An online database of standards related to homeland security is another step the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is taking to improve defense procedures.

The American National Standards Institute is combining forces with the DHS to provide a reliable resource to enable federal, state and local officials to identify, share and gather information they need to properly defend the homeland in case of newly detected or upcoming threats. “By working together, we will deliver an important and timely resource to meet the urgent needs of our nation,” said ANSI President and CEO Mark W. Hurwitz.

As part of the first phase of the project, the Homeland Security Standards Database Survey was developed and targeted to CEOs of standards developing organizations around the country. Respondents were asked to identify and provide information about their homeland security-relevant standards for products, processes, systems, services and training programs. The gathered information will be indexed in an exclusive homeland security classification system that will allow the data to be more accurately retrieved according to DHS specifications. The deadline to respond to the survey is July 31.

In addition to the survey, ANSI is forming the Homeland Security Standards Panel (ANSI-HSSP), which will serve as an open forum aimed at facilitating the exchange of information and experiences among all interested parties.

Examples of homeland security standards are the standard on protective clothing for emergency medical operations; radiation detection instrumentation standard, which establishes design and performance criteria, and test and calibration requirements; and the standard on protective ensembles for chemical/biological terrorism incidents.

For more information, go to www.ansi.org/hssp.