DATE= 11/19/97
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-38133
TITLE=TERRORIST BOMBINGS / BUILDING DESIGN
BYLINE=DAVID MCALARY
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: THE TERRORIST MASSACRE IN LUXOR, EGYPT, IS LINKED TO THE
1993 BOMBING OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN NEW YORK. THE
SPIRITUAL LEADER OF THE GROUP CLAIMING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE
LUXOR ATTACK IS SERVING A LIFE SENTENCE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR
CONSPIRING TO BLOW UP THE NEW YORK BUILDINGS. ONE OF THE WORST
ATTACKS AGAINST BUILDINGS AROUND THE WORLD WAS THE 1995
DESTRUCTION OF A U-S GOVERNMENT BUILDING IN OKLAHOMA CITY THAT
KILLED 167 PEOPLE. RESEARCHERS HAVE STUDIED THAT ATTACK FOR
INFORMATION TO USE IN IMPROVING BUILDING DESIGN TO LESSEN THE
IMPACT OF BOMBS. SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT DAVID MCALARY REPORTS.
TEXT: THE OKLAHOMA CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH DISPATCHED A TEAM
SOON AFTER THE BOMBING OF THE NINE-STORY ALFRED MURRAH FEDERAL
BUILDING TO GET DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PHYSICAL INJURIES AND DEATHS
THAT RESULTED FROM ITS PARTIAL COLLAPSE.
PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT SHERYLL SHARIAT ['SHARE-EE-AT] SAYS THIS IS
BELIEVED TO BE THE FIRST STUDY OF A TERRORIST BOMBING TO IDENTIFY
INJURY AND FATALITY ZONES AND FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO CASUALTIES.
// SHARIAT ACT //
WE MAPPED THE LOCATIONS OF PERSONS WITHIN THE BLAST
VICINITY BEGINNING WITH THE MURRAH BUILDING AND WE
IDENTIFIED PERSONS WITHIN THAT BUILDING ACCORDING TO
THEIR INJURY STATUS -- WHETHER THEY WERE VITALLY
INJURED, WHETHER THEY WERE HOSPITALIZED, OR WHETHER THEY
HAD MINOR INJURIES AND WERE TREATED AND RELEASED AS
OUTPATIENTS.
// END ACT //
THE RESEARCHERS REPORTED IN THE "JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION" THAT -- NOT SURPRISINGLY -- PEOPLE IN THE COLLAPSED
PART OF THE BUILDING WERE MORE LIKELY TO DIE OR BE HOSPITALIZED
THAN THOSE IN OTHER PARTS. THE DEATH RATE WAS ALSO HIGHER FOR
THOSE ON THE UPPER FLOORS OF THE COLLAPSED PORTION.
MS. SHARIAT SAYS FOR THE ENTIRE AREA SURROUNDING THE BLAST, THERE
WERE FOUR TIMES AS MANY NON-FATAL INJURIES AS DEATHS.
// SHARIAT ACT //
THE TYPES OF NON-FATAL INJURIES MOST COMMON WERE THOSE
THAT RESULTED FROM FLYING GLASS AND DEBRIS AND THERE
MANY VERY, VERY SEVERE LIFE THREATENING INJURIES THAT
RESULTED FROM SEVERE LACERATIONS. BUT THE MAJORITY OF
INJURIES WERE SOFT TISSUE INJURIES, FRACTURES, SPRAINS,
STRAINS, AND HEAD INJURIES. MOST OF THE INJURIES WERE
MINOR INJURIES.
// END ACT //
AS A RESULT, THE RESEARCHERS SAY MEDICAL WORKERS SHOULD
ANTICIPATE THAT MOST INJURIES IN A BUILDING EXPLOSION WILL NOT
BE FATAL.
THEY POINT OUT THAT THE DATA CAN BE USED BY THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY
TO IMPROVE RECOGNITION AND CARE OF PEOPLE INJURED AND KILLED IN
BUILDINGS. MS. SHARIAT SAYS THE INFORMATION MAY ALSO BE USEFUL
IN INTEGRATING TECHNIQUES FROM ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING,
BUILDING MATERIALS, BLAST PHYSIC TO MAKE BUILDINGS LESS
SUSCEPTIBLE TO COLLAPSE.
// SHARIAT ACT //
IF YOU COULD IMPROVE ANY ONE FACTOR IN ENGINEERING AND
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED DEATH
AND INJURY -- TO NOT HAVE HAD THAT BUILDING COLLAPSE
WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. ENGINEERS CAN
LEARN FROM THE TYPE OF DESTRUCTION THAT RESULTED FROM
THAT BLAST AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE BUILDING. IN THE
SURROUNDING BUILDINGS, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE INJURIES
FROM GLASS WERE JUST SO WIDESPREAD. SO, IF YOU CAN MAKE
GLASS, FOR INSTANCE, THAT DIDN'T SHATTER AND BECOME
MISSILES AND FLY INTO A SOFT BODY, YOU COULD PREVENT A
LOT OF THOSE INJURIES.
// END ACT //
MS. SHARIAT ACKNOWLEDGES SUCH TECHNOLOGIES EXIST. AUTOMOBILE
GLASS IS SHATTERPROOF AND BUILDINGS IN EARTHQUAKE ZONES ARE OFTEN
RE-INFORCED. BUT SHE SAYS THEY SHOULD BE MORE WIDELY APPLIED TO
BUILDINGS THAT COULD BE THE SUBJECT OF TERRORIST BOMBINGS.
SIMILARLY, THE U-S NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL HAS RECOMMENDED THE
CIVILIAN SECTOR ADOPT RE-INFORCING TECHNIQUES USED BY THE
MILITARY TO HARDEN CONCRETE NUCLEAR MISSILE ENCASEMENTS.
// REST OPT //
// SHARIAT ACT //
IN HIGH-RISK BUILDINGS, THOSE KINDS OF TECHNOLOGIES
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BECAUSE RISK IS MUCH HIGHER FOR
SUSTAINING A TERRORIST BOMBING.
// END ACT //
SHERYLL SHARIAT OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.
(SIGNED)
NEB/DEM/RAE
19-Nov-97 3:08 PM EST (2008 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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