2014 Douglas and Inyoung Boyd Colloquium
Physics Lecture Hall
Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 4:45 pm
Tea and cookies @ 4:30 pm
Daniel Blumenthal
(DOE / NNSA):
Responding to Fukushima: Applying Physics in a Field Environment
The US Department of Energy maintains specialized technical teams to respond to radilogical/nuclear emergencies. They apply well-established laboratory nuclear measurement techniques in field environments, conduct rapid analysis, and deliver data products to government leaders in support of real-time public safety decisions. Meeting these requirements, often in the face of incomplete and imperfect information, takes a great deal of training and practice. Since large-scale emergencies are rare, the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011 provided an opportunity to employ these teams. While their timely support to both US and Japanese decision makers demonstrated a high degree of preparedness, there were many lessons learned related to instrumentation, analysis methods, data presentation, and training that will make the next generation of emergency responders even more prepared.