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Leading the Federal Response
Ready to Respond
- Main Page
- EPA's Response to the Chernobyl Incident
- Setting Guidelines to Protect the Public
- Establishing the Federal Radiological Monitoring & Assessment Center
- EPA's Radiological Laboratories
- EPA Establishes Contingency Plans for Space Shuttle Launches
- EPA Cleans Up New York Hotspot
- Leading the Federal Response
- EPA's Response to the Three Mile Island Incident
- EPA's Response to the Reentry of Cosmos Satellites
- Ready to Respond: Federal Agency Roles in Emergency Response
Ensuring that users of radiological materials in the United States follow strict safety procedures is just the first step towards eliminating the possibility of a radiological emergency in our country. Radioactive fallout from an accident in another country, such as occurred at Chernobyl in 1986, may also pose a threat to the United States.
If radioactivity originating in a foreign country poses actual, potential, or perceived radiological consequences in the United States, its territories, or possessions, EPA leads the Federal response. The foreign source could be a nuclear power plan accident (for example, Chernobyl), a space craft reentry (such as the Soviet Cosmos satellite reentries), or radioactive fallout from atmospheric testing of nuclear devices.
EPA also leads the Federal response for emergencies involving domestic sources of radiation that are not regulated by DOE, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or Agreement States, such as radioactive materials that pose a hazard at Superfund sites.
As the Lead Federal Agency in these situations, EPA performs the major coordination and leadership functions that begin at initial notification of an emergency and end when all Federal agencies terminate their activities. In this role, EPA performs several functions:
- Designates the Lead Federal Official
- Notifies other Federal agencies, and assists them and State and local governments in determining the best way to protect the public health
- Directs response operations and deploys an onsite response team, if appropriate
- Establishes the FRMAC when an emergency results from a foreign source located outside the U.S. or an unregulated source
- Convenes the Advisory Group on Environment, Food, and Health, if needed, to analyze data and make recommendations on protecting the environment, the food and water supply, and public health; and
- Collects information and distributes it to the President, the public and Congress.
As the Lead Federal Agency, EPA suggests ways in which the local, State, and Federal agencies can most effectively integrate their actions to protect the public, minimize immediate hazards, and gather information about the emergency.
EPA continues to improve its capabilities to effectively respond to radiological emergencies. EPA staff also work with other Federal agencies and State and local officials to enhance their capabilities to protect public health and the environment in the event of a radiological incident. Whether a satellite reentry, a space shuttle launch emergency, a nuclear reactor power plant incident, or some other radiological accident, EPA stands ready to respond.
