ASTM E2601-23
(Practice)Standard Practice for Radiological and Nuclear Emergency Response
Standard Practice for Radiological and Nuclear Emergency Response
SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
5.1 It is essential for response agency personnel to plan, develop, implement, and train on standardized guidelines that encompass policy, strategy, operations, and tactical decisions prior to responding to a radiological or nuclear incident. Use of this practice is recommended for all levels of the response structure.
5.2 Documents developed from this practice should be reviewed and revised as necessary on a two-year cycle or according to each jurisdiction’s normal practices. The review should consider new and updated requirements and guidance, technologies, and other information or equipment that might have a significant impact on the management and outcome of radiological incidents.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice provides decision-making considerations for response to both accidental and intentional incidents that involve radioactive material. It provides information and guidance for what to include in response planning and what activities to conduct during a response. It also encompasses the practices to respond to any situation complicated by radiation in conjunction with the associated guidance for the specific type of incident.
1.1.1 The intended audience for the standard includes planners as well as emergency responders, incident commanders, and other emergency workers who should be protected from radiation.
1.1.2 The scope of this practice applies to all types of radiological emergencies. While it does not fully consider response to an NPP accident,3 an explosive RDD, or nuclear detonation, detailed guidance to respond to such incidents is provided in other documents, such as those cited in the introduction. With respect to the guidance documents, this practice provides the general principles that apply to the broad range of incidents and associated planning goals but relies on the AHJ to apply and tailor their response planning based on those documents as well as the limitation of the personnel and equipment resources in the jurisdiction. In addition, the AHJ should use those documents to identify improvements to planning and resources to be better prepared for the more complex emergencies.
1.1.3 This practice does not expressly address emergency response to contamination of food or water supplies.
1.1.4 The Emergency Response Guide (ERG) published by the Department of Transportation provides valuable information for response to traffic accidents involving radioactive materials. For other radiological or nuclear incidents, however, the ERG may not provide adequate information on appropriate protective measures and should not be the sole resource used.
1.2 This practice applies to those emergency response agencies that have a role in the response to an accidental or intentional radiological or nuclear incident. It should be used by emergency response organizations such as law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical services, and emergency management.
1.3 This practice assumes that implementation begins with the recognition of a radiological or nuclear incident and ends when emergency response actions cease or the response is supported by specialized regional, state, or federal response assets.
1.4 AHJs using this practice should identify hazards, develop a plan, acquire and track equipment, and provide training consistent with the descriptions provided in Section 6.
1.5 While response to radiological hazards is the focus of this practice, responders must consider all hazards during a response; it is possible that non-radiological hazards may present a greater danger at an incident, particularly in incidents with wide area dispersion.
1.5.1 This practice does not fully address assessing the risks from airborne radioactivity. Equipment to determine this potential hazard is not widely available in emergency responder communities. Like other responses to unknown hazards, respiratory protection commonly used by responders is required until a complete hazard i...
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This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
Designation: E2601 − 23
Standard Practice for
1
Radiological and Nuclear Emergency Response
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2601; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
INTRODUCTION
Terrorist attacks around the world, including the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the continued
proliferation of nuclear weapons bring the recognition that weapons of mass destruction (WMD),
including the threats posed by radiological and nuclear weapons, remain a relevant concern. Since the
attacks of 2001 and subsequent expressions of interest in acquiring radiological or nuclear weapons,
or both, by terrorist groups and nation states, many jurisdictions have recognized the need for
radiological and nuclear emergency preparedness. Incident response is still based on accepted
procedures and safe work practices developed over the years, but it has become the norm to plan for
both accidents and an intentional release of hazardous materials (including radioactive materials)
designed to kill or injure, to cause destruction of property, or to deny access to areas, or combinations
thereof. This practice provides guidance for the initial response to any type of incident complicated
by radiation, and the basic radiation principles described will enable responders to perform their duties
to save lives, protect the public and minimize radiation dose in keeping with the ALARA principle;
however, this practice is not intended to replace the large body of work that has already been
developed that addresses responses to accidents at commercial nuclear power plants, nuclear
detonations, or large-scale radiological incidents and those that are included in the list of references.
This practice provides decision making considerations that jurisdictions can use to respond to
incidents that involve radiological or nuclear materials. This practice also provides a consistent set of
practices that can be incorporated into the development, planning, training, and implementation of
guidelines for radiological emergency response. While the practice does not fully treat the
complexities of large-scale radiological (for example, a radiological attack) or nuclear (for example,
a nuclear attack) incidents, or commercial nuclear power plant (NPP) accidents, it refers jurisdictions
to recent guidance documents and practices to incorporate into their own procedures for an initial
response, with the assumption that concurrent requests are made to summon specialized regional,
state, and federal radiological expertise and equipment, as appropriate to the incident. This practice
does not incorporate intermediate or long-term recovery or mitigation considerations.
The following are key concepts associated with this practice:
• This practice applies to the initial response to an incident, which begins with the recognition of
the radiological or nuclear nature of the incident and ends when emergency response actions cease or
the response is supported by specialized regional, state, or federal response assets (if requested).
• In the first hours of the response, it is unlikely that significant levels of federal and state support
will be on scene. This means that State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) jurisdictions and agencies
must rely on their own immediately available assets, technical equipment, and training.
• This practice recognizes that response to all radiological incidents calls for assessing the risks to
responders to determine whether the prospective benefit(s) justify an offensive mode of operations,
and that response to a nuclear detonation calls for immediate sheltering for all emergency responders
who do not have radiation detection equipment available;
• It adheres to a risk-based response; this means the guidance presented is intended to be coupled
with the authority having jurisdiction’s (AHJ) understanding of local hazards, vulnerabilities, and
capabilities when developing its plans and guidance documents on the subject;
• It is compliant with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and uses Incident
Command System (ICS) common terminology. Full compliance with NIMS is recognized as an
essential part of emergency response planning;
• It uses plain language: in developing this practice, every effort was made to ensure that the text,
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United Stat
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This document is not an ASTM standard and is intended only to provide the user of an ASTM standard an indication of what changes have been made to the previous version. Because
it may not be technically possible to adequately depict all changes accurately, ASTM recommends that users consult prior editions as appropriate. In all cases only the current version
of the standard as published by ASTM is to be considered the official document.
Designation: E2601 − 15 E2601 − 23
Standard Practice for
1
Radiological and Nuclear Emergency Response
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2601; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
INTRODUCTION
One of the legacies of the Oklahoma City bombing and Terrorist attacks around the world, including
the attacks of September 11, 2001 is recognition that terrorists use 2001, and the continued
proliferation of nuclear weapons bring the recognition that weapons of mass destruction (WMD). This
awareness has changed the philosophy of emergency response across disciplines. (WMD), including
the threats posed by radiological and nuclear weapons, remain a relevant concern. Since the attacks
of 2001 and subsequent expressions of interest in acquiring radiological or nuclear weapons, or both,
by terrorist groups and nation states, many jurisdictions have recognized the need for radiological and
nuclear emergency preparedness. Incident response is still based on accepted procedures and safe
work practices developed over the years, but the new mission must include concerns that are specific
to it has become the norm to plan for both accidents and an intentional release of hazardous materials
(including radioactive materials) designed to kill or injure andinjure, to cause destruction of property.
This standard property, or to deny access to areas, or combinations thereof. This practice provides
guidance for responding to incidents where radioactive materials might be used with that intent. The
standard also applies guidance for general radiological emergency response. The purpose of the
guidance is the initial response to any type of incident complicated by radiation, and the basic
radiation principles described will enable responders to perform their duties to save lives, minimize
radiation dose, and move members of the public out of perceived danger areas.protect the public and
minimize radiation dose in keeping with the ALARA principle; however, this practice is not intended
to replace the large body of work that has already been developed that addresses responses to accidents
at commercial nuclear power plants, nuclear detonations, or large-scale radiological incidents and
those that are included in the list of references.
This standard practice provides decision making considerations that jurisdictions can use to respond
to incidents that involve radioactive materials. The standard practice radiological or nuclear materials.
This practice also provides a consistent set of practices that can be incorporated into the development,
planning, training, and implementation of guidelines for radiological emergency response. The
standardWhile the practice does not incorporate long-term recovery or mitigation considerations, nor
does it include provisions for improvised nuclear devicefully treat the complexities of large-scale
radiological (for example, a radiological attack) or nuclear (for (INDs) detonations or example, a
nuclear attack) incidents, or commercial nuclear power plant (NPP) accidents. Jurisdictions using the
standard practice shall incorporate accidents, it refers jurisdictions to recent guidance documents and
practices to incorporate into their own procedures for notification and requests for assistance from
specialized radiological response assets.an initial response, with the assumption that concurrent
requests are made to summon specialized regional, state, and federal radiological expertise and
equipment, as appropriate to the incident. This practice does not incorporate intermediate or long-term
recovery or mitigation considerations.
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This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E54 on Homeland Security Applications and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E54.01 on CBRNE
Detection and CBRN Protection.
Current edition approved Feb. 15, 2015Oct. 1, 2023. Published March 2015November 2023. Originally approved in 2008. Last previous edition approved in 20082015
as E2601 – 08.E2601 – 15. DOI: 10.1520/E2601-15.10.1520/E2601-23.
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States
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E2601 − 23
The following are key concepts associated with this standard practice:practic
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