With terrorists active in the United Kingdom again, and threats of a “Summer Spectacular” in the United States, we’d be naïve to think that we’re now somehow immune to the designs of homicidal Islamofascists who want to kill us.

A recent trip abroad via JFK airport in New York City did not give me a lot of confidence in our current security efforts. Sure, my bags were checked, I took off my shoes, and my mother’s artificial knees set off the metals scanner before we reached our gate, but there was little if any security up til that point. Cars arriving for departing travelers were only slowed by the maddening traffic, and there were no checkpoints in or around the airport.

This was before the attempted bombings in London and the car bomb at Glasgow airport in early July, which, I suppose, did prompt an increase in security at U.S. airports. I did see some bomb-sniffing dogs being pulled around cars on the news immediately afterward. But I couldn’t help thinking it was too little too late.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want any more delays at airports, and I’m impressed that we haven’t been hit again, and congratulate those agencies whose efforts seem to be working up to his point. But let’s not kid ourselves; we are still in their sights, and unless we all remain vigilant, our facilities are still vulnerable. Really, how much can be done to stop someone who is willing to blow himself up in a crowded terminal?

The damage can be limited, though. How many lives would have been saved if the World Trade Center towers didn’t collapse on Sept. 11. At the least, hundreds of firemen would not have perished.

Of course, when they were constructed, terrorists flying passenger jets into the Twin Towers wasn’t really foreseeable. It raises the question of what future depravity can we not foresee today? But it also prompts one to ask what is being done to prevent such calamity in the future?

In this issue, we’ve included information from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that offers building designers a multi-hazard approach that accounts for the potential hazards and vulnerabilities. “Designing buildings for security and safety requires a proactive approach that anticipates—and then protects—the building occupants, resources, structure, and continuity of operations from multiple hazards. The first step in this process is to understand the various threats and the risks they pose.”

To be able to do this we have to be honest with ourselves, and not underestimate our enemies. We only need look at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan to see what awaits us if we do.

Also in this issue, we’ve included a news item on building code changes approved recently by the International Code Council (ICC), based on recommendations from the NIST’s World Trade Center collapse investigation.

The changes will be incorporated into the 2007 supplement to the ICC’s International Building Code (IBC), a model code used as the basis for building regulations promulgated and enforced by U.S. state and local jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions have the option of incorporating some or all of the code’s provisions, but they generally adopt most provisions.

“We fully endorse these code changes and are gratified that NIST’s WTC recommendations have stimulated fundamental and substantial changes in U.S. building codes and standards that represent a significant improvement in public safety over current practice,” says Shyam Sunder, lead WTC investigator for NIST. “NIST is committed to continuing our work to support industry and the nation’s building and fire safety officials so that the remaining recommendations are also fully considered.”

It’s a lot to consider. So is the slow pace of reconstruction at the World Trade Center site, but the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently authorized $500 million in construction contract awards for the Freedom Tower, and up to $1 billion in total awards by the middle of this year.

Construction of the Tower began in April 2006, with work on the tower’s footings and foundation.

When opened in 2012, the tower will include 69 tenant floors, a two-level lobby, four lower and five upper-level mechanical floors, a two-level broadcast facility, an indoor observation deck and a skyline restaurant level.

Port Authority Executive Director Anthony E. Shorris told the New York Building Congress on June 19, 2007 that the rebuilding at Ground Zero is “quite simply, the biggest, most complex urban development project ever undertaken… with $16 billion of investment on 16 acres.”

Here’s hoping the new building code and lessons learned will help make the project a safe and secure success.

Thanks and good luck.