Multiple ROSS Have a Bridge Line

Prepare for the ROSS Have Pre-Planned Tasking Have Plume and Post-Plume Tasking Have A Copy of Your Plan Available

Respond with the ROSS Communicate, Communicate, Communicate Provide Direction With a Little Information a ROSS Can Do A Lot

Respond with the ROSS Free State/Locals to Support Decision Makers ROSS Not a Policy Maker Share the Wealth (You Will be Overwhelmed)

Other Lessons Learned An IMT Can Be Very Effective Involve the IMT Early Avoid Evaluated Exercises for New Concepts

Other Lessons Learned Even Well Practiced Plans Have Gaps Use Regional/Compact Resources Use Standardized ICS Forms

CONTROLLING A LARGE EXERCISE HOW TO ENSURE ADEQUATE CONTROLLERS ARE IN PLACE WHERE NEEDED

SE 15 JOINT EXERCISE CONTROL GROUP The SE 15 Exercise was conducted using HSEEP guidance Most REP Exercises currently do not fully embrace the HSEEP methodology As a result most REP Exercises do not have a Joint Exercise Control Group

REP Exercises The FEMA REP Program maintained a parallel control structure for day 1 for evaluated portion of the exercise Problems developed on day 2 when FEMA was still trying to finish evaluation of REP objectives.

REP Exercises There is a difference in the number and type of controllers needed in a REP exercise vs. HSEEP exercise

MSEL VS. REP TIMELINE As this was an HSEEP exercise there was a MSEL as opposed to the traditional timeline of events for a REP exercise When the release on day 1 was extended three hours longer than planned the MSEL suffered A MSEL is harder to change than a timeline.

MULTIPILE LOCATIONS There is always a challenge controlling multiple locations Most personnel from South Carolina were at the SEOC

MULTIPILE LOCATIONS Only one dose assessor from South Carolina was collocated with FRMAC No State controllers were at the FRMAC

COMMUNICATIONS Communications among players and facilities and organizations are key Controllers are needed to ensure that communications breakdowns are not the result of scenario artificiality Unfortunately this breakdown in communications was observed in several instances

Advance Party Meeting No advance party meeting was observed at the SiMT when FRMAC was activated at the end of day 1 Large scale exercises require pre staging personnel Controllers are needed to ensure these artificialities are handled as realistically as possible

RASCAL SOURCE TERM FRMAC and the state were delayed in their assessments due to problems obtaining the RASCAL Source Term This release being extended three hours on day one contributed to the delay

RASCAL SOURCE TERM There were not enough controllers present to answer players requests The point is that realistically this information would have been available to players

PLANNING A LARGE EXERCISE An exercise of this scope will consume most of your staff It is difficult to have a sufficient number of controllers and evaluators This is because good evaluators and controllers must be experienced and familiar with the area observed In 2016 most agencies do not have the staff they once did

SUMMARY The evaluated objectives of a REP exercise do not lend themselves to the free play that is needed for a large Federal HSEEP Exercise Even in a huge and long exercise there are artificialities and time compression that controllers must deal with The integration of the State of South Carolina with FRMAC was hampered by the physical separation

SUMMARY CONTINUED The learning opportunities of a large exercise are worth the time and effort that goes into the exercise No amount of planning can take the place of actually verifying that the plans are workable Special thanks goes out to all the Federal, State, local and utility partners who made SE15 a reality

PLANNING FOR A LARGE EXERCISE

Southern Exposure FRMAC Operations

Things to consider when planning for a large exercise Minimum of one year of planning is recommended Commitment includes planners, venue selection, objectives, time shifts selection, players and controller and evaluator staff Key planners identified, turnovers lead to confusion and setbacks Finding of venues - Free state or local facilities are great

Things to consider when planning for a large exercise continued….. Agreed to Objectives and the need to stick to them REP exercise or not, based on SE lessons learned, recommend not combining REP with large scale federal exercise

FRMAC Advance Party Critical in getting federal assets aligned with state and local responders Location needs to be addressed in planning for the exercise. State and Local key staff should participate if available. Delegates work if needed. Key state and local objectives identified

South Carolina Briefing to the FRMAC

Keys to a successful response Situational awareness is key NIMS/ICS provides key structure Importance of development and daily use of a coordinated action plan Data products are critical for decision making FRMAC Liaisons can provide key interpretations of FRMAC data products

Aerial Measurement System asset

DOE AMS Helicopter

Keys to a successful response continued….. ROSS can provide assistance if needed Advisory team will provide recommendations, based on state and local questions and FRMAC data products Joint media center will be a key coordination point for the media Laboratory capacity can be a bottleneck for key data

EPA Mobile Lab Asset

Other considerations Large scale exercises vs regional exercises Use of RadResponder and other electronic tools Timing issues, during a response, things will get better with time Handling of stress, staff burnout is a real issue Policy issues are critical

EPA Aspect

Advisory Team

Contact Information Ken Evans, Illinois Emergency Management Agency 217-785-9912; Ken.Evans@illinois.gov Ken Yale, Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality 517-930-5784; YALEK@michigan.gov Stephen Woods, California Dept. of Public Health (916) 440-7883; Steve.woods@cdph.ca.gov

Special Thanks SC Dept. of Health and Environmental Control SC Forestry Commission Dept. of Energy Dept. of Homeland Security CRCPD Many Others