Operational Framework for Recovery from an Attack Involving a Radiological Dispersal Device/Improvised Nuclear Device

This paper adapts a six-phase U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy biological and chemical incident preplanning response and recovery framework for a large-scale radiological terrorist attack. This framework depicts pre-planned decisions for a radiological emergency event to ensure protection of public health and the environment. Recommendations for operational-level details across the remediation space of characterization, decontamination, and clearance are provided as well as an overview of the current technologies available and the gaps that are important to consider in the timeline for recovery. Examples of the use of this framework applied to radiological preplanning are also discussed.