Airport protection guidelines to be distributed to US emergency planners and airport executives

A report developed by a joint team of researchers from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is being distributed to airport executives and emergency planners and is expected to aid security managers of airports and other transportation facilities in reducing the risk of chemical and biological attacks.

Sandia is a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratory. The research leading to the development of the guidance document was funded by the Department of Homeland Security.

‘Guidelines to Improve Airport Preparedness Against Chemical and Biological Terrorism’ is a 100-page document that makes concrete recommendations on improving security and assessing vulnerable areas, and helps its readers understand the nature of chemical and biological attacks. The report has been turned over to Airports Council International (ACI) and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), two large organizations that together represent the interests of thousands of airport personnel and facilities in the US and around the world.

The project was an extension of PROACT (Protective and Responsive Options for Airport Counter-Terrorism), a five-year Sandia-led program most recently supported by the Department of Homeland Security. LBNL became part of the PROACT effort in 2003 and joined forces with Sandia on the development of the guidance document.

In addition to the ACI and AAAE's distribution plans, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has distributed the document to its own staff at the nation's highest threat airports, and plans to incorporate portions of the guidelines into its existing document, ‘Recommended Security Guidelines for Airport Planning, Design, and Construction’.

•Date: 11th Nov 2005 • Region: US • Type: Article •Topic: Transport sector
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