Radiation Studies Branch

Psychological First Aid in Radiation Disasters

The most feared radiation disasters are those caused by intentional or deliberate exposure of the public to radiation.

Nuclear disasters are caused by the explosion of a nuclear bomb that produces an intense pulse or wave of heat, light, air pressure, and radiation and causes widespread loss of life.

Radiological disasters include the use of a dirty bomb, or radiological dispersal device, the use of a hidden radioactive source, or the radiological contamination of food or water supplies.

Such disasters do not have to be widespread to have intense psychological effects. A relatively small incident can cause a general loss of confidence in the food or water supply that would be debilitating.

Radiation disasters are unique in large part due to the public’s intense fear of radiation. Unlike many other threats, radiation is invisible, silent, and odorless and can only be detected with specialized equipment. It is also unfamiliar and not well understood by the general public.

Even common radiological medical procedures are often referred to in terms that mask any reference to radiation. And, of course, there is great concern for possible long-term and delayed health effects, primarily cancers, many of which can only be diagnosed years after the exposure. For women who are pregnant, there is a fear of damage to the fetus.

Social stigma is another consequence of radiation disasters. Social stigma can be experienced by those contaminated—or even those potentially contaminated —by radioactive material as people fear these people are “contagious.”

For more on the unique aspects of radiation disasters, let’s listen to Dr. Jose Rozental, who was working on the Brazilian National Commission of Nuclear Energy at the time of a major radiation disaster in Goiânia, Brazil. We will learn more about the Goiânia disaster later in the training.