Blast protection for G8

Newport-based Cintec is to provide innovative blast mitigation systems which will form part of the security measures surrounding the G8 Summit in Japan next year.

The company’s Waterwall systems are inflatable PVC coated fabric structures that are internally reinforced and inflated with air which is then displaced by water.

The rapidly deployable system harnesses the high mass of water to dramatically reduce the effects of explosions. They can be inflated in minutes and folded away when not in use with minimal training required.

The systems come in a range of sizes including the Ram Bag model which the company will supply for the summit which takes place in July 2008 in Toyako on Kokkaido Island, Japan. These form two metre high barriers, each weighing two tonnes, that can be linked together to provide a protective wall or crash barrier of any length. They have specifically been designed as a last line of defence to prevent vehicles ramming into buildings.

Cintec managing director Peter James explained that in sufficient quantity water could reduce the damage caused by projectiles, interact with the chemistry of the explosion, reducing heat and the overall effectiveness of the explosive material. It has also been designed to mitigate against a dirty bomb.

The system is currently being trialled in Spain and due to be trialled in Israel. Ongoing R&D is being carried out to use the Waterwall systems to mitigate problems when oxyacetylene cylinders get overheated.