Essay Sample on Radiological Terrorism

Introduction

Radiological terrorism is a situation whereby radiological weapons are used deliberately. Emitting and dispersing ionizing radiation occurs when these weapons use radioactive materials. Terrorists always seek to cause panic and fear above anything else (Zahariev, & Hristov, 2018). Exposure to radiation is a threat that is frightening to people, and this fear can be minimized by an individual's commitment to playing a vital leadership role. This paper tries to explain treatment priorities both the radiological contamination as well as life-threatening injuries in a radiological terrorism situation.

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First of all, it's important to note that appropriate personal protective equipment is crucial and is also important to be aware of when the equipment is to be worn. This helps to reduce the risk of contaminating the hospital staff those that care for patients who have experienced a radiological event. Whenever a patient is contaminated, he/she poses minimal risk to the healthcare provider who has well equipped him/herself with the protective equipment. The same guidelines used in hospitals for the protection of microbiological contamination are also used in the protection from radiological contamination whereby gloves, waterproof aprons, booties as well as cap are used. In wet areas, waterproof protection of any other form may be made practical for use such as change gloves, decontamination, and double gloves also its recommended for surgical mask due to fetal sensitivity to radiation. It's therefore important to state whether one is pregnant or he/she thinks to be to give room for reassignment alternatively.

Radioactive fragments in a patient should be properly removed using led containers, forceps and sealed. It is also important to note the influence that radiological contaminant has on patient treatment. For those patients who don't have life-threatening injuries, they should first be decontaminated before treating them, but for those with the life-threatening injuries, it's important to first stabilize their medical situation then conduct radiological decontamination. Radiology care givers should follow their respective hospital emergency response plan carefully; an example is by following the procedures indicated in the plan, ensuring that they wear personal protective equipment, survey for contamination and many more.

Doctor Jim Smith, an Associate director as well as a physicist of radiation at the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, radiological contamination and life-threatening injuries may be attended to first according to the situation at hand. Doctor Smith argues that if the patient does not have life-threatening injuries, decontamination should come first before treating the patient but once the patient has the life-threatening injuries, then the injuries should be attended to first to ensure that medical condition of the patient is stable, then decontamination comes later. Any radiological contamination is not detectable through human senses, but its presence can be detected using radiation detection devices such as the survey meters by trained staff by the hospital emergency response plan. The response procedures and policies may vary according to different hospitals specifically once noted that there were other contaminants in addition to the radiation involved.

Some of the key principles in radiological contamination include the radiation exposure which mainly occurs once an individual is near a radiation source. An example is when a patient receives a chest X-ray, the radiology technician is usually protected through shielding as well as distancing him/herself from the rays, and the patient is protected from being harmed by the rays through careful control of the duration of exposure to the rays. It's the same case to an incident involving terrorists who unseal ID radioactive source in a public place, people would be exposed to the rays and those closest to the radioactive source for greatest time will end up receiving highest exposure which may result into illness (Schwartz et al. 2017).

Another principle is the principle of contamination. For one to be contaminated, the radioactive material has to get inside the body, on the clothing or the individuals' skin. Radioactive material on an individuals' body or clothing is known as external contamination while that which is incorporated in the of the body is known as internal contamination. Its therefore important for healthcare providers to note that when they are treating a radiologically contaminated patient, containing the radioactive material is important and the patient should be handled with care and if there are injuries, stabilizing the injuries first is crucial to avoid contaminating the wounds with the material.

It is the responsibility of the healthcare providers to ensure that the radioactive contamination does not spread to the surroundings, should carry out decontamination procedures as quickly as possible and also observe safety precautions of radiations to reduce the exposure of total radiation as low as possible (Veenema, & Thornton, 2015). Some of the techniques of contamination that can be adopted by these healthcare providers may include:

• All care providers involved in handling a radioactively contaminated patient have to wear disposable personal protective equipment, also wear an Electronic Personal Dosimeter, that is monitored by the radiation safety officer.
• Monitoring entrances and exits of the controlled area, covering of floors as well as restricting access to the controlled area helps in preventing tracking of contaminants.
• Equipment, first responder personnel as well as Ambulances should be monitored before they leave the controlled area.
• Gown, instruments, as well as outer gloves, have to be changed once contaminated.
• The contaminated waste must be identified clearly from the non-contaminated.

All areas used in the decontamination, examination, and treatment of radioactively contaminated patients have to be decontaminated once necessary and have to be surveyed by the radiation safety officer before being used for other purposes.

After treatment, the staff has to leave their gowns in the treatment room and be checked for any personal contamination by the radiation safety officer.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important for all healthcare providers dealing with radiological patients to be careful in their care provision to help in decontaminating the patient and avoid the spread of the contamination to the surrounding hence they should be well trained and possess competitive skills from the field of radiology.

Reference List

Schwartz, D., Nagar, D., Hayat, M., & Rubinstein, T. (2017). Preparing a Tertiary Medical Center for a "Dirty-Bomb" Threat. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 32(S1), S2-S3. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/prehospital-and-disaster-medicine/article/preparing-a-tertiary-medical-center-for-a-dirtybomb-threat/03001745D2C8B58D227193CA8EB579F2

Veenema, T. G., & Thornton, C. P. (2015). Guidance in managing patients following radiation events. Advanced emergency nursing journal, 37(3), 197-208. https://journals.lww.com/aenjournal/Abstract/2015/07000/Guidance_in_Managing_Patients_Following_Radiation.8.aspxhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y78z8YZGREw

Zahariev, V., & Hristov, N. (2018). Diagnostic Criteria for Assessment by General Practitioners of Patients Injured in Radiation Incidents and Cases of Radiological Terrorism. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 12(4), 507-512. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/diagnostic-criteria-for-assessment-by-general-practitioners-of-patients-injured-in-radiation-incidents-and-cases-of-radiological-terrorism/711F9FA4F66C33116696D69BB6A61014