Chemical, Biological Threats Pose New Design Challenges
Simple measures that can protect the inhabitants of a building or users of critical infrastructure from chemical and biological attack are becoming routine since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent anthrax outbreaks. Many building owners and developers are demanding that design criteria for their projects include security master plans. And those in charge of protecting infrastructure are working out protocols to protect water, wastewater and other systems. These include risk assessments to determine how much security is truly needed.
Threat and vulnerability assessments analyze everything as a system, not just "what can be done to protect," contends Keith Henson, director of security services for Lockwood Greene, Spartanburg, S.C. "We start at the basics to determine what the asset is and what the threat is." An office building is a higher risk, for example, if corporate officers are there regularly.