Surveillance for Radiation-Related Exposures Reported to the National Poison Data System

CDC and the American Association of Poison Control Centers have conducted ongoing surveillance for exposures to radioactive materials reported from all 57 US poison centers to NPDS, a national poison center reporting database and surveillance system. Of 419 exposures identified Sept 2010 to June 2012, 25 were associated with a radiation-related incident. Public health or hospital radiation safety staff were involved in each of these events. The capability to conduct surveillance of exposures to radioactive materials is available for local public health use with their regional PC and may improve public health capacity to identify and respond to radiological emergencies.