Former Boston University Medical Campus Director of External Affairs Egobudike Ezedi, who originally defended BU’s plans for a Biosafety Level-4 laboratory in the South End, has taken a stance against the BSL-4 in his campaign for Boston City Councilor-At-Large.
Ezedi, who came up with the biolab slogan ‘Finding Cures. Saving Lives.’ during his time at BU from July 2004 to December 2005, said after he heard the initial risk assessment results and potential dangers of the BSL-4, he left his job out of ‘personal conviction.’
‘The people essentially said we cannot guarantee 100 percent safety, period,’ Ezedi said. ‘I decided at that point [that] I didn’t want to continue to go along with it.
Ezedi said although he is not against a level 2 or 3 laboratory, he does not think a BSL-4 facility should be placed in such a densely populated area. BU has not answered the ‘what if’ question concerning potential emergencies, he said.
BU Medical Campus spokeswoman Ellen Berlin declined to comment on Ezedi’s campaign stance against the BSL-4. However, opponents of the biolab said they are skeptical of Ezedi’s change of mind, citing his stance as an example of ‘political opportunism.’
Although the construction for the facility, which would house the BSL-4, is complete, the National Institutes of Health said in April that it would require at least another year to finish its extensive safety review, according to the Boston Globe. The BSL-4 would house some of the world’s deadliest pathogens, including Anthrax and Ebola.
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