NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. DSWA01-98-C-0075 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Partial support for the publication of this report was provided by Contract No. Salmec-01-H-0005 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of State. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
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Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment
National Research Council
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
COMMITTEE FOR OVERSIGHT AND ASSESSMENT OF BLAST-EFFECTS AND RELATED RESEARCH
METE A. SOZEN, Chair,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
STEPHEN W. ATTAWAY,
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
ERIK AUF DER HEIDE,
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, Georgia
W. GENE CORLEY,
Construction Technology Laboratories, Skokie, Illinois
EVE HINMAN,
Hinman Consulting Engineers, Inc., San Francisco, California
ROBERT P. KENNEDY,
RPK Structural Mechanics Consulting, Escondido, California
SAM A. KIGER,
University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia
STUART L. KNOOP,
Oudens and Knoop, Architects, PC, Chevy Chase, Maryland
JOHANNA LAPIERRE,
RTKL Associates, Inc., Washington, D.C.
MARK LOIZEAUX,
Controlled Demolition, Inc., Phoenix, Maryland
J.L. MERRITT,
J.L. Merritt Consulting Engineer, Yucaipa, California
DAVID J. PELGRIM,
E.K. Fox & Associates, Ltd., Fairfax, Virginia
EUGENE SEVIN,
Consultant, Lyndhurst, Ohio
CHARLES H. THORNTON,
Thornton/Tomasetti Engineers, New York, New York
Staff
RICHARD G. LITTLE, Director,
Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment
WILLIAM J. HALL, Consultant
KIMBERLY GOLDBERG, Administrative Associate
NICOLE LONGSHORE, Project Assistant
BOARD ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENT
RICHARD WRIGHT, Chair,
National Institute of Standards and Technology (retired), Gaithersburg, Maryland
MASOUD AMIN,
Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, California
GREGORY BAECHER,
University of Maryland, College Park
JONATHAN BARNETT, urban planner,
Washington, D.C.
MAX BOND,
Davis, Brody, Bond, LLP, New York, New York
MARY COMERIO,
University of California, Berkeley
PAUL H. GILBERT,
Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade, and Douglas, Seattle, Washington
YACOV HAIMES,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
HENRY HATCH,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (retired), Oakton, Virginia
JEREMY ISENBERG,
Weidlinger Associates, New York, New York
SUE McNEIL,
University of Illinois, Chicago
DOUGLAS SARNO,
The Perspectives Group, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia
WILL SECRE,
Masterbuilders, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio
DAVID SKIVEN,
General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Michigan
DEAN STEPHAN,
Charles Pankow Builders (retired), Laguna Beach, California
ERIC TEICHOLZ,
Graphic Systems, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts
ZOFIA ZAGER,
County of Fairfax, Fairfax, Virginia
CRAIG ZIMRING,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
Staff
RICHARD G. LITTLE, Director,
Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment
LYNDA STANLEY, Executive Director,
Federal Facilities Council
MICHAEL D. COHN, Project Officer
KIMBERLY GOLDBERG, Administrative Associate
NICOLE E. LONGSHORE, Project Assistant
JASON DREISBACH, Research Assistant
Preface
The report that follows was completed in July 2001. It is an effort to find ways and means for the civilian infrastructure to benefit from the technology developed in the course of the Blast Mitigation for Structures Program of the U.S. Department of Defense. As of September 11, 2001, the arithmetic governing the intersection of probability and harmful consequence has gone totally out of reckoning. What the Committee for the Oversight and Assessment of Blast-effects and Related Research considered and thought to be unthinkable threats have paled in comparison with what actually came to pass. The recommendations in this report, originally addressed to the prudent and potentially targeted, have now assumed compelling urgency for us all.
The overall concern of the committee for appropriate and balanced action to protect people in buildings has not changed. There is a host of nonintrusive changes in construction techniques, materials, and building management practices that will result in the least harm to architectural expression and cost and provide the greatest good for protection. Some of the solutions, active and passive, are already directly evident in the results of the Blast Mitigation for Structures Program. In this report the committee makes recommendations for appropriate mechanisms to achieve effective and rapid transfer of research results and existing technologies to the civilian infrastructure.
With the wish that none of the precautionary methods developed and solutions implemented will ever be needed, the committee importunes governmental bodies and the industries to rethink their building codes and
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
John Chapman, Karn Charuhas Chapman & Twohey,
Andrea Dargush, Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research,
Timothy E. Davis, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control,
John Haltiwanger, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Jeremy Isenberg, Weidlinger Associates, Inc.,
John Karagozian, Karagozian and Case Structural Engineers, and
Christopher Rojahn, Applied Technology Council.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Lloyd A. Duscha,
National Academy of Engineering. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Acronyms
ACI
American Concrete Institute
AIA
American Institute of Architects
AISC
American Institute of Steel Construction
ASCE
American Society of Civil Engineers
ASME
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ATC
Applied Technology Council
ATF
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
BMAG
Blast Mitigation Action Group
BSSC
Building Seismic Safety Council
CCB
Construction Criteria Base
COSEPUP
Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy
COTS
commercial off-the-shelf
DARPA
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DoD
U.S. Department of Defense
DTRA
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
DTRIAC
Defense Threat Reduction Information Analysis Center
FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
FEMA
Federal Emergency Management Agency
FFC
Federal Facilities Council