NM DoH Cover Page

EMS Director's Survey

Hospital Emergency Department Director's Survey

Hospital Emergency Department Staff Survey

EMS Responder's Survey

Addresses of Emergency Response Departments along the New Mexico WIPP route.


In 1992, Congress passed the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, Public Law 102-579. The Act created a New Mexico Governor's WIPP Emergency Response Medical Training Advisory Committee. Pursuant to then Governor Bruce King's Executive Order 93- 16, he appointed various members of the medical community to advise him on emergency preparedness in New Mexico. The Committee reviewed the training programs of the Department of Energy (DOE) and its WIPP contractor, Westinghouse Waste Isolation Division.

In September 1994 the Committee released its report entitled, "Report of the Governor's 'WIPP Emergency Response Medical Training Advisory Committee.'" The Committee's Findings and Recommendations included:

1.Training had been conducted, but the training was not coordinated among the various agencies. There was no formal mechanism to keep track of those who had been trained and those who had not.

2.A "significant" concern of the Committee was the fact that there was an inadequate number of physicians or hospital radiation safety personnel trained for a WIPP incident.

3.Pre-hospital care providers (EMTs and paramedics) had received very little radiation incident training.

4.More DTPA, a chelating agent for the treatment of internal plutonium exposure, needed to be distributed to hospitals.

5.Formal evaluation of medical preparedness within the State of New Mexico needed to be reviewed every two years.

The State of New Mexico did not follow the fifth Committee recommendation that a new survey be conducted every two years. In October, 1998, four years after the release of the Committee's report, CCNS began working with the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) to prepare and assist in distributing the second in the series of surveys. The 1999 surveys are entitled "Training and Response Survey for Emergency Medical Personnel to WIPP Transportation Incidents." The distribution of the blank surveys was limited to those emergency responders along the north-south WIPP route in New Mexico. The purpose of the survey is to determine the level of training and the amount of equipment each department/agency has. There are four surveys directed to four areas of emergency response:

1.Emergency Medical Services - Local Responders Survey
2.Emergency Medical Services - Directors Survey
3.Hospital Emergency Department - Staff Survey
4.Hospital Emergency Department - Directors Survey.

As of this writing, the DOH has received over 500 completed surveys. CCNS is working with the DOH to create the database. CCNS staff and volunteers will assist the DOH to input the data.

CCNS provides these surveys as models for others along WIPP routes to use. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments.


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