United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Radiation and Indoor Air
Radiation Protection Program
November 2010
EPA 402F10008
Emergency Response i
SPECIAL TEAMS
Your Partners in
Environmental
Emergency Response
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EPA's EMERGENCY RESPONSE SPECIAL TEAMS
work together to prepare for and respond to emergency
releases of hazardous substances. They play a critical role in
helping the Agency accomplish its mission to protect human
health and the environment during chemical, biological, and
radiological emergency incidents. In addition to each team's
specialized skills, they also maintain an extensive network
of emergency response capabilities with other agencies and
branches of the military.
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Radiological Emergency Response Team (RERT)
As part of EPA's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air,
the Radiological Emergency Response Team (RERT)
supports federal, state, tribal, and local agencies
responding to radiological incidents and emergencies.
The RERT provides technical advice, monitoring,
sampling, data assessment and cleanup assistance.
These services focus on minimizing threats to public
health and the environment.
The RERT has specialized equipment including two
mobile laboratories and two scanning systems used
for on-site field sample analysis and assessment. State-of-the-art communications
equipment enables the RERT to keep in contact with responders both on- and off-site.
The national RadNet air monitoring system is utilized by RERT and provides hourly data
on radioactive materials in the air. It comprises both fixed monitors and deployable
components that can be transported to the immediate area of a radiological incident.
For more than 35 years, the RERT has prepared for and responded to incidents, such
as Three Mile Island and in 2000 the wildfires near the Los Alamos and Hanford National
Laboratories as well as non-radiological emergencies, such as Hurricane Katrina and the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The RERT also supports response planning efforts for NASA
launches containing radioactive power sources and national special security events.
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Environmental Response Team (ERT)
As a component of EPA's Office of Superfund Remediation
and Technology Innovation, the Environmental Response
Team (ERT) provides multi-disciplined technical expertise
and logistical support in responding to hazardous
substance emergencies, oil spills, potential and actual
releases of biological and chemical agents as well as
long-term remedial activities. The ERT assesses the
site; verifies the nature and severity of the event; and
participates in development of a strategy for the cleanup,
decontamination or disposal, and remedy selection. Its
response capabilities include, but are not limited to, air
surveillance, geophysical surveying, underwater diving, radiation heallkand safety, modeling,
risk assessment, rapid turnaround analytical support and the capacity for contaminant-specific
method development for sampling and analysis. The Team's extensive response knowledge
base is complemented by many specialized assets such as the Trace Atmospheric Gas
Analyzer (TAGA) mobile laboratory.
Since its inception in 1978, the ERT has been active in all 50 states, all U.S. territories and
commonwealths, and 28 foreign countries. The Team has responded to more than 2,000
hazardous substance releases, oil spills, terrorist incidents and other high-profile emergencies.
In addition to its
response capabilities,
the ERT offers a wide
variety of training
courses covering all
aspects of response.
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National Decontamination Team (NOT)
In 2004, EPA's Office of Emergency Management
established the National Decontamination Team
(NDT). The NOT joins the other Special Teams under
the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution
Contingency Plan (commonly called the National
Contingency Plan) and is available to support
On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs). Headquartered in
Cincinnati, Ohio, the NDT is dedicated to providing
decontamination expertise, especially related to
chemical, biological and radiological contaminants
that can be used as Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Working closely with the ERT, PERT, EPA's National Homeland Security Research
Center, and other agencies and research organizations, the NDT provides scientific
support and technical expertise for decontamination of buildings, building contents,
public infrastructure (including waste/drinking water systems, chemical plants, power
plants, food processing facilities and mass transit facilities, such as airports, bus
and subway systems), agriculture, and associated environmental media (air, soil and
water). Specialized expertise, such as biochemistry, health physics, toxicology, heating,
ventilation and air conditioning, engineering, and industrial hygiene is available to assist
local, national and international agencies supporting hazardous substance response
and remedial operations.
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National Criminal Enforcement
Response Team (NCERT)
As a component of the Office of Criminal Enforcement,
Forensics, and Training (OCEFT), the re-named National
Criminal Enforcement Response Team (NCERT) supports
environmental crime investigations involving chemical,
biological, or radiological hazards and evidence. It also
provides specialized law enforcement services in support of
EPA investigations and emergency responses.
NCERT is ready to deploy within 12 hours, 365 days a
year. OCEFT maintains several strategically placed response platforms that contain safety
and forensic equipment to properly process a contaminated crime scene. NCERT's specially
trained Special Agents and scientific/technca! personnel collect forensic evidence at high
hazard environmental crime scenes. They support surveillance and serve as law enforcement
liaisons and protective escorts to EPA's OSCs and Special Teams during national emergencies.
Formed in 2001 as a WMD response team, NCERT has responded to numerous man-
made and natural events, such as the anthrax attacks, the ricin incident at the Capitol
and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It has also supported security efforts at national special
security events. The newly re-focused NCERT will continue to support environmental crime
investigations and to provide law enforcement support to the Agency's mission of protecting
human health and the environment.
EPA's Special Teams
supported OSCs
responding in 2005
and 2006 to Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita and in
2010 to the Deepwater
Horizon spilt.
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To report an emergency, contact your Regional OSC
or call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.
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