Boston debates dangers of scientific research in era of WMD

"There have been 73 years combined [of operation] among the ... other labs without a release from one of these buildings due to a failure," says Richard Towle, BU executive vice president.

Still, recent accidental releases of SARS spores from two labs in China amplifies concern thatno facility is entirely secure, according to Dr. Richard Ebright, a chemistry professor at Rutgers University and director of the Waksman Institute of Microbiology in Piscataway, N.J. "The record in Asia with SARS provides strong basis for concern," he says.

Others argue that the lab places an added burden on a neighborhood of Boston that already shoulders a significant number of city services, such as hospitals and public housing.

Experts on environmental justice argue that the city should strive to distribute locally undesirable land uses (LULUs) throughout a city's neighborhoods. The same issue arose during the era of nuclear-reactor construction, when residents in more rural communities complained that the government was biased in deciding where to do research.

"[BU] did not take into consideration this area's historical, disproportionate burden," says Pat Hynes, a professor of environmental health at BU.

"The burden of fear and insecurity is significant."

Several visitors to the Woods-Mullin Shelter For Women, located a few blocks from the site, say they have been warned that their shelter could shut down once the lab is built.

Even if they are allowed to stay, the women say that it will add to an already difficult environment.

"We're already breathing fumes from the interstate, and put up with helicopters coming in and out," says Deborah Day, a regular visitor to Woods-Mullin.

Residents and activists have also voiced concern about whether the lab will perform research that somehow leads to the production of bioweapons by the US government.

In response, the NIH has emphasized that all of the work will be focused on ensuring the health of Americans. They add that nearly all of the research will be made available to the public.

But the level of classified research in the facility is still unclear, say activists. The NIH, for one, says that it will reserve the right to conduct secret research in the event of a national emergency.

"We have no intention on a day-to-day basis to do classified research," says Rona Hirschberg, senior program officer at the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.

"That said, if another biodefense emergency were to take place [like the anthrax attacks], those facilities would be very valuable."

BU's Dr. Klempner says "we have no intention of doing any classified research."

An ordinance prohibiting Level 4 research in Boston is before the City Council. Some local activists believe its passage could cause NIH to withdraw its funding from BU.

The loss, say advocates, would be a major blow to Boston politicians who enjoy the prospect of building Boston into the national center of biotech research.

"The impression I have is that it really relates to the monetary rewards and the prestige that would come out of this," says Kyle Loring, a lawyer for ACE.

But the loss of the contract would come as a disappointment to several private businesses that look forward to collaborating with the researchers at the new lab. Such professional relationships are a key reason they base their companies in Boston.

"When we were starting [our] company, fundamentally it was important to me to be in Boston," says Alexis Borisy, president of CombinatoRx, a biopharmaceutical company that is a tenant in BU's research park.

"It means that if you're looking for collaboration or new talent, there is an ease of finding people."

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