http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dhs-us-unprepared-nuclear-disaster
DHS: U.S. unprepared for nuclear disaster Published 11 April 2011 Confidential DHS report says the United States is ill-prepared for a nuclear disaster -- either an accident or a terrorist attack; just one example: if a major nuclear bomb were to hit Washington, D.C., there would be a need for about 61,000 beds in intensive care units; there are, however, only 118,000 intensive care beds in the entire United States and, on any given day, only 9,400 are free. http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/standard/ disaster-drill_0.jpg Studies and disaster drills point out deadly shortage of beds // Source: ucla.edu The federal agency charged with ensuring the nation's security against disasters admitted last year in a confidential report <http://publicintelligence.info/DHS-INDResponse.pdf> that the United States is ill-prepared to deal with a significant release of radiation. AllGov reports <http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/Homeland_Security_Dept_Warns_tha t_US_is_Unprepared_for_Nuclear_Emergency_110409> that coming on the heels of Japan's nuclear crisis, the news of the DHS report raises concerns about the lack of attention government officials have given to radiation threats, whether it stems from a terrorist attack (such as a "dirty bomb") or a natural disaster impacting a power plant. The DHS study found that the health system "can only handle a few radiation injuries at any one time" and that "there is no strategy for notifying the public in real time of recommendations on shelter or evacuation priorities." AllGov notes that compounding the lack of preparation is the fact that the federal government two years ago ceased stockpiling potassium iodide, the best-known agent to counter radioactive iodine-induced thyroid cancer in young people. Another report produced in 2010, from the Council on State and Territorial Epidemiologists <http://www.cste.org/dnn/> , concluded that nearly half of all states have no radiation plan for areas outside federally-mandated nuclear power plant emergency zones. The report also stated that about 85 percent of officials surveyed said their states could not properly respond to a radiation incident because of inadequate planning, resources, staffing and partnerships. According to a report <http://www.dmphp.org/cgi/content/full/5/Supplement_1/S32/HSF10010T1> in the journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, if a major nuclear bomb were to hit Washington, D.C., there would be a need for about 61,000 beds in intensive care units. There are, however, only 118,000 intensive care beds in the entire United States and, on any given day, only 9,400 are free. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
