Austin Wilkins

I spoke to Karlee Kump who works for the Salt Lake Valley Health Department she is a Health Program Specialist that works with Emergency Preparedness.She discussed with me 5 topics that they are concerned for the department should they happen. The one they they focus on the most right now family preparedness. Their goal is to help the most amount of people in the shortest amount of time.

1)Family preparedness: As we discussed family preparedness I started to realize what a broad topic it was. Basically one of the main purposes of this Emergency Preparedness department is to help people help themselves. Preparing for power outages, severe weather, floods, earthquakes and fires can help people deal with the even much more effectively, save lives, and keep the population healthy. They teach classes, do demonstrations have information booklets, and are willing to answer any questions regarding preparing for an emergency. These booklets include everything from heat stroke to food and water outages and earthquakes and have very helpful information should the emergency occur. The SLVHD also has stock piles of supplies such as food, medicine, clothing, and communication equipment if the need arises from some kind of emergency.

2)Radiological Agents: Another thing that the SLVHD is concerned about is radiological agents which are defined into two categories dirty bombs, and nuclear. A dirty bomb is a bomb that combines conventional explosives, such as dynamite with radioactive material in either solid, liquid, or gas form. Dirty bombs are used to spread radioactive material into a small localized area around an explosion. They are used mainly to scare people and contaminate building or land. Nuclear bombs are used to kill and contaminate larger amounts of people or land. The blast radi are much larger and the level of contamination will depend on how much radioactive material was in the bomb, as well as the weather conditions at the time of the blast. The SLVHD aims to educate propel and prepare them what to do if there is a radiological situation. One of the things they teach people are:Shielding, distance, and time.
Thick shielding such as a concrete walls will help deflect and absorb the more of the radiation before it gets to you. The further the distance between you and the blast zone the lower your exposure will be. Lastly, the less amount of time you spend being exposed the better.

3)Chemical Agents: Another risk that the SLCHD works with are chemical agents. Chemical agents include household cleaning supplies like ammonia and chlorine, and other more lethal agents such as cyanides, nerve agents, and ricin. The substances can have a very harmful effects on the people exposed to them. The SLCHD sponsors days where they go around and help get some of these harmful chemicals out of people's homes buy accepting any household chemicals people bring to them to dispose of. They also teach people what to do if they think they come in contact with a chemical agent.

4)Biological Agents: Biological agents can be used by terrorist to present a major health treat. On the watch this as category A biological agents are smallpox, anthrax botulism,plague, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers. These are category A which means they are known to have been studied by some countries for use in biological warfare. Other biological agents that are a concern are influenza's. In order to minimize the effects of a terrorist biological agent the health department teaches things such as, every business and organization should have and review protocols for handling mail. Common sense should be used in inspecting and opening mail or packages. Look for things such as oily stains, no return address, no postage, or have a strange odor.

5)Coping with a Disaster:  Another task of the SLCHD is to help cope with a disaster once it happens. Physical and emotional reactions occur as a result of a disaster and each person reacts differently. These reactions can happen immediately or could manifest themselves months down the road after the event. Traumatic stress reactions can happen to any person of any age, it can alter the way people think, change behavior, and physical health.