Disaster response tested at Regional Safety and Emergency Preparedness Expo

First responders and public health officials to test influx capacities

RENO, Nev., June 18, 2018 - What would happen if radiological or nuclear devices were used in a terrorist attack? How would local, state, and federal partners respond to an event here, or respond to an influx of injured and worried-well into our communities from outside our area? 

Response to these scenarios will be tested during the 2018 Regional Safety and Emergency Preparedness Expo, Thursday, June 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Reno City Plaza at 30 N. Virginia Street. 

Local health officials will be conducting a simulated response exercise to such a crisis situation by establishing a Community Reception Center (CRC) to test contamination screening and decontamination services to people displaced by a large-scale radiation incident.  “While it would be tragic for such an event to happen, it is essential that we plan for and be prepared to respond to scenarios like this that could occur in the unsettled world that we live in,” said Kitty Jung, chair of the Washoe County District Board of Health. “This exercise will help our community assess and improve our ability to screen, monitor, and identify individuals and pets that have been exposed in a radiological event and provide them with appropriate care,” Jung said. 

While the general public is celebrating National Safety Month by visiting the several exhibitors at the free 2018 Regional Safety and Emergency Preparedness Expo, participants in the radiological response incident, called Black Rain, will transform a portion of City Plaza into a CRC, complete with a mobile medical facility, detection and decontamination stations, nursing screening and treatment stations. The exercise will begin with simulated disaster notification and communication to local health and government officials the afternoon of Wednesday, June 20, and conclude at 5 p.m., on Thursday, June 21. Most CRC activity will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on City Plaza. 

There will be several opportunities for media to observe response activities throughout the event. For information about the radiological response exercise contact:

Phil Ulibarri, Washoe County Health District Communications Manager
pulibarri@washoecounty.us| Media Phone: 775-328-2414 (o) 775-772-1659 (c)

For information about the 2018 Regional Safety and Emergency Preparedness Expo contact:
Matthew B. Brown, City of Reno Communications Program Manager
brownm@reno.gov | Media Phone: 775-430-5005
City of Reno Press Release available here: https://www.reno.gov/Home/Components/News/News/18770/576

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