Suggested Training and Experience Qualifications for Health and Safety Officers During a Radiological Incident

During the response to any large-scale emergency, it is not unusual for emergency response organizations to assign Health and Safety Officer (HSO) duties to a qualified person who is responsible for seeing to the health and safety of personnel from their organization during all phases of the emergency response. This would likely occur during response to radiological and/or nuclear emergencies. Most emergency responders, however, have little formal training (and even less experience) in radiation safety. Thus, during a radiological or nuclear emergency, these HSOs are likely to lack the training and experience to prioritize radiological hazards compared to other risks present at the scene. A properly structured training program that includes both classroom and practical training will help to address this lack and will help those who complete it to see to the safety of their charges, even during a complex radiological or nuclear incident.