U.S.

Department of Energy
National Nuclear Security Administration
NA-84 Office of Nuclear Incident Response

DOE Radiological Assistance Program

- Bringing Assets To Bear

Lee Michel
Training/Outreach Coordinator
RAP Region 1
 Why DOE?
NNSA
•Nuclear Incident
Response
•Naval Reactors
•Non-Proliferation
Fossil Energy •Global Threat Reduction
•Nuc Weapon
Design/Maintenance

Office of Science
•Computing
Renewable Energy •Basic Energy Sciences
•Biological Research
•High Energy Physics
•Nuclear Physics

Nuclear Energy Environmental

•Reactor Development Management
•Research Reactors •Cleanup Sites
•Isotope Production •Decommissioning

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 DOE/NNSA
Nuclear Incident Response Capabilities

• Provide technical advice throughout the DOE/NNSA complex in

response to:
• Nuclear weapons accidents and incidents
• Possible acts of radiological/nuclear terrorism
• Radiological accidents
• Lost or stolen radioactive materials

• Provide access to expertise in nuclear weapons design,

nuclear/radiological materials characterization, and radiological
detection and characterization

• Deployable capabilities configured for a rapid, time-phased

response

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 RAP Region 1
• RAP is implemented on a
ME

regional basis to ensure a

VT
NH
timely response Schenectady
NY MA
– Teams based at major West Valley
CT
RI

DOE Laboratory locations Brookhaven

(except R0)
National
PA Princeton Laboratory
NJ
• RAP is a unique national Pittsburgh
asset MD
DE

– Highly trained & skilled

scientific & health physics
personnel
– Unparalleled radiological
expertise among
National/State/Local
Emergency Response
assets

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 RAP Region 1 Configuration
Regional Response
Coordinator (FED)
Team Leader
M. Parsons (FED)

Team Team Team

Contractor Response Captain 1 Captain 2 Captain 3
Coordinator
K. McIntyre HPSP1 Team 2 Team 3

HPSP2
Training & Outreach
Coordinator
L. Michel HPSP3

Equipment HPSP4
Coordinator
P. Philipsberg HPSP5

Team
Scientist

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 RAP Mission
Provides DOE first response capability to Federal, State, local and tribal
governments for incidents involving radiological incidents

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 Radiological Assistance Program
Capabilities
Rapid Response – 24/7/365

Search for Radiological Material

« Lost/Stolen Source Materials
« Determine Technical Search Parameters
« Deploy Specialized Search Equipment
« Advise Law Enforcement
« Alarm Adjudication

Characterize Radiation Environment

« Initial Assessment
« TRIAGE capability
« Area Monitoring
« Contamination Control
« Decontamination
Provides first response
capability to Federal, State, Advise on Public Safety
local governments for
incidents involving Material Recovery
radiological emergencies
Activation of other DOE assets

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 RAP Missions
Consequence
Crisis Response Management

Detection & Search Stabilization Big CM Little CM

Off Site
Search JTOT Checklist Post Fed Ex
PRND Fukushima Contam
Det IND Truck
Events

RNSO RNSO
Low High
NSSEs SEARs Threat: Threat:
Local National
Response Response

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 NNSA Office of Nuclear Incident Response (NA-
84)
CRISIS Nuclear / Radiological
Advisory Team CONSEQUENCE
NRAT
Federal Radiological Monitoring
TRIAGE Assessment Center
FRMAC

Joint Technical Emergency

Operations Team
JTOT Radiation Emergency
Response Officer REAC/TS Assistance Center /
Training Site
Nuclear Incident
Team

S&T Program
Accident Response
Group ARG
Aerial Measuring
AMS System

Radiological Assistance National Atmospheric

Program
RAP NARAC Release Advisory Center

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 RAP Assistance
• RAP supports and provides
assistance to the appropriate on-
scene authority
• RAP Teams do not preempt State,
Local, or Tribal authority
• The primary responsibility for the
incident remains with the owner of
the radioactive material
• RAP involvement ends when:
– There are other sufficient resources
(state/local/private) at the scene or
– Assistance is no longer needed.

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 RAP Assistance
• RAP is:
– Not a first on scene responder, but likely to be the
first DOE ground asset to arrive
– Not prepared for chemical and biological
assessment
– Prepared to provide on scene training to HAZMAT
responders

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RAP Region 1

ME

VT

NH

NY
MA
RI
CT

Brookhaven
National
PA Laboratory

NJ

MD
DE

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 RAP Mission Response
• Fully mobilized
within 2 hours
• On scene within 6
hours
• Deployment by
dedicated response
vehicles and/or
USCG/CBP assistance

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 Standard Response Equipment
• Radiation Detection
– Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Neutron
• Gamma Spectroscopy Systems
– NaI and HPGe based instruments
• Air Sampling
– High/Low volume
• Communications Gear NaI detector

– Radios
– Repeaters HPGe
detector
– Satellite phones
– Secure phones
– Hotspots
– Cellular Signal Boosters
• PPE & Dosimetry

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 RAP Mission Profiles
• Routine ‘we found a box’
missions
• Searches/Surveys/Field
Sampling
• Lost/stolen radioactive
materials
• Nuclear Power Plant
accidents
• Nuclear weapons
accidents and other
significant incidents
• Acts of radiological/nuclear
terrorism

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 How Has the RAP Mission Changed?
• While the documented RAP
mission has not changed, Region
1 deployments since the WTC
response are largely in the
Preventive Radiological/Nuclear
Detection (PRND) arena.
• NA-84 is currently refining a
Mission Analysis to determine if
the Regions are appropriately
staffed and equipped for what is
perceived to be their Primary
mission.
• Region 1 Missions are primarily
PRND and Search

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 What is a Typical Region 1 PRND Mission?
• Usually for DHS Special Event Activity Rating
(SEAR) 1 or 2 events
• Searching for illicit radiological/nuclear materials
• Can have many components
– Mobile surveys
– Choke point monitoring of
vehicles/people
– Roving foot patrols
– Venue surveys
– Aerial surveys
– Marine surveys

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 Recent Region 1 PRND Missions
• 2015 Papal Visit
• Superbowl 47, New Orleans
• Superbowl 48, NY/NJ
• Boston Marathon
• Presidential Inauguration
• New Years Eve, Times Square
• Rockefeller Center Tree
Lighting Ceremony
• United Nations General Assembly
• US Tennis Open
• Baltimore Grand Prix

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 PRND Training/Support
• Region 1 provides training and support to several
agencies
– Ongoing contact for PRND
activity
• FBI NYFO
• FBI Newark
• FBI Philadelphia
• FBI Albany
• NY Joint Terrorism Task Force
• US Secret Service
• DHS DNDO

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 PRND Training/Support
– Training/exercise support
• Federal
– National Guard Civil Support
Teams (Maine – Maryland)
– DHS TSA
– Stabilization Team – NY Metropolitan area
– US Navy (Groton, CT; Portsmouth, NH;
Schenectady, NY)
– FEMA
• Regional
– New England Radiological Health
Committee

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 PRND Training/Support
– Training/exercise support (cont.)
• State
– CT
– MD
– MA
– NH
– NY
– PA
– VT
• Local
– Thunder Exercise Series (Penn State,
Sloan Kettering, MIT, Columbia
University, Boston Children's Hospital)
– FDNY
– Suffolk/Nassau County PD, DOH,
SC Terrorism Response Task Force
– Transportation Emergency
Preparedness Training

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Special Events

22
Presidential Inauguration

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G20 Summit

24
Sports Events

25
Exercises

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Empire09
Cs

Am

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Deployments

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Fukushima

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 Contact Information
Emergency Assistance Mark Parsons (Regional Response
Coordinator)
(Office): (631) 344-7978
RAP Region 1 (Cell): (631) 466-1927
(631) 344-2200 PARSONS@[Link]

DOE Watch Office Lee Michel (Training/Outreach Coordinator)

(202) 586-8100 (Office): (631) 344-6306
(Cell): (631) 466-2001
MICHEL@[Link]

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Questions?
Comments?