News
Editorial
for Parliamentary website (page 1)
A
need to protect
The UK is no stranger to the threat of terrorist bombs, gunmen,
or from the effects of explosions in general, which may be caused
by a leaking gas main, industrial accident, fire, etc. Thankfully,
in the past, explosions have been a relatively rare event. However,
since the events of 9/11 the UK is now, once again, a top target
for terrorist groups that will have no hesitation in targeting
economic facilities, such as our ports and terminals. The UK Government
has already highlighted ports and airports as under increased
risk from terrorist attack. Therefore, not only must we be vigilant
to prevent an attack we must take steps to minimise the human
and economic cost should one occur. The likelihood of an attack
is swinging towards the “when” rather than the “if”.
Passive protection
Whilst the threat of a terrorist “dirty bomb” or chemical
or biological attack captures the imagination of the media the
fact is that the conventional bomb is a far more likely event.
This, coupled with the extensive use of glass in our buildings
can turn a comparatively small bomb into a human and economic
killer as millions of shards of flying glass take their toll;
around 90 percent of the casualties inflicted by an explosion
can be attributed to flying glass. Responding to the IMO’s
(International Maritime Organisation) new port and shipping regime
that will come into force in July 2004, the UK’s Port Security
Initiative will set the framework for safety and security for
its ports, shipping and terminals. In the case of an explosion,
at the core, in what is known as the “death zone”
the explosion will destroy virtually everything. Beyond the “death
zone” is the “zone of devastation,” here, whilst
the core effects of the explosion are reduced, the blast effects
to humans and property caused by flying glass can be catastrophic
and the resultant fires from an explosion can reach temperatures
exceeding 1100 degrees Celsius. In the aftermath of an explosion,
hundreds of tons of glass may have to be removed and millions
spent on repairs due to flying glass, post explosion fires and
the efforts to extinguish them. Passive building protection can
not only reduce causalities but also significantly reduce the
time that a business or organisation is out of action following
an attack or incident.
