Video-Based Surveillance for Chem-Bio Protection of Buildings

In the wake of recent global events the threat of a chemical and biological (chem-bio) attacks became very real. The community of technology and policy experts has recognized this threat way ahead of its time and a very extensive treatise of the matter can be found at [1]. There are various scenarios that the terrorists may follow to stage a chem-bio attack. One such scenario by testimony of one terrorist is to attack through the air-intakes of commercial or Government buildings. In July 2001, the terrorist Ahmed Ressam described in his court testimony how the training he and many others received in Al-Qaeda camps included attacking buildings with chemical agents ([2]). In particular, he detailed how he was trained to use cyanide and sulfuric acid to create deadly fumes and how to inject these fumes into building air-intakes. The targeting of air-intakas meant to maximize the number of deaths in the building without creating a risk for the attacker.