Bomb containment vessel that transports and detonates explosives (Cr
These, and other isolation units, are intrinsically vented steel boxes which can collect blast fragments within the system, thereby allowing for the fast and effective collection of forensic evidence. These systems also reduce the effects of an explosion to below the threshold for hearing damage -
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...in Baghdad, you can shut down a street to deal with the threat relatively easily without too much disruption. In an airport, such as Terminal 5 at Heathrow, it would cause massive financial and practical upheaval to evacuate the whole terminal...”
the first injurious effect of any bomb. Other companies employ similar materials to contain bombs in spheres - such as the Vorsphere from Airolusion of Liverpool, which looks
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edit: FBI).
like an enlarged plutonium core. With a bespoke containment lid to suit different environments, the Vorsphere is designed to contain explosive blasts from a small 100g device up to 6kg of military-specification explosives. The spheres may also be used as bombproof litter bins as well as for checkpoint security containment. The containment vessels comprise advanced composite materials which can withstand high pressure and have high thermal tolerance, such as Kevlar® and Spectra Shield®, often in conjunction with ceramic, such as alumina oxide, silicon carbide and boron carbide, and multiple foam layers to absorb the blast. Some vessels are lightweight composite cylindrical shells which incorporate advances in the access method for dual chamber design.
Containing CBRN Emissions There is the possibility that bombs may contain a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) mate- rial which would not only kill or injure people in the vicinity of an airport, but cause CBRN contamination to be spread beyond the source of the explosion. As well as the measures to contain the bomb itself, materials are being made which can swamp radio- active emission to minimise its effects and spread if it goes off. TCVs may be
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specially designed to contain radio- logical or biochemical emissions. The gas tight versions incorporate radia- tion shielding, and can be decontami- nated and may be portable. Radiation Shield Technologies have produced a bomb blanket to throw over victims to keep them from irradiating others, and a Hi-Energy Nuclear Suppression Blanket, which would be thrown over the device to contain emission as well as reducing the force of a blast. NABCO’s containment systems include customised levels of radiation shielding and treatment systems for decontamination of the vessel. Multi- segment construction is designed to keep it as light as possible. The Mobile Explosives Containment System (MECC) series made by Life Safety Systems is marketed as an all-encompassing containment means for explosives, toxic materials or - an increasingly likely possibility - a combination of explosives and toxic materials. The MECC is gas-tight with an option to sample gases after detonation prior to being safely released. At airports, a MECC works in conjunction with existing baggage handling systems (BHS) and can be operated remotely from a distance, or if integrated with the BHS, from the BHS control panel. A suspect item is transported by the BHS up to the MECC unit’s own internal conveyer belt, at which point the MECC takes over and brings the item into the correct position within the system. The unit can then be moved to a safer location where the EOD team can investigate the object and render it safe.
Containment vs Disarmament There are arguments for and against containment. In practical terms, the model EOD response, which would be an evacuation followed by EOD team arrival and render-safe procedures, is not always possible. Bomb squads can be an hour or more away from the site, or the risk of damage to property or people may be too great for a con- trolled explosion of the IED in situ or moving it away if it is booby-trapped.
June 2010 Aviationsecurityinternational
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