The blast mitigation working group

The Blast Mitigation Working Group (BMWG) is an ad hoc group that has been meeting on a regular basis over the last two years to discuss research and development topics within the field of blast protection of government facilities. To date, the main contributors to this effort have been Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), the Canadian Explosives Research Laboratory (CERL) and the Explosives Regulatory Division (ERD) of Natural Resources Canada, and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Carleton University. BMWG is gathering and intends to maintain an up-to-date database of blast retrofit methodologies for buildings and infrastructure. It has developed guidelines for retrofitting windows against blast loads and is in the process of generating a similar document for retrofitting building components. In addition, a rapid screening tool to assess government buildings against the threat of blast loads is In the evaluation phase. This presentation will introduce the activities, national and International, of this group, the ongoing and completed projects, and future plans.