Transcript – Myth7

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[Person 1:] No way, the stuff lasts forever. It’s not like you can just wait a few days and go back to business as usual. It’s like Chernobyl. After that, no one went there for 30 years.

[Person 2:] I really don’t know. I do know that I would be afraid to come downtown for at least a decade because I don’t know if radiation hangs on to things or people or what. I don’t know if it can be transposed on people’s cars all over the metro part of the city. It’s just something I hadn’t really thought about, but it is a little scary.

[Person 3:] Probably not. I guess I would need proof. And like how would you know that? So probably not, no, no.

[Vivi:] These people seem to think they will never be able to return home. Is that always the case after a radiation emergency?

[Armin:] This is a tough one to work through, because there are some areas where radiation levels will be too high for people to go back. But there will be a lot of areas where people can return. These areas may have been evacuated initially, but after some amount of time, weeks, months, or even years, the radiation levels won’t pose a health hazard to people who choose to go back.

[Vivi:] So it comes down to the amount of residual contamination that’s present?

[Armin:] Yes, that’s part of it. And we need to assess the radiation dose people in that area will receive from that contamination.

[Vivi:] And who figures that out? Who measures radiation levels?

[Armin:] It’s a joint effort among local, state, and federal authorities. Shortly after the radiation emergency, assets and resources from many agencies come together to form the FRMAC, the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center. The FRMAC supports the Incident Command by coordinating radiological monitoring operations, analyzing the data, and developing maps showing what areas are affected.

[Vivi:] How long do those activities take?

[Armin:] The initial monitoring effort may last a few weeks, depending on the incident. During this phase of the response, we are focused on identifying areas with radiation levels that could be harmful to people in the short-term. As the response progresses, the focus shifts toward recovery questions, such as when people can return to their homes, farms, or businesses. And the answers to those questions depend on a number of factors including the nature of the incident, the radionuclides involved, the size of the affected area, and the practicality of cleanup efforts. Radiation levels will go down significantly, but the timeline varies depending on these processes.

[Vivi:] This is information that people need to know throughout the process. During and after a radiation emergency, health officials will need to communicate that some information may not be known for some time. Acknowledging the uncertainty of the situation will help officials earn and keep the public’s trust as the community begins to rebuild and recover. Communicators also need to think about the way that different audiences get their news and how best to reach them.

[Armin:] And we should remember, Vivi, the technical information is only one element of the decision making process. Decisions about when to return to the affected area have to involve members of that community.

[Vivi:] That’s right. There are a lot of ways to get community input, whether it is through social media, emails, or talking to community representatives. One effective communication channel to keep the public informed is a community meeting. After the meeting, officials can post recordings, meeting minutes, and decisions online. They can also share them with the media to ensure transparency about the decision making process. Community involvement and community-based decision making will be critical to rebuilding and recovery. Armin, thank you for taking the time to help me dispel these myths.

[Armin:] Thank you for having me.

[Vivi:] For more information on radiation emergency response, please visit our website. ^M00:04:05

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