Public health preparedness and response to chemical and radiological incidents

Public health emergencies may arise directly or indirectly from a wide variety of events, including emerging diseases, natural disasters, industrial accidents, and terrorist attacks. One area that has not been examined in much detail is public health emergency preparedness for incidents involving the release of chemical or radiological agents. As part of RAND's continuing research into public health emergency preparedness, this report characterizes the public health service's role in preparing for and responding to such incidents, describes practices in use by local public health departments, and identifies functional areas of public health emergency preparedness and response for chemical and radiological incidents that may warrant further practice development.