1. EPA's Radiological and Nuclear Emergency Response Program June 18, 2009 Presented by: Ronald Fraass, Lab Director National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory 1

2. EPA’s Role in Terrorist Incidents Pre-release Support the DHS and the FBI in threat credibility assessment Can pre-deploy at Nationally Significant Special Events (NSSEs) or on Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST) Incident-specific Post-release Forensic assets assist in evidence collection Emergency response assets respond to consequences of incident at the tactical level Clean-up efforts 2

3. Consequences Response Role  Provide overall response coordination (NRF/ESF#10) – emergency response management/support to federal, state, tribal, and local governments  Perform and coordinate radiological monitoring and assessment  Develop Protective Action Guides (PAGs)  Provide “Special Teams” emergency response radiological expertise and support under the NCP and also as NIRT members if requested by FEMA  Serve as Coordinating Agency under the NRF’s Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex in some circumstances: 3

4. US EPA’s SPECIAL TEAMS Working Together to Support National Emergency Response 4

5. ■ - OSC Locations ■ - National Labs & Centers ● - RERT Locations ● - ERT Locations ● - NDT Location * - NCERT EPA Response Assets ■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ ● ● ■ ■ ■ ■ * ■ ● ● ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■■ ■ ■■ * ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ● ● ● ■ 5

6. Radiological Emergency Response Team (RERT) Established in 1971 Mission - leads or assists federal, state, tribal, and local response efforts before, during, and following a radiological incident Focus: Radiation monitoring & evaluation Sampling / monitoring Lab analysis Hazard evaluation Characterization Clean-up decontamination Risk Assessment Waste disposal 6

7. Environmental Response Team (ERT) Established in 1978 Mission: Support the nation’s response, cleanup and renewal of its contaminated land, water and air. Focus: “classic environmental” emergencies and more… Characterization Sampling / monitoring Hazard evaluation Risk Assessment Health & Safety Decon / disposal 7

8. National Decontamination Team (NDT) Established 2003 Mission – to provide on-site scientific and technical expertise in response to incidences of national significance involving environmental contamination and acts of terrorism related to weapons of mass destruction. Focus: WMD agents Buildings, infrastructure, indoor environments, agriculture, environmental media Sampling Health and Safety Decontamination Waste Disposal Nature and extent of contamination 8

9. National Counterterrorism Evidence Response Team (NCERT) Established in 2001 MISSION – To provide specialized law enforcement management of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents Focus : provide special agents for crime scene forensics and evidence collection in contaminated zones RNC 2004 NYC AMERITHRAX DC RICIN INCIDENT DC 9

10. Special Team Assets PERSONNEL Environmental Scientists Health Physicists Medical Officers Geologists Industrial Hygienists Toxicologists Chemists Biologists Engineers (Chem, Env, Civ, Nuc) Env Protection Specialists Special Agents – Law Enforcement 10

11. Special Team Assets Mobile Labs – MERLS, TAGA, Phyllis, ASPECT, field lab systems Scanner Van/ERGS/Robots Real time Air Monitoring Mobile Command Posts/platforms Sampling and Monitoring equipment for rad/chem/bio Forensic sampling RadNet – Fixed & deployable monitors Fixed Labs: Radiological and Mixed Waste 11

12. EPA has upgraded its national radiation air monitoring because air is a likely pathway of exposure from a terrorist incident Previously known as the Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System (ERAMS) Nationwide, continuously operating environmental radiation monitoring system Upgraded air monitoring to include both fixed and deployable components Air monitoring provides near real-time gamma spectroscopy & beta detection Milk, precipitation, and drinking water also routinely monitored Helps decision-makers estimate the effects of national scale radioactive releases on human health and the environment Developed system to meet data quality objectives based on response timeline National Radiation Monitoring 12

13. Fixed Monitor Systems Major Components Air Sampler Radiation Instruments : Gamma Spectroscopy & Beta Detectors transmit data in near-real time Data Processing & Storing Data Telemetry—4 options 13

14. RadNet Fixed Air Monitors 14

15. Deployable Monitors 40 deployable air monitors improve system coverage around an incident or potential threat Automatically transmit near-real- time external exposure rate Provide more flexible monitoring capability Include high and low volume air samplers and simplified weather station 15

16. Radiological Incident Response Challenges Maintaining radiation emergency response, clean-up capabilities, and preparedness  Application of DHS guidance for establishing cleanup levels  Practical planning and exercises to make this approach viable and acceptable to affected state and local officials  Expanding national laboratory operating capacity for radionuclides  Processing and integrating massive incident data Ensuring that appropriate research is being conducted to help support our radiological clean-up mission  Transferring decontamination & clean-up technologies to urban environments Integrating limited technical specialists into national response 16