[Initial medical management in radiological accidents and nuclear disaster]

Major radiological emergencies include criticality in nuclear power plants or terrorist attacks using dirty bombs or nuclear device detonation. Because irradiation itself does not cause any immediate death of the victims, and there is a minimum risk of secondary irradiation to medical personnel during decontamination procedures, lifesaving treatments should be prioritized. When a major radiological accident occurs, information is scarce and/or becomes intricate. We might face with significant difficulties in determining the exact culprits of the event, i.e., radiological or chemical or others. Therefore, it is strongly recommended for the national and local governments, related organizations and hospitals to develop comprehensive systems to cope with all hazards(chemical, biological, radiation, nuclear, and explosion) under the common incident command system.