This newsletter is a joint venture between a workgroup of Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) and statewide county emergency management representatives. This workgroup was formed to provide guidance and training to Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC), as they work to reenergize and improve participation in emergency planning in their communities.

Radiological Response

A radiological response in emergency management focuses on life safety, incident stabilization, public protection, and coordinated recovery. The overall approach is similar to other hazardous materials incidents, but with added emphasis on radiation assessment, protective action decisions, contamination control, and public messaging.

Core Response Priorities include:

• Protect Life First: Rescue, medical care, fire suppression, and immediate hazard control come before detailed radiation measurement.
• Establish Command & Coordination: Activate ICS, determine whether the EOC should monitor, partially activate, or fully activate, and set operational objectives.
• Access the hazard: Identify the source, affected area, likely exposure pathways, weather impacts, and whether contamination is spreading.
• Protect the Public: Use evacuation, shelter-in-place, access control, and controlled movement based on the situation and technical guidance.
• Protect Responders: Brief personnel, control entry, track exposure, use appropriate PPE, and apply dose management principles.
• Control Contamination: Isolate contaminated people, equipment, and areas; conduct monitoring and decontamination in a controlled process.
• Coordinate Recovery Early: Plan for re-entry, relocation, public health follow-up, debris and waste issues, and long-term community impacts.

Printing EPCRA Off-Site Response Plans

Printing EPCRA Off-Site Response Plans is beneficial because it gives responders and coordinators a dependable, immediately accessible backup copy of critical hazardous materials planning information. Printed plans support continuity, field usability, responder distribution, and operational readiness.

Key Benefits of have printed Off-Site Response Plans

• Reliable access during incidents: A printed plan is available even if power, networks, or software systems are down.
• Faster field reference: Responders can quickly check facility hazards, contacts, notification procedures, and evacuation information without needing to log into a system.
• Better distribution to operational users: Printed copies can support that distribution in apparatus, stations, and duty locations.
• Improved coordination: Off-site plans are built to support facility identification, response procedures, emergency coordination, public notification, and evacuation planning, all of which are easier to reference quickly in a hard-copy format during a fast-moving event.
• Support for public-access and recordkeeping expectations: EPCRA requires emergency response plans to be available at designated locations during normal working hours, and FEMA doctrine emphasizes plan distribution and maintaining records of who received the plan. Printed copies can help support those access and dissemination practices.
• Useful backup for dispatch and EOC operations: Hard copies can serve as a dependable backup source for dispatchers,

Important Note on the WHOPRS Website Disclaimer

On the WHOPRS Website Log-in page you will see a new disclaimer under the Help Desk toward the bottom of the page. The disclaimer states, “This website is not supported 24/7 and should not be used as an emergency response tool. The information available on this website is for planning purposes only. Information on this website is self-reported by regulated facilities and planners, and no representation is made or implied regarding the accuracy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information on the website.”

The program was developed for EPCRA reporting requirements and should serve as a planning tool versus a response tool.