By K. Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, Mo. – Protecting the workplace from terrorism was the focus of a day-long conference held in north St. Louis County Tuesday.
The event focused on creating terrorism response plans companies can use to ensure the safety of employees and to secure property.
Guarding buildings against chemical and biological hazards is a key aspect of such a company plan. Commander Michael Gressel with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says companies should not seal off ventilation systems, but instead make them harder to sabotage.
Ground level air intakes are particularly vulnerable, but if you relocate them to a roof or high side wall, that's ideal," Gressel said. "If that's not available, there's always the option of barricading the intakes so that you prevent public access to them.
The conference was sponsored by the Workers Institute for Safety and Health, based at the St. Louis University School of Public Health.