Injuries Caused by Window Glass in the Oklahoma City Bombing

A bomb exploding in an urban area produces
devastating effects that include structural and
non-structural damage to buildings, injuries, and
deaths. Numerous injuries in explosions result
directly and indirectly from window glass. The
Oklahoma City bombing killed 167 people and
caused numerous injuries. Most of the deaths and
many of the injuries occurred in the Alfred P.
Murrah Federal Building, the target of the bomb.
This event focused attention of the engineering
and security communities on two major issues: the
prevention of progressive structural collapse and
the design of blast-resistant glazing. This paper
discusses glass-related injuries that occurred
away from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
in Oklahoma City. In particular, it provides
information concerning locations of glass-related
injury victims with respect to their proximity to
outside walls with glazing.

Full-Text Article [2,460 KB]