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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 June 2012
Disaster preparedness as developed by civil authorities and hospitals has not adequately addressed the special characteristics of mass casualties from nuclear accidents, as demonstrated during the accident at the Three Mile Island (TMI) Nuclear Power Generating Plant. Experiences gained by the Radiation Emergency Task Force of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, established during the TMI incident, have resulted in reexamination of emregency medical services (EMS) systems response, population and hospital evacuation, decontamination procedures, communications, triage and psychologic impact during such an event. From these investigations, it is now possible to restructure disaster protocols to accommodate accidents involving toxic contamination. Although this report primarily deals with nuclear accidents, it is also useful in planning for large-scale biologic or chemical accidents.