Residents voice biolab concerns

Boston University’s Biosafety Level-4 laboratory faced more criticism last Friday when opposition group SafetyNet and community members met with city councilors to voice their grievances.
The biolab will house some of the world’s most dangerous pathogens including the Ebola virus and Anthrax. Officials at BU and the National Institute of Health insist the biolab is in the interest of public health research and there is little-to-no risk to residents.
City councilors in attendance included Michael Ross (Fenway, Back Bay, Kenmore), Chuck Turner (Roxbury) and Charles Yancey (Dorchester), who are all opposed to the biolab. Councilor-At-Large Michael Flaherty opened the meeting by stating his support for the lab.
BU public health professor Dave Ozonoff said the biolab is not in the interest of public health. Ozonoff initially supported the biolab, but said after learning more about it, agreed that it does not belong in a heavily populated area.
‘There is no compelling reason at all to have this lab in this community except for convenience and my institution’s perception that this is a powerless community,’ Ozonoff said.
Center for Arms Control and Nuclear Non-Proliferation senior science fellow Lynne Klotz said the biolab is not only a threat to locals, but also a threat to global neighbors.
‘Our whole biodefense effort is really out of control,’ he said. ‘We might be starting a bioarms race.’
Klotz said a physically secure lab could be built, but he doubted the ability of any institution to protect itself from individuals seeking to harm it.
‘As mechanically safe as the BU lab may be, you cannot guard against accidents and unstable people,’ he said.
Sandy Eaton, the Massachusetts Nurses Association president, said Boston is not prepared to handle a potential security breach at the biolab. Eaton said nurses are not trained to handle such a situation and with area hospitals already overwhelmed, there would be no way to provide care in the case of an emergency.
‘People on the front lines are very much concerned,’ she said.
Yancey echoed concerns about Boston’s preparedness for such an emergency.
‘None of the city’s emergency units are prepared, by their own admission, for a pathogen release,’ he said.
South End community organizer Mel King said BU’s choice to put the biolab in the Roxbury area was evidence of’ economic abuse.
‘They didn’t give a damn about the people,’ he said. ‘It was like the people in the region had no rights that BU or even the state had to respect.’
SafetyNet community organizer and coordinator for Stop the Biolab Coalition Klare Allen said she was disappointed BU officials were not present for the hearing.
Allen referred to a review by the National Research Council study that found serious problems in BU’s plans and said the original study done by the National Institute of Health was not ‘sound and credible.’
‘I do believe we have truth on our side and statistics,’ Allen said.
After hearing testimony, Flaherty said he ‘may have acted in haste’ when deciding to support the lab and promised to further review the information presented and to share concerns with city councilors who were not present at the meeting.
The Blue Ribbon Panel, an independent board appointed to review the safety of the biolab, will hold a public meeting tonight.