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U.S. National Institutes of Health
Cancer Diagnosis Program Cancer Imaging Program Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program Developmental Therapeutics Program Radiation Research Program Translational Research Program Biometric Research Branch Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Last Updated: 04/25/2012

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS

Civilian Medical Response to Radiation-Related Events

http://www.hhs.gov/aspr/

Contact:
C. Norman Coleman, M.D.
301-496-6111, ccoleman@mail.nih.gov

RRP staff members are working with the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to develop the civilian medical response plan for radio­logical/nuclear terrorism. This involves efforts with a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense (DoD), the National Security Council, and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) of the White House.

Under the leadership of Dr. Judy Bader, and with the collaboration of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), DHHS has developed a web-based guide for medical management of radiation injuries, REMM (Radiation Emergency Medical Management, http://www.remm.nlm.gov/). It may be downloaded to a computer or mobile device. It contains tools for estimating radiation exposure, triaging patients, managing patients with radiation injuries alone and those with additional injuries from burns or trauma, as well as a wealth of background information on radiation and its effects. It has links to emergency contacts. RRP staff and radiation experts from other government agencies and academia assisted in the development of REMM. An analogous system is available for chemical response, CHEMM.

RRP staff members are also contributing to the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency and International Standardization Organization on harmonization of technical manuals/standards for assessing radiation dose by biological dosimetry.