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Homeland Security and the Indoor Environment

Indoor Environments Topics

Recent events have caused an increased interest in the vulnerability of our buildings to chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) threats.  In January 2002, the Office of Homeland Security (OHS)  formed the Interagency Workgroup on Building Air Protection which includes representatives from agencies across the Federal government.  EPA is the Executive Secretariat of this Workgroup which is chaired by OHS.  One of the first tasks of the Workgroup was to produce guidance to building owners and managers that would contain a set of recommendations they could implement now to better protect the indoor environments of their buildings from terrorist threats.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in close collaboration with Workgroup members, took on the task  of drafting the document.  NIOSH, working with members of the Building Air Protection Workgroup and non-Federal stakeholders, developed a set of recommendations that building owners and managers can implement now to protect indoor environments of buildings from a terrorist release of CBR contaminants.  Read more about Indoor Environmental Quality topics at NIOSH.

For Additional Information

Several organizations have developed guidance to assist building owners and operators in addressing issues related to building security and CBR terrorist attacks. Many other organizations have guidance that addresses security needs and disaster response plans for events such as fire, natural disasters, and bomb threats. While this latter guidance may not specifically address a terrorist threat to heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, readers may find portions of the information below beneficial in establishing their own building's emergency response plans.

The following list is not all-inclusive.  Available guidance is updated regularly as additional organizations and evolving technologies identify new protective recommendations.

Organization Reference or Link Description
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) www.cdc.gov/niosh/ Health and safety guidance, publications, and training information.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) www.cdc.gov/ Health guidance for CBR agents.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Protecting Buildings and Their Occupants from Airborne Hazards Document presents a variety of ways to protect building occupants from airborne hazards.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
www.epa.gov 		www.epa.gov/iaq/largebldgs/baqtoc.html  Building Air Quality: A Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers Provides procedures and checklists for developing a building profile and performing preventive maintenance in commercial buildings.
www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/  Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools Action Kit Provides procedures and checklists for developing a building profile and performing preventive maintenance in schools.
U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
www.gsa.gov		 Facility Standards for the Public Buildings Service (PBS-P100) Establishes design standards and criteria for new buildings, major and minor alterations, and work in historic structures for the Public Building Service. Also provides information on conducting building security assessments.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
www.cia.gov exiting EPA		 www.cia.gov/cia/publications/cbr_handbook/cbrbook.htm exiting EPA Chemical, Biological, Radiological Incident Handbook Unclassified document describing potential CBR events, recognizing potential CBR events, differences between agents, common symptoms, and information for making preliminary assessments when a CBR release is suspected.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory http://securebuildings.lbl.gov Web site with advice for safeguarding buildings against chemical or biological attack.
Federal Facilities Council (FFC) FFC Chem/Bio Forum exiting EPA Online notes and presentations from FFC seminar on chemical and biological threats to buildings.
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Building Security Through Design  www.aia.org/security/sec_default exiting EPA An AIA resource center: offers architects and others, up-to-date, in-depth material on building security issues.
American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) www.ashrae.org/ exiting EPA Risk Management Guidance for Health and Safety under Extraordinary Incidents Draft report provides recommendations for owners and managers of existing buildings.
American Society for Industrial Security www.asisonline.org/ exiting EPA Locates security specialists and provides the Crises Response Resources link to find information related to terrorism and building security.
Building Owners and Managers Association
www.boma.org exiting EPA		 Safety and Emergency Preparedness - www.boma.org/Advocacy/SafetyAndEmergencyPlanning/   exiting EPA Information on emergency planning and security assessment.
International Facility Management Association (IFMA) www.ifma.org/ exiting EPA Information on security-related training courses.
National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) www.wbdg.org exiting EPA  Whole Building Design Guide Internet site featuring security-related design information.
State of Rhode Island Department of Health www.health.ri.gov/ exiting EPA www.health.ri.gov/media/041122a.php exiting EPA
Building HVAC Vulnerability Assessment tool		 This tool has been designed so that building owners with a functional knowledge of their air-handling system may identify the vulnerabilities of that system to introduction (either deliberate or accidental) of a contaminant. This document also provides recommendations to address the identified vulnerabilities and references to obtain further, more authoritative information.

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