Product description :
The Department of Defense (DOD) has identified acts of terror that employ
biological or chemical airborne threat agents as a priority. Protecting
buildings from release of biological and chemical airborne threat agents
is only one aspect of DOD’s effort to develop an active defensive program. In its
simplest expression, protection of building occupants from biological and chemical
airborne threats requires the creation and maintenance of a protective system
sufficient to deter such an attack and to minimize its impact should an attack
occur. The Immune Building Program was developed by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency for that purpose. As the Immune Building Program
progressed from the research and development stage to the active deployment
stage, DOD reassigned management of the program to the Defense Threat Reduction
Agency (DTRA). Prior to the inheritance of that program, DTRA determined
that a multifaceted look at building protection would be helpful in determining
the future of building protection efforts within DTRA. The National Academies
was asked to convene an expert committee to evaluate the proper terminology to
exchange information; the metrics to be used to evaluate test beds and current
deployments; the applicability of lessons learned from previous test beds and
deployments—both in the military and the public domain; the protocols to be
used; and the cost-benefit of different approaches and their relative risks. The ultimate
goal of this study is to provide guidance in the complex-wide deployment
of building protection to DTRA. Although the requirement is simply stated, its
fulfillment is much more challenging.
The committee held four meetings in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Missouri,
from September 18 to December 19, 2006. The committee was briefed by
representatives of federal agencies and other entities that have deployed building
protection or relevant programs. On-site visits of test beds and current deployments
were made at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Washington, D.C. The
committee also reviewed information available from the open literature, as well
as new materials prepared by experts.
Early in the study, the committee attempted to provide a detailed implementation
plan for the deployment and operation of building protection. As the
committee delved more deeply into the study, it quickly became apparent that
designing and implementing building protection is a complex process that involves
many factors. Therefore, the committee’s approach was to develop guiding
principles to building protection. Although the charge concerned protection of
military facilities, the guiding principles provided in this report are applicable to
protection of public facilities as well. For many of the members of the committee,
the challenges to provide defense from biological and chemical threats have been
a lifetime concern, yet the present study provided an opportunity to examine a
little-studied component of that defense.
We, co-chairs, wish to express our sincere appreciation to the National
Academy project staff, who—behind the scenes—played an equal part with the
committee in ensuring the quality of this report. We also want to express our personal
appreciation to the individual members of the committee for the dedication
and energy with which they tackled this challenging task. The report would not
have been possible without the perspectives of these experts, their valuable time
commitment, and their patience in integrating our diverse disciplines.
David R. Franz
Norman L. Johnson
Co-chairs, Committee on Protecting
Occupants of DOD Buildings from
Chemical and Biological Release

 

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