Indian Point Runs Emergency Drill at Hospital

CORTLANDT MANOR, N.Y. – Hospital employees performed a radiation decontamination drill at Hudson Valley Hospital Center on Thursday. Much of the emergency room staff was present for the annual drill and training session, which goes through the steps of decontaminating a low-exposure radiation emergency.

“My concern is making sure the hospital personnel are educated,” said David Maruco, senior Health Physic Technician at Indian Point, referring to decontamination. “It doesn’t matter how they got contaminated, just that they are.”

The drill ran through the decontamination procedures for the low-exposure treatment of one employee in the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plants. The drill is run annually and the emergency room staff is notified ahead of time of the date and approximate time of the drill.

The drill takes place in HVHC’s decontamination room, a specialized room positioned next to the emergency department that has a separate entrance and can fit about two stretchers.

Decontaminating someone essentially uses wet wipes and soap and water, which removes the substance. Radiological decontamination requires several special procedures, including a special stretcher to ensure that none of the radiological matter is left behind in the movement of the patient, special bins, clothing, equipment and a Geiger counter.

 “The charts and the outlines they provide us are very clear,” said Lindsay Aarstad, a physician assistant at HVHC. “They’re very knowledgeable.”

If more than one person was contaminated, the hospital would try to get the worst person in first. Phelps Memorial Hospital is the other main hospital trained in decontamination techniques by Entergy and it also runs annual drills and has a decontamination room, according to Entergy officials.

Hudson Valley Hospital Center also has a machine that can diagnose people in masses, if need be. The machine is something akin to a metal detector, except for radiation.

“What it’s designed for is mass diagnosis of patients,” said Justin Costable, EMS Coordinator at HVHC.  Costable said the machine would more likely be used in the event of a “dirty bomb,” than an accident at Indian Point.

Martha Russo, the Indian Point employee who was “decontaminated,” she said there was “a little bit of training going on, but they were very professional.” Russo is a procedure writer at the power plant.

Visit MedScape for more information on radiological exposure procedures and side effects.

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