Adapting the U.S. Domestic Radiological Emergency Response Process to an Overseas Incident

Abstract

The earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan led to a radiological release from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plan, which in turn resulted in the rapid activation and deployment by the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) emergency response teams. These teams and those from other federal agencies are typically coordinated through the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center (FRMAC) when responding to radiological incidents in the U.S. FRMAC is the body through which the collection, analysis, and assessment of environmental radiological data are coordinated and products released to decision makers. This article discusses DOE/NNSA’s role in the U.S. response to the Fukushima accident as it implemented its components of FRMAC in a foreign country, coordinated its assets, integrated with its federal partners, and collaborated with the Government of Japan. The technical details of the various data collections and analyses are covered in other articles of this issue.