With its large amount of citations and a wide variety of sources, we can extrapolate that this research article was made with a good deal of time and care. There are even citations to other works by Galea, but it appears that the only original research done for the article was interviewing responders and patients.
The main argument that Sonja makes is that there does not exist any international organization with capabilities and expertise to respond to nuclear disasters. Further, with talk of forming such an organization/team since Fukushima, any international nuclear disaster strike team will need to have good relations with the communities and workers that they help as well as good communication at the international level to see the maximum effective response.
The report details the effects, both long and short term, of the effects of nuclear disasters on the population and environment. The knowledge gained form this report will help prevent or mitigate future disasters like this one if/should they occur.
Currently the IAEA is dependent on funding from its own member states. This becomes precarious when the organization policing nuclear compliance is also dependent on the same states for funding. (iaea.org)
Although I had issues finding references to this particular chapter, the larger work that it is a part of (Medicine, Rationality and Experience) is cited by nearly 3,000 other articles according to Google Scholar.
This study was published by the CDC under “Emerging Infectious Diseases”. Emerging Infectious Diseases, focuses on both identifying these emerging threats and disseminating information to its readers. The CDC earns a high respect from healthcare professionals.
It matters to public health greatly because without it, hospitals could refuse to provide critical treatment until they were satisfied that the patient could pay, which can result in death from delay or refusal of care.