National Coalition Launches to Educate and Prepare Against Possible ‘Dirty Bomb’ Attacks

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 /
EMWNews
/ -- In an effort to raise

public awareness to the impact of possible radiological attacks against our

nation, a new national, not-for-profit and nonpartisan coalition was

launched today by a broad group of first-responders, business groups,

health advocates and homeland security experts.



    The Radiological Threat Awareness Coalition (R-TAC) seeks to prepare,

protect, and prevent a radiological disaster in our country by providing

information and resources on the risk of a radiological catastrophe such as

a series of "dirty bomb" attacks.



    Specifically, R-TAC will:



    -- Educate the public about radiological threats and ways to protect

against a possible attack.



    -- Support federal and state level efforts to better prepare our nation

against radiological threats.



    -- Call for adequate funding of our nation's first responders to defend

against radiological attacks.



    The coalition also announced today that James P. Pinkerton will serve

as the organization's first chairman. Pinkerton is a former White House

adviser and long-time national media personality.



    "Since 9-11, Americans have known terrorism knows no borders nor

boundaries. Yet we must come to grips with the reality that perhaps the

greatest danger we face is inside our own borders--here in the U.S. So we

urgently need to do more to protect and prepare our country against this

hideous threat," Pinkerton said.



    The R-TAC mission will be reinforced and guided by a prominent Advisory

Board consisting of the nation's foremost radiological and preparedness

experts, including:



    -- Dr. Albert L. Wiley, Jr. - Director of Radiation Emergency

Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) at Oak Ridge Institute for

Science and Education



    -- Dr. Carol Marcus - Former Professor of Radiation Oncology and

Radiological Sciences at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine; Expert on

Nuclear Medicine and the Biological Effects of Radiation; Member of the

FEMA Disaster Medical Assistance Team for Los Angeles and the FEMA National

Medical Response Team



    -- Dr. Tareg A. Bey - Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine and

Director of International Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency

Medicine, University of California at Irvine (UCI)



    -- Professor Bill Daddio - Professor of Sociology of Terrorism,

Georgetown University; Former Chief of Police for the U.S. Mint; Former

Deputy U.S. Marshal at the Department of Justice



    For more information about the coalition, please visit http://www.r-tac.org.

To set up a media interview with Chairman Pinkerton or any of the Advisory

Board members, please contact Tarah Donoghue at 202-879-5817.