SUMMARY
A program to deal with the medical consequences of a radiological terrorism incident or a nuclear accident requires three principal components: (i) the technology to rapidly determine the radiation doses received by a large number of people, (ii) methods for alleviating acute hematological radiation injuries, and (iii) approved drugs for mitigation of chronic radiation injuries. Laboratory studies have shown that all these needs can be met theoretically. However, moving from the existing laboratory studies to a deployed program is not easy. The work that still needs to be done is expensive and time-consuming, and the move from the laboratory to the field may also face severe regulatory barriers.Defence Science Journal, 2011, 61(2), pp.99-104, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.61.828