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The Advisory Teamfor Environment, Food, and Health

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The A-Team History

• The Advisory Team for Environment, Food, and Health (A-Team) was established to assist in international and domestic nuclear emergencies.

• The A-Team concept was incorporated into the FRERP in May 1996.

• In 1997 an Environment, Food, and Health Subcommittee of the FRPCC was established. (44CFR351.11)

• The A-Team is incorporated into the National Response Framework (NRF) via the Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex (June 2008).

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The Advisory Teamfor Environment, Food, and Health

(A-Team)The goal of the A-Team is to provide coordinated advice and recommendations to the State, Coordinating Agency, and DHS concerning environmental, food, and health matters.

Membership is comprised principally of :

and other Federal agencies as needed

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Advisory Team Duties Overview

Advisory Team provides recommendations in matters related to the following:

• Environmental assessments (field monitoring) required for developing recommendations;

• Protective Action Guides and their application to the emergency;

• Protective Action Recommendations using data and assessments from FRMAC;

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Advisory Team Duties Overview (cont.)

• Recommendations on the use of radioprotective substances (e.g., thyroid blocking agents)

• Recommendations to prevent or minimize exposure through the ingestion pathway from contaminated milk, food, and water;

• Recommendations regarding the disposition of contaminated livestock, poultry, and foods;

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Advisory Team Duties Overview (cont.)

• Recommendations for minimizing losses of agricultural resources;

• Provide guidance on availability of clean food, animal feed, and water supply inspection programs to assure wholesomeness;

• Recommendations on relocation, reentry, and other radiation protection measures prior to recovery;

• Recommendations for recovery, return, and cleanup issues;

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Advisory Team Duties Overview (cont.)

• Health and safety advice or information for the public and for emergency workers;

• Estimated effects of radioactive releases on human health and the environment; and

• Other matters, as requested by the coordinating agency (i.e. agricultural diversion, etc).

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Advisory Team

• Does not make policy decisions

• Does not make protective action decisions for States and locals, only recommendations

• Provides coordinated technical and scientific advice through the Coordinating Agency not directly to States

• Bases its recommendations on science and best practices

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National Response Framework

HHS – ESF #8

EPA – ESF #10

USDA – ESF #11

Effective March 22, 2008

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Department of Health and Human ServicesOffice of the Assistant Secretary

for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)

• Coordinates HHS research and development efforts relating to radiological and nuclear preparedness

• Promotes the development and acquisition of new medical countermeasures, bioassays, and biodosimetry devices in conjunction with CDC, FDA, and NIH

• Promotes the development of improved public health and hospital emergency preparedness through coordination of state grant programs administered by CDC and ASPR

• Coordinates HHS participation in interagency discussions on matters pertaining to radiological and nuclear emergency preparedness and response

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HHS Emergency Response Activities

• Stand up Secretary's Operations Center, coordinated with NOC

• Station radiation experts in the SOC to serve and advise senior

policy makers

• Deploy one or more Secretary's Incident Response Coordination Teams (IRCTs) to the affected locale(s)

• Deploy liaisons as appropriate to the NOC, FBI SIOC, and other

relevant Federal, state, and local command centers

• Work closely with the SNS, DOE, VA, and DoD to deploy available and appropriate medical countermeasures, medical and radiation emergency response teams, and other assets and personnel as requested by the affected locale

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ESF #8 SUPPORT

Categorized in the following core functional areas:

• Assessment of public health/medical needs

– includes mental/behavioral health

• Public health surveillance

• Medical care personnel

• Medical equipment and supplies

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ESF #8 Response Assets

• National Disaster Medical System (NDMS)– Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT)– Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams

(DMORT)– National Nursing Response Team (NNRT)– National Pharmacy Response Teams (NPRT)

http://ndms.dhhs.gov/nprt.html or http://ndms.fema.gov/nprt.html

– Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams (VMAT)www.avma.org/disaster/vmat/vmat.asp

• Commissioned Corps Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD)

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CDC Emergency Operations Center (EOC)(770) 488-7100Available 24/7

HHS/CDC Roles in Radiological Emergencies

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HHS Response Times

• 24/7 – Immediate Assistance

• Preliminary Assessment Team – 20 minutes

• On scene (CONUS) – 8 hours

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Support:

CDC RESPONSE

•Deploy Strategic National Stockpile

and Technical Advisory Response Unit (TARU)

•Evaluating health and medical impact on the public and emergency

personnel

•Assists in establishing exposure registry and monitoring long-term impacts

•Surveillance and epidemiological studies of exposed population

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Advise on:

CDC RESPONSE

• Triage

• Patient treatment and decontamination

• Medical intervention recommendations

• Disease control and prevention measures

• Safety and protection of health care providers

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Population Monitoring/Victim Decontamination

HHS, through ESF #8 and in consultation with the coordinating agency, coordinates Federal support for:– External monitoring of people and

decontamination• accomplished locally and are the responsibilities of

state, local, and tribal governments

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Population Monitoring/Victim Decontamination – cont’d

– HHS assists and supports State, local, and tribal governments in performing monitoring for internal contamination and administering available pharmaceuticals for internal decontamination, as deemed necessary by State health officials.

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Population Monitoring/Victim Decontamination – cont’d

– HHS assists local and State health departments in establishing a registry of potentially exposed individuals, perform dose reconstruction, and conduct long-term monitoring of this population for potential long-term health effects.

• For an example, see the World Trade Center Health Registry http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/wtc/index.html

CDC partnered with NYC in establishing the registry

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CDC Guidance

• Target audience:– State and local public

health and emergency preparedness personnel

• Focus– Mass casualty incidents

• Scope– Assumes local

infrastructure is intact– Principles apply to all

radiation incidents

http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation

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HHS/FDA Roles in

Radiological Emergencies

Office of Crisis ManagementEmergency Operations Center

US Food and Drug AdministrationRockville, Maryland

301-443-1240 (24 hour)

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FDA MissionThe Mission of the FDA prior to and during a radiological emergency is to:

•Protect the public health following a radiological incident by facilitating the development and availability of medical countermeasures

•Enhance the Agency’s emergency preparedness and response capabilities

•Ensure the safety and security of FDA regulated products

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FDA Regulated Products

• Human Drugs - including radiation countermeasures

• Veterinary Drugs – including radiation countermeasures

• Medical Devices – including ionizing and non-ionizing radiation emitting and screening devices

• Cosmetics

• Biologics – including vaccines, blood and blood products

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FDA Regulated Foods

All domestic and imported foods excluding Meat and Poultry

Milk

Butter

Cheese

Eggs

Vegetables

Grains

Shellfish

Seafood

Honey

Dietary supplements

Commercially produced game

Pet food

Live food animals

Bottled water

Food additives

Food packaging

Wine beverages < 7% alcohol

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A-Team: FDA

• Provides technical health physics support• Provides consultation on food contamination

issues• Provides advice on FDA regulated products

which may be affected by a radiological incident or utilized to mitigate the effects of such an event (i.e., medical and device countermeasures)

• Provides liaison and reach-back to FDA HQ

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FDA Organizational Structure

• Office of the Commissioner• Office of Regulatory Affairs• FDA Centers

– Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research– Center for Drug Evaluation and Research– Center for Devices and Radiological Health– Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition– Center for Veterinary Medicine– National Center for Toxicological Research

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US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Roles in

Radiological Emergencies

Office of the Deputy Secretary, Homeland Security Office1400 Independence Ave, SWRoom 12B, Whitten Building

Washington, DC 20250202-720-7654

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USDA Agency Response to Radiological Emergencies

• Prevent members of the public from ingesting contaminated food

• Ensure safety of food regulated by the USDA• Minimize damage to agriculture and its markets• Minimize damage to forests and rangelands

from radioactive contamination• Provide consultation on food contamination

issues• Provide liaison and reach back to USDA HQ

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USDA Emergency Response Structure

• Office of the Secretary• Emergency Operations Center - 24/7• Homeland Security Office• USDA Agency Representatives – Agricultural

Research Service, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Agricultural Marketing Service, Farm Service Agency, Forest Service, Food Safety Inspection Service, Food and Nutrition Service, Rural Development, and National Resource Conservation Service.

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ESF #11 SUPPORT

USDA is the Emergency Support Function 11 Coordinator:

• Provision of nutrition assistance by the Food and Nutrition

Service

• Animal and plant disease and pest response

• Assurance of safety and security of the commercial food supply

• Protection of Natural Cultural resources and Historic properties

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USDA A-Team Response Role

• Assist State and Local Governments– Developing agricultural protective action

recommendations, damage assessment reports and animal carcass disposal guidance

• Participation outlined in Nuc/Rad Annex– Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment

Center (FRMAC)– Advisory Team for Environment, Food & Health (A-

Team)

• National Response Framework ESF 11 support• USDA Radiological Emergency Response Plan• USDA Departmental Regulation 1800-1

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Pathways For Ingestion

E atin g & D rin k in g

M eat & M ilk

L ives tock & P ou ltry

F orag e & G ra in s

E a tin g & D rin k in g

F resh & P rocessed

F ru its , V eg e tab les , & G ra in s

S O IL & V E G E TA TIO N

D ep os it ion

A IR B O R N E R E L E A S E

D rin k in g

R eservo irs & C is te rn s

E a tin g & D rin k in g

F ish & S ea food

A q u atic C h a in

S U R F A C E & G R O U N D W A TE R

L IQ U ID R E L E A S E

..

Irrigation

Leach Runoff

Milk Water Other Foods

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USDA Protective Action Recommendations

• Milk• Fruits &

Vegetables• Meat & Meat

Products• Poultry & Poultry

Products

• Soils• Grains• Water• Fish & Marine Life• Honey• Game & Wildlife

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US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Roles in

Radiological Emergencies

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ESF #10 SUPPORT

The EPA is the Emergency Support Function (ESF)10 Coordinator:

• Lead coordination role to support State, local and tribal response

• Oil and hazardous materials response

• NCP and NRF can be used together

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EPA’s Radiological Emergency Response Role

• Emergency preparedness planning

• Development of Protective Action Guides (PAGs)

– Provide recommendations during emergencies

• Emergency response support (or lead) federal response to radiological emergencies

– Monitoring and assessment of release impacts

• Recovery, clean-up, & mitigation coordination

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Protective Action Guides

• Purpose of Protective Action Guides (PAGs)

• What is a PAG?

• Phases of a radiological emergency

• New approach to late phase & the recovery process

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Purpose of the PAG Manual

• Provide response guidance for nuclear and/or radiological incidents and accidents

• Provide recommended action levels for protecting the public and emergency workers

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What is a PAG?

The projected radiation dose to reference man, or other defined individual, from an accidental release of radioactive material at which a specific protective action to reduce or avoid that dose is warranted.

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Early Phase

• Beginning of the incident• Immediate decisions based on plant

conditions and minimal data• Protective Actions

– Evacuation -- 1 to 5 rem – Sheltering – no minimum– Stable iodine (KI) administration – 5 rem

child thyroid– Access control

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Intermediate Phase PAGs

• Population relocation ≥ 2 rem first year• Apply dose reduction techniques - < 2

rem first year• Food (FDA Guidance incorporated) –

most limiting of:– 0.5 rem CEDE first year, or– 5 rem CDE to organ or tissue

• Drinking water – 0.5 rem first year

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Approach to Late Phase PAGs

• Focus on process for reaching consensus decision on acceptable levels of clean

• Identify stakeholders that need to be included in decision making process

• Identify factors that need to be considered• Describe protective actions that can be taken

during recovery phase

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EPA Response Assets

• Radiological Emergency Response Team (RERT) www.epa.gov/radiation/rert/index.html

• National Decontamination Team (NDT)

• Environmental Response Team (ERT)

• Nat’l Counterterrorism Evidence Response Team (NCERT)

• Mobile laboratories and sample prep vehicles

• On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs)

• Nationwide radiation monitoring system - RadNet

www.epa.gov/enviro/html/erams/index.html

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Radiological Emergency Response Team (RERT)

• EPA’s radiological response assets include:– Trained responders– Team commanders and specialists– Equipment and mobile laboratory capabilities

• RERT expertise includes:– Radiation monitoring – Radionuclide analysis – Radiation health physics – Risk assessment

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Radiation Monitoring Network

• RadNet:– Approximately one station per state (60)– Samples air, precipitation, drinking water, and

pasteurized milk

• Upgrades being implemented:– Additional stations (140 – 180 stations total)– Mobile stations (40 stations)– Real time data– Better coverage of US population

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Activation of Advisory Team

The Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex (June 2008) summarizes the Advisory Team activation process as follows:

“DHS, coordinating agencies, and State, tribal, and local governments may request support from the Advisory Team by contacting the CDC Director’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 770-488-7100.

DOE will request activation of the Advisory Team whenever the FRMAC is activated.”

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Questions?