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IEE receives funding to conduct dirty bomb response training
Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) personnel will train the Texas National Guard on how to respond to a special weapon of terror called a radiation dispersal devices (RDDs) or dirty bomb. Dirty bombs use a conventional method, such as a car bomb, to disperse radioactive materials in a populated area in order to cause great economic and social disruption disproportionate to their actual radiological effects. Unlike most sensational depictions, there are only two severe scenarios likely to occur, the 137CsCl car or truck bomb (an RDD), and the 60Co death-mobile (a radiation exposure device or RED). This course combines three types of first-responder training: RadWorker II, MERRTT, and NIMS/ICS. RadWorker II has been used for decades by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to train radiation workers in the nuclear, clean-up and disposal industries. MERRTT (Modular Emergency Response Radiological Transportation Training Program) is the only nationally recognized first-responder training for handling radiological transportation incidents, and NIMS/ICS is the general incident management system utilized by the nation’s response communities. IEE’s Carlsbad Environmental Research and Monitoring Center has been awarded $15,000 by the Texas National Guard for the training.