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The Chernobyl Accident was the worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear technology. It is the keystone poster-child of most fears with nuclear energy. By addressing this accident—how it happened, what went wrong, how to prevent it—the IAEA seeks to reassure the future prosperity of nuclear power.

The agency itself is an illustration of emergency response; before BSVAC ambulance response time averaged around thirty minutes-- a far cry from the standard eight minutes aimed for by ambulatory agencies around the Capital region. The original goal of BSVAC was to cut down these times, thereby increasing patient outcomes and creating a sense of safety in a community rippling with gang and drug violence. In addition to this initial goal, BSVAC also reaches out to the surrounding community, teaching CPR, first-aid, and BLS to Bed-Stuy residents. This aids in emergency response, as CPR and first-aid measures can be delivered quickly to a patient even before the ambulance arrives. 

 The mission of the IAEA is to promote and help the development of peaceful nuclear technologies and promote safety standards as well as inspect compliance to the commitments to non-proliferation treaties. (iaea.org)

                The IAEA has worked with Iran to complete seven projects and has another nine in the works for development of nuclear power, spent fuel processing, radiopharmaceuticals, heavy water, and security projects. (en.mehrnews.com/)

                The IAEA just held a conference in Manila to assist the Philippines in determining whether or not to revive its mothballed nuclear power plant, under the larger umbrella of the future of nuclear in the Asia-Pacific. (bworldonline.com)

                The agency also responded to the Fukushima incident. During the incident, they assisted Japan by analyzing a plethora of data and sending recommendation and results of their work. Over the last 5 years, the IAEA has sent ten expert missions and will assist in decommissioning the plant. Meanwhile, the IAEA is helping with monitoring leak/contamination management and managing radioactive waste. They are furthering first response efforts by hosting drills to better train and equip first responders for nuclear disasters. (iaea.org)

1)  “Our goal in collaborating with this project was to develop a set of anthropologically oriented case studies, drawn from a community sample (in contrast to more common clinical studies).”

2)  “We invited persons identified as suffering seizure disorders, along with their families, to tell us stories about their illness and to describe their illness experiences - to tell us about their seizures, their efforts to find effective treatment, the responses to their condition by persons in their community, and the effects of the illness on their lives.”

3)  “Data from this study provide the opportunity for addressing not only problems of medical care and public health, but for reflecting on theoretical and methodological questions central to this book as well.”

1) Definition of humanitarian crisis: This article denotes a multitude of situations, all of which seem to have a drastic effect on human health and well-being. That being said, some crisis or armed conflicts are not deemed a humanitarian crisis. According to several sources, the definition is incredibly subjective, and must be event(s) which harm the health, safety, or well-being of a community or large group of people.

2) Humanitarian worker protections: At this time, there does not seem to be a true movement to legally prosecute those who harm humanitarian or aid workers. However, within the Geneva Convention and later Protocols, there are legal protections for non-combatants during armed conflicts; this is in addition to a UN Security Council Resolution (1502) which gives greater protection to aid workers, classifying attacks on them as a war crime.

3) Non-combatants: This is where definitions of humanitarian aid workers and their protections under both the Geneva Convention and UN Resolution fall apart. The current climate and disregard for international sanctions has left many aid workers at the mercy of those who do not recognize the UN or global entities. As such, they are faced with the choice to remain non-combatants (those who do not carry or use a weapon during a conflict) and most likely be harmed; or to carry defensive arms and proclaim themselves a combatant, and thus be a target. Hence, the difficulty in being a health care worker in an age of general militarization. This is also a topic heavily discussed in the book Trauma by Dr. James Cole. As a member of the special operations, Dr. Cole was always well within danger; he discusses the choice to carry or not carry a weapon, and how discharging the weapon (even in self-defense) changes the nature of the health care provider and their position in an armed conflict. 

Virtually all of the references include in their title “social”, “structural violence”, a mention of poverty or underdeveloped country/community, or gender/social-status/race. The nature of the references concur with the nature of the article and references mainly other research articles which portray some aspect of the authors’ argument. 

The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act was drafted by congress in 1985 as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 which is a larger healthcare and social security law. The law passed in 1986.

                This article is an excerpt from a book which I do not have access to. The bibliography is not contained in the excerpt but bases on the supporting evidence used in the article we can infer a few things about it (see “What were the methods, tools and/or data used to produce the claims or arguments made…” above).