Critical Infrastructure Archives

Public Health Response & Severe Weather Emergencies

Audrey Mazurek September 24, 2012

Public health professionals are constantly building the capacity and capabilities needed to respond to a variety of possible emergencies such as biological events, pandemic influenza, emerging diseases, manmade disasters, and a host of other dangers.

Hospitals Must Prepare Now for Future Contingencies

Theodore Tully September 19, 2012

Considering the financial constraints already in place, and the likelihood that there will be continuing reductions in federal grant funds for preparedness, the challenge facing U.S. hospitals and other healthcare facilities to do more with less has perhaps never been greater. More specifically, in preparedness planning and operations, very few

CBRNE & NIMS: Complementary, Not Contradictory

Stephen Grainer September 19, 2012

Some critics of the U.S. National Incident Management System (NIMS) have cited a wide variety of examples to justify their claims that the NIMS policy guidelines will not fully and/or effectively serve the nation’s needs in managing future emergency-response situations.

Securing Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Continuing Challenge

Richard Schoeberl September 19, 2012

As events of the past week have shown, the 18-month upheaval that has devastated Syria continues to present a major risk that the Syrian government’s caches of CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive) materials might fall into the hands of looters, defectors, opposition groups, and/or terrorist organizations. Moreover,

EPA’s Role in Domestic Preparedness

Erica Canzler September 12, 2012

The terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001 emphasized the need to better protect the nation against future threats. New government agencies were formed while existing agencies expanded their roles in preventing, responding to, and recovering from a variety of natural disasters and other emergencies. The Environmental Protection

Radiological Preparedness: A Short Primer

Jeffrey Williams September 12, 2012

The higher likelihood of a chemical or biological terrorist attack makes such incidents the focus of many education and training exercises. Preparing for a Fukushima-like nuclear incident, whether accidental or deliberate, must be addressed by educating the public, understanding how to best detect radioactive material, and protecting the population before

Radiation Contamination of Emergency Equipment

Joseph Cahill September 5, 2012

In 1945, Nagasaki became the second Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb in the closing days of World War II. The nuclear explosion caused immediate damage and killed tens of thousands of people, but the radiological contamination that remained took many additional lives. A crisis at a nuclear power

Countermeasures to Cope With Radioactive Exposure

W. Craig Vanderwagen September 5, 2012

The threat posed by an intentional manmade explosion from a radiation dispersal device, a nuclear detonation, or an accidental failure of a nuclear power plant persists. Recent events have brought these threats into focus over the past couple years – e.g., the Iranian plans for nuclear development and the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear

The Path to Longer-Term Resilience

Mara Bún August 22, 2012

Smoke thickened, black ash fell from the sky, and fire sirens wailed as residents fled for their lives – ortried to get back to their homes. They were all in a life-or-death race against Australia’s “Black Saturday”bushfires, which devastated huge areas of Victoria. Numerous lives were lost, thousands of citizens

Intelligence-Led Policing: Contributions to Community Resilience

Joseph W. Trindal August 22, 2012

Law enforcement’s role in expanding and improving “Whole of Community” resilience is continuing to develop at a rapid rate. In most communities, incorporating the concept known as “intelligence-led policing” continues to progress. Therefore, today’s police service agencies are now in aneal position to contribute substantively to strengthening community resilience across

Mass Transit Security Force Multipliers

Douglas McDaniel August 15, 2012

Situational awareness and information sharing are key factors in the guidelines recommended for mitigating terrorist threats. By developing the standards and policies needed to train all employees to recognize and report suspicious activity – and regularly reassessing such training – mass transit agencies can build a strong front line of

The ABCs of Transportation Planning for Special Events

Laurel J. Radow August 15, 2012

Washington Nationals’ owner Mark Lerner recently told The Washington Times that his team “would love to host a future All-Star Game.” That honor, though, would require extensive preparations to ensure the safety and security of people in and around the nation’s capital. Fortunately, the Federal Highway Administration has many useful

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