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This is a full transcript of the online presentation. For the presentation itself, go here.

Presented by: Steve Furnace, AA, RSO, Hazmat Specialist
Bureau of Radiation Control
Division of Environmental Health
Contact Number: 407-297-2096 Ext. 214

Talking about radiation and contamination. Again radiation is particles or waves of energy that is emitted from unstable atoms. Right here I have a sample of one this is actually a uranium rock, and this rock can give out radiation which you can pick up right here. This was found probably out in Colorado picked up in someone’s backyard. Uranium is rather interesting it has a four and a half billion year half life, so its going to be a long, long time before this rock loses its radioactivity. Is there enough here to hurt anybody, no. We just have equipment that is sensitive enough to pick it up.

Contamination, well that’s radioactive material, usually in any location you do not want it, normally I’ll come out and say perfume. You smell the perfume thick of that is radiation. If the actual material itself, the liquid itself, is on your arm you don’t want it there that’s contamination and you can smell the perfume that’s which is the radiation that your getting. So basically contamination is radioactive material in an unwanted area.

Controlling you exposure to radiation. It’s normally done with time, distance, and shielding. You’ll minimize the time people or yourself are in a radioactive area and you’ll maximize the distance away from the area. Protecting personnel, well use all the shielding you have. Again remember paper or your skin can stop alpha radiation, turn out gear or bunker gear is good gear for alpha. Beta radiation, well you’re going to need some sheets of aluminum, or think plastic, usually for firefighters the plastic shield that is front of their helmet works well in stopping beta radiation. Gamma rays, well now you’re looking into the lead and concrete to stop that. Same as the neutron radiation, in fact ill back a step there. Neutron radiation is hydrogen so water or paraffin’s or waxes are used for shielding neutron radiation, but then again your chances of running into that are slim to none.

Controlling contamination, what you use for universal precautions works well in controlling yourself for contamination. You want to avoid any internal exposure contaminating people around you, and think about dyking water runoff but using gloves minimizing your exposure to contamination.

Some of the greatest potential for contamination is breached packages. You might have a package from a hospital or a radiopharmaceutical drug company that going to a hospital they can get into an accident and the package has been breached well we have contamination. Even fire can spread contamination. Again if you have a lot of water run off usually we recommend that you dyke the water off, don’t let it go into the retention ponds if you can avoid it. Some of the methods if you respond to a radiological accident, secure the scene or the area, only allow qualified persons into the hot zone, try to identify and isolate the contaminated sources of radiation, extinguish fires, and limit the runoff or dyke or dam the runoff as well.

Some of the methods you can use to protect yourself. Gloves, and you’ll change out gloves quite often. Wear your protective gear. Bag or tape tools or equipment, remember if that tools becomes contaminated your going to lose use of it, so we recommend you bag it or tape the tool. And try to limit the material entering the hot zone, the less amount of material going in the less amount potentially getting contaminated. Always stay alert and ensure good rad work practices, again universal precautions that slips right over. Always survey people who exit from the hot zone, don’t let them go out wandering about they have to be surveyed.

Something about on-scene accident response. Always help injured people, notify the authorities, and isolate the area. One things that’s somewhat unique about a radiological accident, don’t think that there’s a big rush that you have to respond and do something. There’s nobody hurt, or you’d evacuate the hurt and injured people. Just set up a barrier until somebody knows what to do arrives to give the assistance you need.

Another good acronym is say you are involved in a structure fire and there is radioactive material is SWIMS. SWIMS means secure the area, warn others, isolate the spill of radioactive material, minimize your exposure, and secure the ventilation. If this material becomes airborne and gets in the ventilation systems it can spread throughout the building.

More about the emergency equipment that come on the scene. Surgical or disposable gloves you might need a lot of them. Trash bags and the ties that go with them, so all this contaminating material, you want to bag it all up. Full size sheets and blankets. People, you might be deconing people, and truthfully about 80% of contamination can be removed by removal of their clothing. And you’ll need rope and barrier tape.

Monitoring for contamination. Always perform an operation check of your instrument, make sure the instrument is calibrated. If you have a shield make sure the shield is open. If you detect alpha or low energy beta particles that person is contaminated, and it is always best to start at the lowest range of the instrument. Determine your background radiation limits first, go to at least 150 feet away or more from an area you suspect is contaminated with radiological material and get a background reading, again it’s kind of like getting a blood pressure check or a baseline of an individual. And adjust the instrument down to the lowest range.

When your surveying people, recommend about one inch away, sometimes a tongue depressor that’s marked one inch and taped to a probe head and that can be used as a guide you to go ahead and survey people for contamination. I always recommend start out at the hands first, you know that’s the most likely area for contamination to be at, the next is the feet. Once you have surveyed the hands and feet move the probe no more than one to two inches per second, truthfully to do a very good survey of somebody it could take at least 10 minutes. If you get twice background, that persons contaminated.

Do not delay or hinder emergency medical care just to survey victims just for contamination. Most of the 99% of the material you going find out there is really not harmful to humans beings. So this persons hurt, do what you normally do in helping people in getting them on to the hospital, just again practice good radiological control. Just don’t move people around, if their injured just perform a survey if movement could be medically contra indicated.

Again no eating, drinking, or smoking or chewing at an accident site, in the ambulance or at the hospital, until you’re released by the radiation safety officer. Ambulances need to be surveyed before they’re released. When you bring a patient into the ambulance I recommend you close all your lockers up and basically sheath the inside of the ambulance with plastic to minimize contamination.