EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

Outputs: Publications

Many emergency response workers do not believe that they are adequately prepared to respond to a major disaster such as the World Trade Center attack or the anthrax scare, according to four reports of worker input released by RAND and NIOSH. The first two reports show a need for research, training and other strategic approaches to help protect emergency responders in terrorist attacks. The third report recommends that better planning, training, coordination and management procedures are needed to protect emergency responders at the scene of terrorist attacks and disasters. The fourth report focuses on personal protective equipment needs for emergency responders in building collapses.

Protecting Emergency Responders: Lessons Learned from Terrorist Attacks This report presents a summary of a December 2001 working conference, sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Attending were emergency workers who responded to the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the anthrax incidents that occurred during autumn 2001. The report addresses the equipment, training and information required to protect emergency responders as they meet the challenge of protecting their communities.

Protecting Emergency Responders, Volume 2: Community Views of Safety and Health Risks and Personal Protection Needs Firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical service responders play a critical role in protecting people and property in the event of fires, medical emergencies, terrorist acts, and numerous other emergencies. The authors examine the hazards that responders face and the personal protective technology needed to contend with those hazards. The findings are based on in-depth discussions with 190 members of the emergency responder community and are intended to help define the protective technology needs of responders and develop a comprehensive personal protective technology research agenda.

Protecting Emergency Responders, Volume 3: Safety Management in Disaster and Terrorism Response This report addresses the protection of emergency responders against injury, illness, and death when emergencies become disasters. The report covers traditional emergency responders-firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency medical personnel-as well as others who engage in response, rescue, and recovery operations, including government and public health professionals; skilled support personnel, such as construction, utility, and transport workers; disaster relief workers; and volunteers. The focus is preparedness (especially planning and training) and management as means of controlling and reducing the hazards emergency responders face. It provides a set of recommendations on how disaster site safety and health management might be improved. The recommendations are consistent with the current standard approach to incident management used widely in emergency response, and with the new National Incident Management System and the National Response Plan.

Personal Protective Equipment Guidelines for Structural Collapse Events, Rand Volume 4 This report serves as a technical source for NIOSH incident commander guidelines for emergency response immediately following large structural collapse events. It characterizes response activities and expected hazards, and develops guidelines for selecting appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). The guidelines focus on three issues that present unique challenges in the response to a multistory-building collapse: (1) protection from biological hazards; (2) protection from inhalation of hazardous materials; and (3) required modifications to responders' typical PPE ensembles because of the duration and intensity of the response. The guidelines also address the need to provide adequate supply of equipment and training so that it is used correctly.

NIOSH Worker Health Chartbook, 2004 DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2004-146
The Worker Health Chartbook, 2004 is a descriptive epidemiologic reference on occupational morbidity and mortality in the United States. A resource for agencies, organizations, employers, researchers, workers, and others who need to know about occupational injuries and illnesses, the chartbook includes more than 400 figures and tables describing the magnitude, distribution, and trends of the nation's occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

Emergency Responder Injuries and Fatalities, An Analysis of Surveillance Data
TR-100-NIOSH (Prepared for the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, 2004)
This study focuses on firefighting, law enforcement, and emergency medical services personnel. This report is designed to collect and synthesize available data on casualties experienced by the emergency responder population for the purpose of estimating the frequency, causes, and characterization of those casualties.

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