Agencies conduct radiological response training

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) had a radiological response exercise at “The Rock” Wednesday to help ensure safety at sporting events.

Daniel Ward, director of training and integrated systems said, "We're trying to build some community resiliency and some collaborative effort throughout the state early on. So, when something bad does happen or whenever we do have an occurrence, this isn't the first time we're meeting. We want to exchange business cards now. We want to network and we want to understand each other's capabilities."

The exercise was performed through a scenario.

USM director of NCS4, Dr. Lou Marciani said, "There's a call into the police department that there's radiation components in the stadium. So, what happens from that point on, from the notification to the police department, to MEMA, up to federal, we look at communications. We look at resource allocations. We look at what procedures and protocols are necessary to be successful at handling that response."

Ward said he hopes universities across the country will take part in this training.