Buildings protective measures

Industrial buildings, more than most, are prone to damage. Causes range from mechanical impact to chemical attack resulting from the production process - quite apart from heavy wear in normal use. Examples of causes and available protective measures are as follows. 

Buildings that are more than 15.2 meters (50 ft.) high, contain combustible liquids in large amounts or store explosive materials should be provided with lightning protection measures according to the requirements of NFPA 780. 

To facilitate later discussions, this chapter first discusses passive and active building protection and introduces the committee s definitions of levels of protection. Second, it reviews the options that could be used in building protection. Finally, it discusses how to integrate various protective measures to provide different levels of protection to buildings of different types and designs and considers the limitations of each level of protection. 

Level of Protection 2 (LP-2)—High-Level Passive Protection. LP-2 provides protection by further limiting exposure to intentionally released threat agents, and it is similar to MilStd Class 1 collective protection (USACE, 1999). This level of protection involves options for reducing the vulnerability to threat agents that are not part of a standard building system. The protective measures in LP-2 are passive because they do not actively detect the presence of threat... 

Metrics are measures used to assess and compare the performance outcomes of different systems. The metrics of building protection systems are measured indicators of the impact of a protection system on the occupants and operations of a building in the event of an attack, and most common ones include protection and operational performance metrics. 

In building protection, the primary focus is on protecting building occupants and contents. Protection metrics provide a quantifiable measure of a system s efficacy in protecting building occupants and contents. The degree of protec-... 

Another protection metric, which is related to FOE, is the number of lives saved or the reduction in the number of exposed occupants as a result of protective architecture. If the disease progression of a threat agent and the countermeasures are known, then the number of lives saved or reduction of exposed occupants as a result of building protection can be estimated. Number of lives saved or the reduction of exposed occupants can be measured as decreased mortality, morbidity, or costs associated with human health effects. 

There could be ancillary benefits for some building protection systems, such as improved air filtration leading to higher-quality indoor air. Recent research suggests that air quality is correlated with sick days, health care costs, and productivity, but it could take some time before such measures are sufficiently reliable to be useful in a cost-benefit analysis. In the near term, however, the likelihood that such trends exist and are statistically significant might serve as an ancillary motivation for security improvements (Fisk, 2000a,b Seppanen and Fisk, 2006). 

The appropriate measures of effectiveness and criteria for evaluating a building protection system depend on the goals and objectives of building protection. Although the focus often is on the number of lives saved, considerations related to operational performance, maintenance, and cost should not be overlooked when planning for building protection and should be used to evaluate system-wide risks and benefits. 

FEMA 426 provides a comprehensive discussion of terrorist threats to buildings and measures for mitigating them. It summarizes information found in many sources, including the NIOSH and ASHRAE documents mentioned above. The manual begins with a lengthy discussion of risk assessment (Figure 6-2), which provides the context for subsequent discussion of protective technology (FEMA, 2003). 

The degree of contamination of the buildings and the equipment is being determined according to the principle of worst case. Selection of samples from areas most likely to be contaminated will lead to the establishment of personal protection measures and to the appropriate decontamination method. Four levels of worker protection have been established with appropriate protective equipment ... 

Building fires threaten both life and property in numerous ways. In order to design adequate protective measures, it is first necessary to identify possible threats that building fires present... 

In most research buildings, vandalism is rarely a problem. If local circumstances are such that this is not the case, there are protective measures which can be taken. The use of a glass cover, to be broken by a small hammer, is to be avoided since the person pulling the alarm can be cut by the broken glass. An alternative that has proven very effective is a cover for the pull station which sounds a local alarm when removed. Usually this frightens away a person intending to initiate a false alarm. 

There are various methods of applying masonry protection agents. But it must be remembered that, for example, the possibility of carrying out masonry protection measures on standing buildings is generally restricted to surface protection as it is not usually possible to impregnate across the entire thickness of the walls. Surface protection may be subdivided as follows masonry protection... 

---