>>THINK
Real dirty bomb detonation? Not a form of entertainment.
Simulated dirty bomb detonation? A little entertaining — sort of like a radioactive obstacle course — but also prudently instructive.
This morning, Methodist Hospital conducted a practice run of what would happen in response to a bomb with radioactive material detonating at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The scenario imagined hundreds of victims being exposed to radiation.
Dozens of nurses, hospital administrators,
“victim” volunteers from local schools and decontamination specialists were part of the demonstration in Arcadia.
Sara Gutkind, 16, went through the process twice, playing two different victims.
“First I was a schizophrenic. I was hearing voices in my head and I thought they were trying to kill me,” Gutkind said. …
“Then I was a mother with a 7-month-old
infant,” she said. “I don’t think the baby was doing too well. They
said he had stopped breathing.”Organizers added wrinkles to the scenario, including a pair
of students who stormed the emergency room demanding treatment, and
victims who were pregnant or didn’t speak English.
Rio Honda Prep students Jimmy Davis and Chelsea Parker are not really in trouble.
They’re testing security measures during the simulation
The decontamination shower
A Rio Hondo Prep student is screened by a hospital technician with a Geiger counter — to check for radiation after decontamination
