Many emergency response workers do not believe that they are adequately prepared to respond to a major disaster such as the World Trade Center attack or the anthrax scare, according to a new report of worker input funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The report shows a need for research, training and other strategic approaches to help protect emergency responders in terrorist attacks. The recommendations are based on the lessons learned from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last September and from the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

The report, released by RAND, summarizes discussions from a two-day NIOSH-sponsored workshop held in December 2001 in New York City. The workshop convened more than 150 participants, including firefighters, firefighting special operations, emergency medical services, law enforcement, construction and other trade services, and health and safety professionals, including state and federal agencies.

The report can be found at: www.rand.org/publications/CF/CF176/CF176.pdf For more information go to: www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/emrandrpt.html.