Consider a van parked in a lot outside a professional football stadium in Atlanta, GA on a Sunday afternoon. One ounce of radioactive isotope Cesium 137 was mixed in with the explosive that has been detonated and has caused considerable blast damage. The dust cloud carries toward the nearby downtown area on a light wind speed of 10 mph. (Hint: Aristatek.com website for helpful in answering this question).

A. How could the bomb have been detonated?

1. A professional emergency responder should be concerned about the following routes of radiation exposure for a person on scene and a person downtown?C. What actions should an exposed person take during the immediate aftermath of the explosion?

   D. Lastly, if radioactive material is involved in a disaster incident such as this and there is a fire ongoing in the area where the container is located (possibly the container itself), name five actions that should be taken to handle the situation.

 

 

I have provided 2 examples to help you with:

EXAMPLE 1

137
55Cs [ Cs-137]======è ^137mBa, Ba-137m +β

So the beta decay and emission of energy cause act as trigger for the detonation  of the bomb like a thermonuclear device [ active by the heat change in the system]

Cs -137 being bio absorbable and soluble to the water system because of its similarly properties like K. The It find is root to the water system cause much havac even after the incent has long gone and with winf speed of the 10 mph the spread radius will not be less 40 mph area since beta emission will crate further charged gas molecule and induced radioactive in some nature isotopes of gas  molecule.

The person exposed should immediately be isolate in radioactive confinement areas and should be under medication radio active first aid measures; based on exposure level that had infested the person.

For fire expected to be chemical in nature class four fir fighting equipment and material should be use and should be put off asap so that remaining debris can be safely to a radioactive confinement to prevent further damage of radiation.

 

EXAMPLE 2

1. A timer could have been used, a long thread dipped in ethanol and connected to the explosive could have been lit giving sufficient time to leave the area.
2. a) Direct inhalation of radiation through breathing and through skin as radiation cannot be stopped by the skin. Cs-137 has a half-life of 30 years and thus will hang around in the atmosphere.
   b) Food intake on the scene as radiation permeates anything and almost everything.
   c) Radiation from the clothes.
   d) A person downtown would be affected by a downwind carrying radioactive material and thus exposed to radiation by breathing and through skin.
3. The person should first go to a place that is shielded from the outside like a basement with no windows. Then all clothes should be taken off and kept in a sealed bag. A shower should follow immediately. They should then get tested for radiation levels in the body.
4. People at the scene should call 911. Keep away from the direction in which the wind is blowing i.e. keep upwind of the fire direction. The fire department and the HAZMET team should be brought in. Hospitals should be notified of the accident. A safety zone should be set-up and evacuation should begin if necessary. All people exposed should not be allowed to leave the exposed zone until their clothes and other belongings have been collected.