Radiological Agents

The Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Consequence Management Advisory Team (CMAT) provides radiological subject matter expert support to the 10 EPA Regions and other EPA program offices. CBRN CMAT has developed critical key partnerships with the stakeholders involved in CBRN responses and maintains an excellent rapport with federal, state, local, Tribal, and academic partners.      

What are Radiological Agents?

Radiological agents are any radioactive materials that, when released, could cause adverse health effects. Typically, radiological agents have been chosen for energetic emissions (strong, penetrating radiation), intended to cause harm or panic by exposing members of the public to radiation. In addition to intentional releases of radiological material, unintentional releases are also possible. Most emergency preparedness activities for radiological events center around six types of events, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control:

1. Nuclear Emergencies – A nuclear emergency that involves the explosion of a nuclear weapon or improvised nuclear device (IND).
2. Dirty Bomb or Radiological Dispersal Device – A dirty bomb is a mix of explosives with radioactive powder or pellets, also known as a radiological dispersal device (RDD), which cannot create an atomic blast.
3. Radiological Exposure Device – A radiological exposure device (RED), or hidden sealed source, contains radioactive material and is hidden from sight to expose people to radiation without their knowledge.
4. Nuclear Power Plant Accident – An accident at a nuclear power plant that releases radiation.
5. Transportation Accidents – Radioactive material is transported by trucks, rail, and other shipping methods, but it is unlikely that accidents involving transport of radioactive materials would cause any radiation-related injuries due to transportation safety controls.
6. Occupational Accidents – Radiation sources are found in a wide range of settings such as health care facilities, research institutions, and manufacturing operations, and accidents can occur if safety controls fail.

Some of the more stable radioisotopes include Americium-241 (Am-241), Cesium-137 (Cs-137), Cobalt-60 (Co-60), Iodine-131 (I-131), Iridium-192 (Ir-192), Plutonium-238, -239, -240 (Pu-238, Pu-239, Pu-240), Polonium-210 (Po-210), Strontium-90 (Sr-90), and Uranium-235, -238 (U-235, U-238). 

To learn more about radioactive decay, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and the electromagnetic spectrum, see the Radiation Basics page. To learn more about EPA’s radiological emergency response program, see the Radiological Emergency Response page. 

CBRN CMAT Radiological Agent Experts

CBRN CMAT radiological subject matter experts have experience and training in radiation safety, health physics, biological effects of radiation, detection equipment, decontamination, effects of nuclear weapons, dosimetry, and regulations and requirements for occupational exposure to radiation. CBRN CMAT’s radiological subject matter experts are available for consultations and on-site assistance in these and any other health physics-related areas.

CBRN CMAT Radiological Response Assets and Equipment

ASPECT (Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology) – EPA's airborne real-time chemical and radiological detection, infrared and photographic imagery platform. Based near Dallas, Texas, and able to deploy within one hour, ASPECT is available to assist local, national, and international agencies supporting responses to hazardous and radiological incidents.

Radiation Task Force Leader (RTFL) Radiation Equipment Kits – CMAT maintains 30 radiation detection kits for the RTFL program. These are hand-held detectors that can provide real-time contamination detection for alpha/beta/gamma radiation, as well as dose-rate information. These instruments provide trained users with the ability to locate areas of contamination, identify removable contamination, monitor other workers for radioactive contamination, and collect dose rate measurements.  

Environmental Response Laboratory Network (ERLN) – The ERLN is a comprehensive, all-hazard/all-environmental media laboratory network that can be activated as needed to provide analytical data of known quality in support of environmental emergency response and recovery actions. The ERLN integrates the capabilities of public sector laboratories with accredited private sector laboratories and can be used to support incidents of any scale during the preparedness, response, and remediation phases.