Israel Moves Blood Bank Underground to Safeguard It From Attacks - The New York Times - 0 views
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When the sirens warning of incoming rockets split the skies, Israel’s national blood bank moves into high alert to keep the nation’s blood supply safe. The heavy machinery for blood processing, plasma freezers and centrifuges are transferred to a basement bomb shelter, a cumbersome operation that takes 10 to 12 hours.
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By the end of the year, the blood bank will be relocated to a bright, state-of-the-art subterranean facility built to withstand chemical, biological and conventional weapons, including a direct hit from a large missile, as well as earthquakes and cyberattacks.
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“It will save the lives of our loved ones, our frontline workers and our soldiers in times of routine emergencies and conflict,”
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But in recent years, as the Tel Aviv area has increasingly become a target of rocket attacks, the building has been judged unsafe.
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In addition, Israel sits on two seismic faults that in the event of a major earthquake would leave only the lobby of the existing center intact.
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The vault, 50 feet down, is cocooned in concrete and steel, and has a separate air supply and filtering system. Moshe Noyovich, the engineer overseeing the project, said the inventory of blood components stored in the vault should suffice for four or five days of war.