WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Those who work on HVACR in large buildings have always factored in safety. But in recent years, security has become as significant. To such natural threats as fire, wind, and rain, or criminal threats such as burglary and arson, has been added terrorism that may involve chemical or biological agents or dramatic acts producing mass destruction.

James Hill, acting director of the Building and Fire Research Lab at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), reviewed risk assessment in today's building planning to an audience of researchers and engineers during a plenary session Tuesday at the combined Compressor Engineering Conference and Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Conference at Purdue University.