Emergency management and the nuclear terrorism threat

Counterterrorism is not the province of the emergency manager. Generally law enforcement has that role. Instead, the emergency manager's role is crisis management; the responsibility is to be the focal point for the chief executive officer (mayor, governor, or national executive) regarding the protection of the population. Managers must be able to gather and synthesize sufficient information, rapidly and accurately, on which to base sound decisions. To do so, they must have a highly efficient, coordinated emergency management organization in place at the state and local levels of government, and there must be a workable plan for emergency operations that integrates all public safety forces into an effective response to all types of emergencies. A major goal of emergency management is to ensure that government is in control and that the public perceives that the system is working. All states have an emergency management organization at the state level, as do most counties and large cities. However, some states and local governments, particularly those that have nuclear power plants within their borders, are better staffed, equipped, and trained than others to deal with nuclear incidents. States with nuclear facilities have an emergency management organization, an emergency plan, and adequate communications, equipment, and trained personnel to handle a nuclear accident or incident at a plant. 21 references