Demand for Window Film Spikes After Terror Alerts

"If the windows are near a parking lot, they may need stronger treatment because someone could put a car bomb there," Smith said, noting that cars and trucks can carry bombs weighing up to 1,000 pounds, whereas a person with a bomb strapped to the body could carry roughly 100 pounds.

Hondroulis said security film is a start, but not a guaranteed solution for safety in the event of a bomb.

"If a bomb blast is big enough and close enough, you are out of luck," Hondroulis said. "But if the blast is six blocks away, the window that would have been blown out is still intact."

In the District, customers include embassies, federal buildings, corporations and retailers, which install the film to deter "smash and grab" robberies.

Scott Haddock, president of GlassLock Inc., which installs the film internationally, said 98 percent of the company's U.S. business comes from federal government contracts. The company has installed film in government agencies including the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and the State Department.

Federal regulations -- established in 1997 by the GSA -- specify that glass can crack but must be retained by the frame when subjected to a blast equivalent to 500 pounds of TNT.

Haddock said security film has been popular in Europe and was widely installed in the 1970s during the Irish Republican Army bombings in Britain. But with the growing threat of terrorism, the film has become popular in the United States.

"Here in the States it wasn't used so much -- we just weren't experiencing the type of problems we have nowadays," Haddock said.

And the Washington area, with its high concentration of government buildings, is a prime spot for growth. Area contractors who install the film say business has soared. Security film sales at GlassLock have grown tenfold since Sept. 11, according to Haddock.

At Energy Management Systems, sales have increased by more than 60 percent. Hondroulis said there's so much business, he has had to call in workers from other regions to help handle it.

And in March, contractor Utah Security Specialists expanded operations to the Washington area because of its high demand.

"It's a very highly populated, security-conscious area," said Pat McBride with Utah Security Specialists.

CPFilms, a security film manufacturer with eight distributors in the Washington area, says its sales have increased 25 percent since Sept. 11. Contractors say demand for the film is also high in New York.

The film, which varies in thickness, costs from $4 to $10 a square foot to apply, depending on the size and accessibility to windows and whether the film is being attached to the glass or the frame. With the addition of a thin metal coating, security film can also save energy by reducing solar heat entering the building.