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GAO-12-304R 1 (2012-02-22)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacftk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Accountabiliy - Integrity - Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 February 22, 2012 The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman Chairman The Honorable Susan M. Collins Ranking Member Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate Subject: National Preparedness: Countermeasures for Thermal Burns A failed car bomb attempt in New York City in spring 2010 underscored the nation's vulnerability to intentional terrorist threats from explosive devices, such as conventional explosives, radiological dirty bombs, and nuclear weapons.1 The blast and subsequent fires from such weapons could inflict serious thermal burns; in the case of a nuclear detonation, these injuries could affect hundreds to thousands of people.2 In such an attack, stabilizing individuals with burns and other injuries would be an immediate priority. Medical care for thermal burns in a mass casualty incident would require the ready availability of large quantities of medical countermeasures, such as pain medications, wound dressings, and intravenous fluids, both on-site and in emergency treatment facilities. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)3 is the federal agency primarily responsible for identifying and supporting the development and acquisition of the medical countermeasures needed to prevent or mitigate potential health effects from exposure to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents and other terrorist threats.4 In addition to identifying these countermeasures, including those for thermal burns, HHS also has responsibility for engaging with industry to research and develop them and, ultimately, for acquiring them for the 1A dirty bomb, or radiological dispersal device, is a mix of explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive material. When the dynamite or other explosives are set off, the blast carries radioactive material into the surrounding area. 2Thermal burns, as distinguished from chemical and electrical burns or injury to the skin from radioactive isotopes, are caused by intense light and heat. 3For a full list of abbreviations, see enc. I. 4For a list of previous GAO products relevant to this topic, see Related GAO Products at the end of this report. GAO-12-304R Thermal Burn Countermeasures

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