Safety and Protection of built Infrastructure to Resist Integral Threats
Introduction
Terrorist attacks by bombing or CBR (Chemical, Biological and Radiological) are threats with a low likelihood but with extremely high impact. Attacks like of the Alfred Murrah Federal building in 1995 and the attack of the Marriot hotel (Islamabad, 2008) illustrate the need to prevent progressive collapse and the implementation of safety based engineering to integrate safety issues at an early stage of the design phase and need of cost effective blast resistant glazing.
There is strong need to protect critical infrastructures and utilities (malls, governmental buildings and embassies), train and subway stations against being damaged, destroyed or disrupted by deliberate acts of terrorism, criminal activity and malicious behaviour. Normal regulations and building guidelines do not take into account the CBRE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive) threat. The introduction of these regulations or guidelines should realise sufficient resilience of the building infrastructures for CBRE incidents.
There is strong need to protect critical infrastructures and utilities (malls, governmental buildings and embassies), train and subway stations against being damaged, destroyed or disrupted by deliberate acts of terrorism, criminal activity and malicious behaviour. Normal regulations and building guidelines do not take into account the CBRE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive) threat. The introduction of these regulations or guidelines should realise sufficient resilience of the building infrastructures for CBRE incidents.
Concept and project objectives
1) tools to quantify the vulnerability of built infrastructure;
2) a portfolio of protective products; and
3) a guidance tool for safety based engineering to realize a required built infrastructure protection and resilience level.
2) a portfolio of protective products; and
3) a guidance tool for safety based engineering to realize a required built infrastructure protection and resilience level.
Outputs
α - A methodology to quantify the vulnerability of built infrastructure in number of casualties injuries, amount of damage and loss of functionality and services;
β - A guidance tool for built infrastructure designers and builders to assess the vulnerability of a design/building and select efficient and cost effective countermeasures (ready to use solutions) to achieve a required protection level against terrorist attacks;
γ - Protection portfolios for new and existing buildings. This comprises inter alia blast resistant window/facade systems, retrofit system for walls, explosion resistant columns and detection and filtering systems to counter the CBR threat;
δ - Recommendations for draft EU regulatory framework to enable safety based engineering and the incorporation of ‘CBRE protection’ in the regular building guidelines and regulations.
β - A guidance tool for built infrastructure designers and builders to assess the vulnerability of a design/building and select efficient and cost effective countermeasures (ready to use solutions) to achieve a required protection level against terrorist attacks;
γ - Protection portfolios for new and existing buildings. This comprises inter alia blast resistant window/facade systems, retrofit system for walls, explosion resistant columns and detection and filtering systems to counter the CBR threat;
δ - Recommendations for draft EU regulatory framework to enable safety based engineering and the incorporation of ‘CBRE protection’ in the regular building guidelines and regulations.
SPIRIT aims to provide ready to use tools (vulnerability assessment tool, protection measures selection tool and suite of protection portfolios) for use with new and existing buildings that are operationally viable, infrastructure specific and cost-effective.