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Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool (RRLT)
Citation:
Johnson, D., M. Kaminski, S. Parent, AND M. Magnuson. Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool (RRLT). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/C-23/001, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
The RRLT is a computer application that organizes information on equipment and assets that may be used to recover from a wide area release of radioactivity into the urban environment. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) funded Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to build this Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool (RRLT, also “the Tool”), which contains a database of common and specialty equipment available through local public works departments or commercial vendors. Developed in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the RRLT provides the user several approaches to understanding what types of equipment might be available to accomplish general and specific recovery mission activities, including mitigating doses to responders and recovery teams, surveying and monitoring the affected area during the recovery phase, decontaminating surfaces, handling and treating solid and liquid waste, and identifying issues related to critical infrastructure operations.
Description:
The RRLT database includes detailed information on the equipment’s everyday function, its effectiveness on different surfaces and forms of radioactive contaminants, the scale for which the equipment may be applied, the skill required of the operator, utility requirements, legal and environmental considerations, regional and local availability, waste generated, and cost. Other factors the Tool considers include prior uses in radiological environments, safety measures, and best practice guidance to ensure its effective use. Ultimately, a component of the Tool’s software called the “equipment recommendation wizard”[1] uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create output that lists and recommends equipment that could be used to help plan recovery operations. The Tool may be used in concert with applications previously developed by the EPA and DHS for radiological and nuclear response and recovery [e.g., the Rad Decon Tool within RadResponder (https://www.radresponder.net/app/index), the Waste Estimation Support Tool (https://www.epa.gov/emergency-response-research/waste-estimation-support-tool-west), as well as with prior international publications [e.g., the UK Recovery Handbooks for Radiation Incidents (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-recovery-handbooks-for-radiation-incidents-2015) and the Generic handbook for assisting in the management of contaminated inhabited areas in Europe following a radiological emergency (https://eu-neris.net/library/handbooks/58-euranos-inhabited-areas-handbook-version-2/file.html)]. The equipment recommendation wizard is an autonomous software agent—a unit of artificial intelligence software that chooses actions based on its goals and percepts. The goal of this agent is to expedite the user’s arrival at a complete equipment list addressing the scenarios and conditions at hand.
URLs/Downloads:
RADIOLOGICAL RECOVERY LOGISTICS TOOL (RRLT) USER GUIDE.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 2344.08 KB, about PDF)Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool (RRLT)
