You are invited to review and comment on the just-released guidance "Nuclear Detonation Preparedness: Communicating in the Immediate Aftermath." Please feel free to share this with your agencies’ Public Information Officers and subject matter experts who may have interests related to this topic. For background information and instructions on submitting comments (NB: deadline is 20 December), please see the transmittal message below.
The document referenced is located on the Civil Contingencies Community Site.
Ther following was received from DHS ...
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As you are well aware, communicating effectively with the public during emergencies is a critical element in a response and can minimize damage and save lives. That is why we need your help with a document prepared by a group of Federal employees with expertise in radiation, communications, and emergency preparedness.
While there is no credible information that indicates current plans to use nuclear material in an attack against the United States, the consequences of such an attack demand that we take steps now to prepare for a response, if one is necessary. The interagency group, led by the White House National Security Staff and Office of Science and Technology Policy, dedicated themselves over the past year to the development of a resource tool to help communicate effectively after a nuclear detonation.
The document, Nuclear Detonation Preparedness: Communicating in the Immediate Aftermath, is designed to be a resource for federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial officials; emergency responders; communicators; and public health officials who will need to communicate with the public and media following a nuclear detonation in the United States. The document contains key messages both for the impacted community and the nation as a whole, and anticipated questions and answers for the period immediately following a nuclear detonation.
The document was approved for INTERIM USE by the Domestic Resilience Group in September 2010. As stated above, it is important to note that this product is not related to any credible threat and is being shared for feedback and planning purposes only.
Before the document is made final, we need feedback from the authorities who have the primary responsibility for communicating health and safety instructions for the public. The final document will incorporate your feedback as well as results from tests being conducted by the Center for Disease Control to determine how well the messages are understood by the public.
As the first-line users of the resource, your feedback and comments are critical to shape the resource so that it most effective for you. We are open to all comments and suggestions. Please send your comments, using the attached comment sheet, to Jessica Wieder, FEMA’s CBRNE Branch, at jessica.wieder@fema.gov no later than December 20, 2010. Jessica’s complete contact information is listed on the last page of the document.
For more information on the document and a companion document, the June 2010 Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation, Second Edition, go to DHS’s Lessons Learned Information Sharing website (www.llis.dhs.gov) at
https://www.llis.dhs.gov/docdetails/details.do?contentID=44274.
A copy can also be found on the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) on the Emergency Management Portal.