“When I first came to Iraq, companies would simply crisscross tape on their windows and hope it would hold glass shards together during an attack,” says Feisal Hazem, Business Development Manager, Baghdad Fire and Security. The thriving company provides safety and fire protection services for commercial buildings throughout the Middle East.

Bomb and artillery attacks are common in the many war-torn cities of the Middle East, with considerable damage being caused by glass shrapnel during such attacks. Grievous injury and loss of life were extensively shown in the television news footage of the August 2003 terrorist strike on the United Nations building in Baghdad. But until recently, the glass safety practices in Baghdad had not advanced beyond the technique of keeping the windows slightly ajar to dissipate the force of the blast and - with a bit of luck – prevent the glass from shattering into deadly shrapnel.

But Baghdad is changing. American and European contractors are contributing to the rebuilding process, and they demand security practices consistent with western standards. “Companies must take measures to make their employees feel more secure, or else productivity will grind to a halt,” say Hazem. “The goal is to create less lethal buildings.”

Emergence of safety films

One approach that is gaining momentum is blast mitigating film installation. Scientifically engineered glass safety films help to bind dangerous glass shards together in the event of a blast. Coupled with rugged attachment systems, which anchor the intact window and frame to the building, safety films are proven to dramatically reduce the damage caused by the most deadly blast hazard: flying glass and building debris.

Baghdad Fire and Security installed a material called Protekt, a security-grade safety film offered by Madico Inc. one of the world’s largest glass film manufacturers, on a Baghdad commercial building. Not long after the project was completed, terrorists struck the building. According to Hazem, ”The film performed very well in sustaining the blast. Without a doubt, it saved lives.”

Safety films are not new; many private and government centres throughout Europe have installed these protective materials to safeguard workers against natural disasters and civil unrest. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America’s World Trade Centre and Pentagon, the demand for safety films has increased sharply in the US as well. But it is the influx of international political officials, military contractors and private corporations that is creating a demand in the Middle Eastern markets.

According to Hazem, ”Workplace safety is becoming more integrated into the design and conception phases of building construction and renovations projects. We are now working with banks and many other commercial properties to carefully evaluate all aspects of security, from proper surveillance to fire safety to glass hazards.”

Essentially, multi-layer safety films do not prevent glass from shattering in the case of attack or storm; instead, the flexible material absorbs the energy of the blast and binds the glass fragments together, preventing them from being hurled into the building or onto innocent pedestrians.

Science behind the system

Madico invests heavily in research and development. The films are subjected to impact, puncture, tear, wind, weather, burns and ignition tests. At their private test centre, they drop steel balls ranging from two to nearly 50 kilos onto filmed glass from a variety of heights; their vacuum cycling machines assess how shattered glass will respond to violent winds; and their xenon and moister chambers gauge the adverse affects harsh weather will have on the film. The company also contracts independent labs to detonate C4 and TNT explosives, to test the products’ load absorption; and directs a flamethrower at the film to measure its ability to withstand fire without generating noxious smoke.

But according to Carl Kernander, Technical Manager, Madico, the composition of the material itself is not the most important aspect of safety films performance. “The adhesive used to attach the film to the glass affects performance as much as any other aspect of the system,” said Kernander. He added that the laminate used also contributes significantly to safety ratings.

Madico films have met the US government’s General Services Administration (GSA) test standards that all commercial safety films must pass to achieve certification. The GSA requires certified films to absorb an impact of 4 psi, or the point at which most buildings would begin to crumble. Madico films have met the administration’s requirements upwards of three times the load required by the GSA.

Now, local Baghdad business and international companies with Middle Eastern facilities are increasingly factoring rigorously tested safety systems, such as glass films, into their construction and remodelling specifications. Soon the highest safety standards will no longer be restricted to the western world. With scientifically engineered products, supplied by companies like Madico, and sophisticated services provided by firms like Baghdad Fire and Safety, the rebuilding effort in Iraq will not be derailed by disasters – natural or manmade.