5 April 2002
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=02040401.glt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml


US Department of State
International Information Programs

Washington File
_________________________________

04 April 2002

Study Finds Shortcomings in U.S. Emergency Preparedness

(CDC-backed work calls for more research, training) (530)

A survey backed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) finds that many emergency response workers don't think they are
adequately prepared for major disasters, such as the terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in September 2001.

Conducted for the CDC by the Rand group, a policy research and
analysis organization, the study was based on discussions among
emergency workers at a December 2001 conference. Fire fighters,
police, emergency medical workers and others called for improvements
in personal protective gear, disaster site management, and information
exchange and management.

The study can be viewed in full at
http://www.rand.org/publications/CF/CF176/

Following is the text of a CDC fact sheet about the study:

(begin fact sheet)

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Fact Sheet

Report Offers Guidance and Recommendations on 
Safety of Emergency Responders in Terrorist Events 

Many emergency response workers do not believe that they are
adequately prepared to respond to a major disaster such as the World
Trade Center Attack or the anthrax scare, according to a new report of
worker input funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH).

The report shows a need for research, training and other strategic
approaches to help protect emergency responders in terrorist attacks.
The recommendations are based on the lessons learned from the
terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last
September and on the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
in Oklahoma City in 1995.

The report, released by Rand, summarizes discussions from a two-day
workshop held in December 2001 in New York City. The workshop convened
more than 150 participants, including fire fighters, fire fighting
special operations, emergency medical services, law enforcement,
construction and other trade services, and health and safety
professionals, including state and federal agencies.

The report also highlights the need for a research agenda that
outlines comprehensive personal protective technology, and improved
federal education and training programs and other activities
pertaining to the health and safety of emergency responders in rescue,
recovery, and restoration efforts.

According to the recommendations included in the report, important
areas for research and planning include:

-- Development of guidelines for selection and use of appropriate
personal protective equipment in long-duration disaster response and
bio-terrorism response.

-- Research and planning to effectively outfit all responders at sites
of large-scale incidents with appropriate personal protective
equipment, and to facilitate standardization and inter-operability of
protective equipment among emergency responder organizations.

-- Development of guidelines and procedures to enforce the use of
personal protective equipment at large-scale disaster sites, and to
establish effective site management as early as possible in disaster
response.

-- Identifying ways to provide useful, real-time safety and health
information to responders at incident sites, and to ensure appropriate
training on the use of personal protective equipment.

-- The report will be accessible from the NIOSH website at
www.cdc.gov/niosh.

(end fact sheet)

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