Radiation Preparedness Gets a Boost from OSHA

The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) launched an extremely detailed and comprehensive radiation preparedness webpage in April 2019, designed to educate emergency responders in all sectors about what to do during radiological emergencies like chemical spills, radiation leaks and nuclear meltdowns. 

Although the probability of these types of events is relatively low, they can still happen, and until now the internet has been largely devoid of relevant information. 

Structure and Content of OSHA’s Radiation Preparedness Webpage

Despite the fact that the OSHA radiation preparedness page does not specifically target utility responders, it definitely contains information that is relevant for utility crews who might find themselves in a radiological situation due to a chemical spill or something similar.  Overall, OSHA’s radiation page is broken down into 6 sections:

• Background: Provides a general overview of radiological risks, including examples and techniques for measuring and assessing radiation emergencies.
• General business: Provides relevant information to “non-responders” that can be used to protect themselves or others when an emergency of this nature strikes. 
• Preparedness: Provides specific information, tools and best practices to help optimize emergency responder radiation preparedness, encompassing sub-categories of planning, OSHA standards, Incident Command System (ICS), personal protective equipment (PPE), and my personal favorite – training, exercises & drills.
• Response: Covers topics about specific risks and hazards to be on the lookout for during radiation emergencies, basic protective actions, decontamination, managing/sourcing medical treatments, recordkeeping, and a few other related topics. 
• OSHA resources: Contains dozens of links to relevant OSHA policies & requirements.
• Additional resources: Dozens of links to third-party information sources.

Overall, I’d say the content probably encompasses nearly 100 pages – it is VERY comprehensive, truly a 1-stop shop for pretty much anything you’d need to know in these types of situations. 

Obviously, this information is not mandatory reading for most utility storm workers, but if you happen to have a nuclear power plant or large industrial or chemical plant in your service territory, getting up to speed on radiation preparedness might not be a bad idea.