MASSACHUSETTS NURSE NEWSLETTER :: February 2008

Biosafety Level 4 research laboratory hits stumbling block

Federal and state courts have intervened to scuttle Boston University's plans to open a BSL-4 laboratory in Roxbury this year, on a site located next to Boston Medical Center.

The original intention for the Level 4 component of the lab was to allow scientists to work with the world's deadliest incurable pathogens, including Ebola, plague, West Nile virus and anthrax.

The MNA has actively opposed the laboratory's opening and for nearly three years has testified at numerous hearings before the Boston City Council, National Institutes of Health (NIH) and in community settings against plans to site it in such close proximity to Boston Medical Center. The fundamental concern of MNA is allowing a Biolevel 4 laboratory to operate in an urban, densely populated area, where the accidental or deliberate release of a deadly biological agent could have a devastating impact on a large population of residents.

On Dec. 13, 2007 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court unanimously ruled that the state's environmental approval process for the biolab project had been deeply flawed. The state's top court agreed with a 2006 ruling from Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Ralph Gants that the state's original environmental analysis was "arbitrary and capricious." In its decision, the SJC court ruled that the review conducted by the state environmental affairs secretary during the administration of former Gov. Mitt Romney "lacked a rational basis." Legal counsel for community residents opposing the laboratory is of the opinion it is highly unlikely a repeat environmental analysis will pass muster with the courts.

The SJC ruling came two weeks after an independent panel of scientists found that the federal review of the lab was "not sound and credible" and failed to adequately address the consequences of highly lethal germs escaping from the project.

Unfortunately, the court ruling will not halt construction of the facility, which is nearly complete. But it will require the university to complete another safety review in order to receive the needed work permits. At this point it seems unlikely that the Level 4 laboratory component will ever pass a rational environmental analysis or permit research, in effect thwarting efforts for it to move forward. But it is still possible.

Given that the laboratory is nearly completed, MNA urges that an adequate regulatory framework is put in place for components of the laboratory that are permitted to operate in the future. As it now stands, only "guidelines" for regulation of the BSL-4 laboratory exist and these rest with the Boston Public Health Commission. This method of supervision is clearly an inadequate regulatory scheme. BPHC's experience is in handling issues such as lead paint initiatives, domestic violence, and mosquito control. The BPHC lacks both the experience and resources to either understand or monitor DNA research. Moreover, it has little or no knowledge of the vast complexity of work done in a high security laboratory—one that requires highly expert monitoring and regulation.

The security and safety of all, particularly the disparate community of Roxbury, is clearly at stake.

BU image plummets In an interesting development that appears related to the problem-plagued BU lab, Boston University's image among Massachusetts leaders plummeted this year, according to a recent corporate reputation poll conducted by Opinion Dynamics in Cambridge, while Boston College saw its prestige rise to the top of the rankings. BU dropped to 20th place from sixth place and BC rose to number one from fourth place the previous year. "The glitches they had with the biolab may have put a small nick in the university's reputation," said Peter Morrissey, president and CEO of Morrissey & Co., a public relations instructor at BU's College of Communications. The view from here is the fall from sixth to 20th was a huge drop—more than a small nick—but BU staff apparently feels the need to watch their words.
—Mary Crotty