Children as vulnerable populations in radiological/nuclear events: discussion scenarios

A workshop to discuss Canada's preparedness to properly manage and treat children during radiological/nuclear (R/N) events was held in Ottawa, Canada, on 1-2 June 2010. This workshop provided a platform for participants of varied backgrounds including medicine, radiological and nuclear physics as well as child care, to discuss the strength and shortcoming of the currently implemented practices and procedures in Canada for the treatment and management of contaminated and/or exposed children during R/N events. To aid this discussion, scenarios (vignettes) involving the malicious use of radiological material were presented and discussed from the perspective of the emergency response focusing specifically on children. From these discussions, it was concluded that the management of children during R/N events is vastly different from the management of adults, and requires a specific set of protocols and procedures, not yet outlined in Canadian documentation. This paper is not meant to discuss existing response protocols during R/N events, but rather to discuss the deficiencies in planning and suggested improvements/revisions raised through discussion at the workshop on how to better manage children during an R/N event.