Although some Boston City Councilors will continue to fight the opening of Boston University’s Biosafety level-4 laboratory Wednesday, BU students said they were unaware that their next door neighbor could be the Ebola virus if the biolab were to open in the near future.
The BSL-4 lab on BU’s Medical Campus would include research on some of world’s deadliest level-4 pathogens, including Ebola and anthrax. Despite Boston politicians’ continued interest, many students said they had heard nothing about BU’s six-year endeavor to build the BSL-4 lab.
Level-4 labs include agents which present the highest risk of life-threatening diseases that can be researched, according to the Center for Disease Control. There are currently only six level-4 laboratories in the U.S.
City Councilor Chuck Turner (Roxbury) is sponsoring a hearing Wednesday addressing the city’s ban of recombinant DNA, which the biolab is intended to house.
Turner said he has opposed the lab since its beginning stages. Although Turner is against the level-4 lab, he said he is not against the opening of the level-2 and 3 labs that have also been built into the building.
‘This level-4 lab allows for experimentation with the most dangerous pathogens in the world,’ Turner said. ‘I do not think we need any more bio 4 labs other than the six we now have, and I certainly don’t think they need to be sited in the urban areas if they are built.’
College of Communication sophomore Jessica Thomas said she had never heard of the biolab before.
‘I think that it’s really inconsiderate,’ Thomas said. ‘Why didn’t I know about something that could be life-changing?’
College of Arts and Sciences senior Erica Siegel said the only reason she was aware that BU is building the biolab is because she did a research project on it.
‘Because the general student body does not know a lot about it, I don’t think it’s going to go forward,’ Siegel said. ‘When the general body does find out about it, there will be an outcry, and I don’t think they will allow it to open.’
CAS junior Chinwe Ezenna said her support for the biolab depends on whether the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
‘I guess I’d need to know more information on those pathogens, why they are testing them, what security measures they are taking for safety and that sort of thing,’ Ezenna said.
Boston Medical Center spokeswoman Ellen Berlin said there is still no set date for the opening of the biolab. Before the lab can open, the National Institute of Health is conducting ‘additional risk assessments’ and a ‘public process’ must be completed, she said.
Turner said he still does not see the lab opening anytime soon.
‘I don’t think the level-4 lab will ever open,’ he said.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
