scope:

a. This instruction applies to all naval facilities or commands and Navy-sponsored operations in which there exists a known potential for radioactive contamination or excessive ionizing radiation exposure and to all medical treatment facilities (MTFs), fixed and nonfixed.

b. This instruction applies to the period from actual exposure, contamination, or injury to the time when the individual is either returned to full duty or, if a seriously injured individual is on a course of recovery at an MTF with definitive care capability. Definitive care is defined as the complete medical, surgical, and health physics support necessary to provide extended evaluation and treatment to seriously irradiated, contaminated, or injured personnel.

c. Although applicable to personnel irradiation or contamination following a nuclear weapon detonation in a time of war, the procedures outlined in this instruction are intended for use in occupational or accidental exposure environments.

d. The procedures outlined in this instruction do not preclude additional actions that may be taken by medical and health physics staffs in consultation with the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED).

Purpose. To provide direction to the Medical Department, civilian medical personnel of the naval services, and Navy and Marine Corps commands for the initial exposure assessment, management, and treatment of individuals who are irradiated or externally or internally radioactively contaminated. References (a) through (d) provide additional guidance.