Program WW (RERO)
Course Name
Radiological Emergency Response Operations (RERO)
Target Audience/Disciplines
Any member of an organized federal, state, local, or tribal radiological/hazardous materials response element who have responsibility for responding to or managing a radiological incident. Personnel assigned to such teams include fire service, law enforcement, health physicists, industrial hygienists, radiological officers, and other emergency service personnel with similar responsibilities. Local or tribal participants should reside within either of two Emergency Planning Zones (EPZ). The two EPZ’s are described as 1) the plume exposure pathway EPZ has a radius of about 10 miles from the reactor site, or 2) the ingestion exposure pathway EPZ has a radius of about 50 miles from the reactor site. There are over 100 commercial nuclear power reactors in the United States.
An Excel spreadsheet of jurisdictions, broken down by FEMA Region and state, eligible to attend Radiological training courses is available in the additional resources section to the right.
Course Description
Radiological Emergency Response Operations is a five-day course offering lectures, hands-on training, and team exercises. The lectures include operational-level radiological concepts using guidance and information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Use of the hands-on training will provide students with the knowledge and skills to perform in a radiological emergency response operation regardless of the type of event. The Radiological Emergency Response Operations course culminates on the fifth day with a final exercise involving the emergency response operations skills and training learned during the course.
Additional Qualifications/Certifications
To be eligible to attend the Radiological Emergency Response Operations course, a candidate must:
- Have successfully completed awareness-level training for all-hazards response through AWR-160, Standardized Awareness Training or another certified awareness-level training program.
- Have successfully completed IS-100.b, Introduction to the Incident Command System
- Have successfully completed IS-200.b, ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents.
- Have successfully completed IS-700.a, National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction.
- Have successfully completed IS-800.b, National Response Framework (NRF), An Introduction. Any version of the IS-100, 200, 700, and 800 courses are acceptable for the prerequisite requirements.
- Have successfully completed IS-3, Radiological Emergency Management (FEMA Independent Study Course) or the Fundamental Course for Radiological Response (PER909 or G320).
- Meet the requirements and standards of Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER), 29 C.F.R. § 1910.120(q)(6)(ii), (2009) and/or National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 472 Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents, Chapters 5 and 6.7.
Course Length
5.0 days
Course Code
PER-904
CEUs
- International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET): 4.0
- Nursing, through Alabama Board of Nursing (nurses only): 40
- Police Officer Standards and Training (POST; approved per state): 40
