Dept. of Energy shares nuclear expertise with March

  • Published
  • By Megan Just
  • 452 AMW/PA
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. --  Did you know that if a nuclear weapon were to be released, the initial explosion would cause a flash of light so bright that if any person within a five-mile radius was looking in the direction of the explosion, they would be flash blinded for 90 seconds, or permanently, if their blinking reflex took longer than a quarter of a second?

Now imagine an eight lane Southern California interstate with vehicles traveling at 70 miles per hour in the direction of the attack. Think about what would happen if all of those drivers were flash blinded at once.

Scenarios such as these were the topic of discussion in a U.S. Department of Energy outreach session at March Air Reserve Base, Jan. 28. The Department of Energy team was in the area last week to conduct training with the Riverside County Fire Department and Sheriffs and the training at March was an opportunity to insure all emergency response teams basing from March would have the same information and the ability to work together immediately.

Ten Team March members were present at the session, representing the fire department, security forces, emergency management, bioenvironmental and explosive ordnance disposal squadrons.

Joel Swanson, a contractor response coordinator with the Department of Energy, began the session with a presentation which covered topics such as types of nuclear and radiological threat devices and containment practices.

Swanson said the session at March is meant to be a forum for comparing nuclear and radiological emergency capabilities. "We're sharing our knowledge and experience with each other. The goal is to be comfortable working together," he said.

Swanson is a part of the Department of Energy's Region 7 Radiological Assistance Program, which consists of Hawaii, Nevada and California. He works with both governmental and private agencies in radiological and nuclear outreach sessions. In an actual emergency, Swanson and his team can reach any location in their region within six hours.

In his presentation at March, Swanson discussed the best locations to seek shelter in the case of a nuclear detonation. The two most ideal locations would be deep inside a large building on an upper floor, or, several stories below ground in a basement. In the case neither was available, Swanson said even a car or a small house would offer more protection from the radiation than remaining outside.

Swanson emphasized that radiation does not necessarily come from malicious sources; in the past, radioactive materials have been used for a variety of industrial purposes. In one case, a curious Boy Scout in Michigan was able to create a nuclear breeder reactor and unwittingly radiated his neighborhood. He also warned exposure to radiation can be difficult to diagnose because many of the symptoms are the same as a person with the flu would experience.

Swanson also shared simulation scenarios that mimicked weather, damage zones and expected fallout paths if there were to be a nuclear attack in Washington, D.C. or New York City. Surprisingly, glass blown from buildings is one of the major considerations for emergency response teams. Some simulations estimate there could be up to 70 feet of glass covering the roads near sky-scrapers in New York.

After Swanson's presentation, the Department of Energy staff worked with March personnel for some hands-on training with their radiological detection equipment.

"The training will help all of our base's first and emergency responders to be on the same page," said Tech. Sgt. Roger Pascual, an emergency management technician, who helped coordinate the Jan. 28 event. Sergeant Pascual said the information exchange session was the first of its kind with the Department of Energy at March Air Reserve Base. He also said the benefits of the collaboration will reach beyond the teams at March, since the first responders in Riverside County will also have the same information.