Emergency Response Training

REAC/TS trains emergency responders in preparation for Pan American Games

The 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, attracted more than 6,000 athletes from 42 countries. As organizers planned for the enthusiastic crowds, they also had to prepare for the possibility of terrorism.

REAC/TS is managed by ORAU for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration. As part of NNSA’s comprehensive approach to nuclear and radiological incident response, the agency works with other countries to increase international response capabilities.

The NNSA, in cooperation with Mexico’s National Commission of Nuclear Safety and Safeguards and the National Center for Disaster Prevention, arranged for REAC/TS physicians and health physicists to conduct a four-day workshop on radiological contamination and accident casualties in Mexico City. The workshop was attended by 220 physicians, nurses, hospital administrators, emergency personnel and representatives of the Mexican Red Cross.

In an NNSA press release about the training in Mexico, NNSA Associate Administrator for Emergency Operations Admiral Joseph Krol (retired) said, “NNSA was pleased to provide medical response training as part of our ongoing cooperation with Mexican authorities. It’s important that we strengthen cooperation on nuclear and radiological incident response, particularly as Mexico prepares to host the Pan American Games this October. As part of NNSA’s comprehensive approach to nuclear and radiological incident response, emergency radiation medical training leverages the decades of experience we have at NNSA and at our Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site.”

Each year REAC/TS conducts training around the world to prepare health care providers and emergency responders to respond to radiation exposure and contamination—whether accidental or as a result of terrorism.