Advances in National Capabilities for Consequence Assessment Modeling of Airborne Hazards

This paper describes ongoing advancement of airborne hazard modeling capabilities in support of multiple agencies through the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) and the Interagency Atmospheric Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC). A suite of software tools developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and collaborating organizations includes simple stand-alone, local-scale plume modeling tools for end user's computers, Web- and Internet-based software to access advanced 3-D flow and atmospheric dispersion modeling tools and expert analysis from the national center at LLNL, and state-of-the-science high-resolution urban models and event reconstruction capabilities

Models and Measurements: Complementary Tools for Predicting Atmospheric Dispersion and Assessing the Consequences of Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies

Since its inception over 26 years ago, NARAC (the National Atmospheric Release and Advisory Center) has used measurement data to update model predictions of radioactive releases from known origins. NARAC continues to routinely participate in emergency response drills with organizations that collect air concentration, ground deposition, and radiation exposure measurements. From a complementary perspective, NARAC is now developing an advanced capability to combine models and data from monitoring systems to characterize and forensically reconstruct atmospheric release events of unknown origin

Advances in Modeling Radiation Dispersal Device and Nuclear Detonation Effects

ABSTRACT Computer models that predict the effects of Radiation Dispersal Devices (RDD) and nuclear detonations are important tools for helping prepare for, and respond to, these threats. This paper describes recent advances made by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and collaborating laboratories in order to more realistically simulate (1) downwind deposition and dose from an RDD, (2) nuclear fallout fractionation processes, and (3) indoor radiation dose and sheltering strategies for nuclear fallout. These modeling capabilities are intended to produce nearreal-time predictions to aid emergency preparedness and response by informing protective action decisions on sheltering, evacuation, relocation, and worker protection. These capabilities are developed for use in the Department of Energy (DOE) National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) at the LLNL, which also serves as the operations hub for the Department of Homeland Security led Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC)