SubscribeThe First Step to Protecting Public Transportation
A nightmare dreamt thousands of times throughout the world finally became a reality on 11 March 2004 in the terrorist attacks in Madrid, which killed 202 people and injured more than 2,000 others. Shortly after, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a London-based Arabic newspaper reported that Islamic extremists claimed responsibility for the multiple bombs that shocked three Madrid train stations during the height of the morning rush hour.
There will be endless analysis as to why Spain’s transit system was targeted so successfully and chosen over other targets in the United States or other European cities. Was this a continuation to the attacks on September 11th or a new and volatile reaction to the US occupation in Iraq? While many of these questions may never be answered, the fact remains that the ground transportation infrastructure has proven a legitimate target for Islamic terrorists. This article will hi-light various terrorist attacks and the administrative response to the most recent threats of terrorism on public transportation in both the United States and Europe. Both will demonstrate the necessity for specialized mechanisms to be implemented into ground transportation networks.
Terrorists have often used guns and conventional bombs to kill and injure civilians in subways, trains, and buses. Palestinian suicide bombers have repeatedly blown up buses in Israel, and the Irish Republican Army repeatedly attacked the London Underground and British passenger trains. In 1995, Algerian extremists from theArmed Islamic Group (GIA) detonated bombs in the Paris subway. Even before the successful attacks on September 11th, a group of terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda planned to detonate truck bombs in New York City’s commuter tunnels and bridges in 1993 and other Islamic terrorists plotted suicide bombings in New York’s subways in 1997. The first attack on public transportation involving weapons of mass destruction occurred in 1995 when the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo released Sarin gas into the Tokyo subway system where 12 civilians were killed and more than 5,000 others injured. While the attacks in Madrid were considerably more destructive, they are only part of a long history of successful attacks and represent the genuine threat of future attacks.
Since September 11th, the United States has issued several general warnings about the real possibility of terrorist attacks on the infrastructure of ground transportation, including subways, rail stations, and bridges. These warnings have been echoed throughout Western Europe but can transit systems in the United States and Europe be protected from devastating terrorist attacks like the ones witnessed in Madrid.
In the United States, guidelines have been issued by the Bush administration to transit agencies around the country for handling a terrorist attack in the subway system. The administration is helping agencies assess preparedness and identify vulnerabilities. These steps include but have not been limited to refining emergency response plans; conducting emergency drills; providing security briefings to transit authorities and even redesigning new subway stations with open space plans to facilitate broad fields of vision, good ventilation, and clear exits. Administrative policies have been augmented by new implementations of Closed-circuit television cameras and protective gear and breathing apparatuses for staff. The budgets for these initiatives was offset in March 2003 through the Department of Homeland Security when $700 Million was made available as part of the urban area security initiative for 30 cities and their contiguous counties to enhance the security of urban areas with high density populations and critical infrastructure and mass transit systems.
Countries such as Israel, Britain, and France have long had preventive measures in place. In Israel, cities use steel, bomb-resistant trash cans designed to minimize casualties by channeling explosions upward rather than outward. But even a society as attuned to terrorism as Israel has yet to come up with a foolproof domestic defense plan to keep its public transportation safe. French and British authorities have begun to seal public trash cans and install networks of closed-circuit TV cameras in the subway systems. British transit workers carry laminated cards with instructions on how to handle bomb threats and suspicious objects. Also, passengers are encouraged to actively protect their own safety by reporting suspicious activity or abandoned packages. Unfortunately, none of these systems should be considered foolproof. Even Israel has been unable to design a completely foolproof system to secure public transportation. But Israel other countries are beginning to implement a simple device within layers of physical security essential to the management of transit systems, bombproof trash cans.
Mifram Limited keenly understands the need for public safety and undertook an aggressive design and testing process to develop the Mercury. This bombproof trash can combines a sleek and functional design with the critical elements essential to the implementation of a comprehensive security infrastructure for airports, bus and train stations or any other site potentially targeted for a terrorist attack.
It reflects the state of the art protection against terrorist bombs. The inner compartment has been combined with a durable and protective shell of galvanized steel plating providing a shield to pedestrians who may be walking in the vicinity of a detonated bomb. Many products on the market are only tested with mid-point center detonation. Obviously no one can control where a terrorist chooses to place a bomb, which directly influenced the design of the Mercury. The video clip below demonstrates how the design of the Mercury pushes the explosion and debris upward reducing the number of causalities and collateral damage.
Ideal Deployment
- Airports
- Train Stations
- Museums
- Bus Terminals
- City Streets
- Courthouses
- Government Facilities
- Military Bases
- Corporate Facilities
- Malls
- Amusement Parks
- Sports Stadiums
Key Features
- Multi-layer technology
- Tested to withstand explosions with various explosive capacity
- Initial blast containment with remaining blast expelled vertically
- Galvanized steel construction
- Customizable exterior
- Laminates can be designed with logos and government seals
- Accepts standard plastic garbage bags
- Effective Drainage
Pre-Detonation
Explosive Material:
Post Detonation
