14 DAY TRIAL // As nuclear terrorism threats on the United States multiply, doctors and nurses express their concern about whether hospitals are indeed prepared to handle large numbers of contaminated people being rushed in emergency rooms in large urban centers. Especially dangerous in this scenario are sticky bombs, which combine regular explosives with nuclear material.
The problem with controlling such types of bombs is that the radiological material can be procured from a variety of places, hospitals included. Radioactive vials used to store various nuclear components used in medicine can be gathered in sufficient quantities to form such an explosive device. Statistics show that medical facilities are not always equipped to dispose of such radioactive elements and that, in many cases, they are simply thrown out at landfills.
But if such devices were to explode in densely-populated areas, the number of contaminated persons would be massive. Medical personnel working in emergency departments are at the highest risk possible for infection, given that they will come into close contact with patients. Biological containment suits are the best way of avoiding contamination, but the problem lies with warning the staff of a dirty bomb exploding before the first patients arrive.
Communication is most important in such cases, and hot-lines between hospitals and authorities need to be established beforehand, as a precautionary measure. Preparedness studies and trainings need to constantly apprise professionals of the dangers of working with radioactive contaminants, as well as to highlight possible solutions and ways of managing hazardous situations.
Doctors draw attention to the fact that current state and nationwide guidelines on the matter place decontamination as a second step in the healing process after treating wounds and stabilizing patients' conditions. But, medically speaking, decontamination should be the first priority, as it would eliminate the risks of other people getting exposed to radiation and it would also mean that hard-to-maneuver medical equipment could be used more efficiently by doctors out of fragile containment suits.