CBRN Safety 100
CBRN Safety 100 : Chapter II - Domestic CBRN CM (5) Unique Planning Considerations in the Domestic Operational Environment: (C) Mortuary Affairs: The joint force may aid federal and state agencies by providing mortuary affairs assistance. Any assistance provided will be IAW the NRF and existing civilian plans and local civilian direction. (1) The primary responsibility for responding to mortuary affairs issues rests with state and local authorities. A local or state medical examiner and/or coroner (ME/C) will have the responsibility for leading the response effort. DOD mortuary affairs assets are usually employed in support of the ME/C. Other important state and local stakeholders who may have significant operational involvement include Office of Emergency Management, Department of Public Health, NG, state law enforcement, EPA, and fire department and HAZMAT units. (2) Several conditions affect the ability of local and state officials to respond to mass fatality operations. Some of these factors include number of fatalities; quality and state of remains; the agent or agents (contaminated versus uncontaminated) present; location and size of the search and recovery area; conditions (weather, daylight, terrain); city and state resources available; and most important, public expectations. Within the construct of the civilian operation there are a number of different missions where joint forces may be asked to provide mortuary affairs assistance. (3) Expected DOD mortuary operations include advisory support, search and recovery, reception, remains storage, contamination mitigation of remains, photography, fingerprinting, forensic dentistry, forensic pathology, family assistance, disposition of remains and personal effects, administration and logistic support. Decedent identification is an ME/C responsibility; DOD mortuary affairs assets support the identification process through forensic recovery and preservation of decedent identification material. (4) For remains that cannot be decontaminated to a specified transportation level, protecting the health of Service members and the public takes precedence over rapid disposition. Temporary storage of remains in a refrigerated storage facility or interment of those contaminated remains that pose a threat to public health is recommended until remains can be safely handled. (5) A phased mortuary affairs plan may be required to assist civil authorities in augmenting ME/C. Not all mortuary affairs assets are deployed for each mass fatality incident; the mortuary affairs response will be tailored to meet the needs of the local jurisdiction
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