During the past year, researchers have been using the Warfare Analysis Laboratory at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, tucked in the countryside of southern Howard County, to play what-if games about terrorism.
Sitting in a war room with large projection screens, they used the computer-networked facility to work through simulated disaster scenarios triggered by dirty bombs, chemical spills, suicide bombers and a nuclear device.
Among the participants were senior leaders from city, state, federal and military organizations, Hopkins officials have said. The intent is to prepare the Johns Hopkins medical establishment - including Howard County General Hospital - to deal with potential terrorist-triggered mass casualties in the Baltimore region.
"The goal is a strong, flexible plan for disaster response that integrates the capabilities and resources of the Hopkins enterprise with those of local, regional and federal agencies. We hope our work will help other metropolitan centers and health care systems develop plans of their own and [that] the result will be a significant contribution to homeland security," said Dr. Christine Catlett, deputy director of Critical Event Preparedness and Response at Johns Hopkins.
The terrorism planning exercises are one of an array of homeland security research efforts under way at the APL, a 365-acre, nonprofit government research and development complex.
That work and increased security consciousness that followed last year's terrorist attacks are about to produce a significant change in the look and feel of the APL campus, west of U.S. 29, south of Columbia.
Early next month, Long Fence, a large commercial and residential fencing company, will break ground and begin construction of a set of protective fences designed to increase APL security.
"New security threats in the post Sept. 11 era" coupled with growth in employment and traffic "have forced us to reconsider our physical security," Dee E. Reese, APL public affairs director, said in an interview last week.
"We want to make the complex look a little less inviting to trespassers," Reese said.
A new perimeter fence will be made of ornamental wrought iron, and will run about 10 feet from the roadside along Johns Hopkins and Sanner roads.
"We try to maintain the open campus look and feel. That's why the fence will be decorative," Reese said. "It's also important that visitors feel secure when they visit."
