page_title: National Response Scenario Number One
section_title: The Scenario
hierarchical_section_title: National Response Scenario Number One / The Scenario
context_page_description: National Response Scenario Number One is the United States federal government's planned response to a nuclear attack. It is one of the National Response Scenarios developed by the United States Department of Homeland Security, considered the most likely of fifteen emergency scenarios to impact the United States. The Scenarios are related to the National Response Framework, which describes the structures and mechanisms of a response and the National Incident Management System that gives a framework to orchestrate emergency management.
  The guidelines and the implementation framework were developed after the September 11 attacks and the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
context_section_description: The response timeline will begin the instant the detonation occurs. In this scenario, a terrorist cell creates a nuclear device using highly enriched uranium (HEU) using nuclear device components that are smuggled into the United States. The 10-kiloton nuclear device would most likely be assembled near a large U.S. city. The cities that would most likely be attacked are Washington, New York City and Los Angeles. Using a van or SUV, the device could easily be delivered to the heart of a city and detonated. The effects and response planning from a nuclear blast are determined using statics from Washington, the most likely target. An estimated 5,000 casualties would be killed within .25 of a second after detonation and within 15 seconds an estimated 30,000 casualties would result from the detonation. Estimates could climb to as much as 100,000 after 24 hours. Buildings within three miles are severely damaged. The contaminated area would be roughly 3,000 square miles depending on environmental factors such as weather and terrain. An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) damages much of electronic devices, power grids and communication systems in the surrounding area.
caption: H-912 transport container for Mk-54 SADM.
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