It is difficult to quantity how ready we are to respond to a radiation or nuclear incident.
There would appear to be four kinds of emergencies: nuclear reactor accident, industrial or transportation accident, radiation dispersal device, and an improvised nuclear device (the homemade nuclear bomb).
The Department of Energy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have all developed detailed response plans that include training for the first two types of incidents – the nuclear reactor and the industrial/transportation accident.
The Radiation Injury Treatment Network (RITN) has focused on exposure from a radiation dispersal device – the so-called dirty or suitcase bomb in which radioactive materials are scattered by a conventional explosive. An exposure of this kind would not likely result in an overwhelming number of casualties, but certainly would be expected to cause public panic.
The federal government is developing plans to respond to an improvised nuclear device, and RITN is one part of that response.