Welcome to the Knowledge Center, APRIL’s online guide to resources
about air toxic releases. Before you begin the scenarios, you should review
each of the Recommended Readings below, and, if you have time, the readings
about more specific topics listed below.
Recommended Readings:
Document: “Emergency
Responders ‘Rules-of-Thumb’ for Air Toxic Releases”
A report by the Los Alamos National Laboratory on the behaviors of air toxic
releases given various weather and topographical factors. Provides valuable
information to help you both assess and predict the behaviors of a plume. Note:
this is fairly long so you may want to divide it between 2 members of your team.
Website: NARAC
Information, how-to guides, downloadable documents, and other resources and
tools associated with analyzing and responding to air toxic releases into the
atmosphere. Review the information contained in this website to prepare for
using the NARAC predictive plots in the scenarios.
Website: Emergency
Response Guidebook
Viewable version of the Emergency Response Guidebook, a comprehensive guide
to the strategies and tactics of effective emergency response. Too long to read,
but you will probably need to use this at various points in the scenarios. Therefore,
we recommend that you briefly familiarize yourself with it before beginning.
Website: CDC Emergency Preparedness
and Response
A comprehensive guide by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to toxic
agents. To help you prepare for the scenarios, we recommend that you do some
initial research on hydrogen fluoride and cesium.
For Further Information About…
Animated NARAC Model and Satellite Images from an Actual Chlorine Release
Document: Conyers Plume
Animation
A PowerPoint showing an animated NARAC model of the chlorine plume released
in Conyers, GA. This animation is helpful in visualizing how a plume can move
over time. View in slideshow mode to see animation.
Document: Conyers Satellite
A PowerPoint showing satellite images of the plume released in Conyers, GA.
View in slideshow mode to see animation.
Chemical Releases
Document:
"NARAC Emergency Response Guide"
NARAC’s official guide to emergency response
Website: Toxics Release Inventory
Program
EPA-sponsored searchable archive of toxic releases
Website: Chemical Spill
Website on emergency planning for chemical spills
Radiological Materials and Events
Definition
of Radiation Terms (excerpted from FRMAC Assessment Manual)
Document: “Understanding
Radiation in Our World”
A 60-plus page book from the National Safety Council with in-depth yet easy-to-understand
discussion of radiation related issues.
Website: National
Safety Council's Understanding Radiation
A helpful and accessible site on understanding radiation that contains the above
guidebook.
Document:
"Nuclear Safety and Reliability"
Discussion of radioactive materials dispersion in the environment. From Nuclear
Safety & Reliability Course by Dan Meneley.
Document: "Radiological
Assistance"
Overview of the resources available to respond to a radiological attack
Documents from the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center:
- FRMAC Assessment Manual,
Volume 1 - Methods; April 2003 (PDF, 2.7MB)
- FRMAC Assessment Manual,
Volume 2 - Tables, Charts, Worksheets, Glossary, References; April 2003
(PDF, 4.4MB)
- FRMAC Assessment Manual,
Volume 3 - Pre-assessed Default Scenarios; April 2003 (PDF, 4.8MB)
Dirty Bombs
Document:
"Weapons of Mass Disruption"
Overview of the Potential Effects of Dirty Bomb Explosions
Document:
"Protective Action Guidelines"
Overview of what to do in response to a dirty bomb
Document:
"TOPOFF2 Final Report"
Official Report of TOPOFF Project, a hypothetical scenario conducted by the
EPA to measure response capabilities in case of a radiological attack.
Modeling Software
Website:
List of commonly used modeling software for chemical and radioloigcal releases
(Health Physics Society)
Document:
An introduction to plume models and ALOHA capabilities (PPT slides in PDF
format)
ALOHA
Website (NOAA)
CAMEO Website
(EPA)
NARAC Website
(Lawrence Livermore)
Website:
HOTSPOT atmospheric dispersion model (Lawrence Livermore)
