Public Health Preparedness: Examination of Legal Language Authorizing Responses to Radiological Incidents (50m Lecture)

Over the past several decades, state and local health departments throughout the country have been developing plans and procedures in order to respond to and recover from radiological threats. While radiological preparedness plans are important, the necessary laws which establish the foundation for many of these responders to act have not been comprehensively assessed.
In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) developed the radiation legal preparedness project to examine state and local legal authorities related to the response to and recovery from a radiation incident. To find and examine laws related to radiological events, CDC conducted a legal survey to identify and determine actions that responders could take to address a radiological incident within the United States. CDC researched laws in all 50 states, Washington D.C., New York City and Los Angeles to identify and categorize authorities.

The radiation legal preparedness assessment has two important purposes: (1) describe the current landscape of laws that may be available following a radiological incident; and (2) help foster and guide conversations between stakeholders on legal issues in order to strengthen plans to prepare for and respond to a radiological incident.
The radiation legal preparedness assessment session will provide participants with a copy of the summary guidance of the legal research. Participants would also receive copies of maps that illustrate the language category of each jurisdiction within the United States.