Triage, monitoring and dose assessment for people exposed to ionising radiation following a malevolent act

The part played by individual monitoring within the context of the overall response to incidents involving the malevolent use of radiation or radioactive material is discussed. The main objectives of an individual monitoring programme are outlined, and types of malevolent use scenario briefly described. Some major challenges facing those with responsibilities for planning the monitoring response to such an incident are identified and discussed. These include the need for rapid selection and prioritisation of people for individual monitoring by means of an effective triage system; the need for rapid initiation of individual monitoring; problems associated with monitoring large numbers of people; the particular difficulties associated with incidents involving pure-beta and alpha-emitting radionuclides; the need for techniques that can provide retrospective estimates of external radiation exposures rapidly and the need for rapid interpretation of contamination monitoring data. The paper concludes with a brief review of assistance networks and relevant international projects planned or currently underway.