Experts offer answers – Open house offers community a look at how a BL-4 lab operates

Marshall Bloom, associate director of Rocky Mountain Laboratories, fields questions from Bitterroot residents and federal officials about some of the potential agents to be worked on at the proposed expanded Hamilton campus. "I want to stress that these emerging and reemerging diseases are real and can come to the United States," Bloom said.

by JENNY JOHNSON Staff Reporter

A drift of people milled through the Hamilton High School commons Wednesday night querying experts on emerging diseases, bioterrorism and the proposed expansion of Hamilton’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories.

More than 100 turned out for the open house where national experts were on hand to discuss the lab and its role in biological research. The meeting is part of an ongoing effort by the lab to inform the community about a high-containment laboratory proposed for the Hamilton campus.

The planned expansion follows a directive by the Bush administration to increase the research of pathogens that could be used in bioterrorism and the funding to support it. Last February, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the federal organization that oversees the lab, announced its plan to construct an integrated research facility at the Hamilton campus that will include a biosafety level 4 lab. Dubbed BL-4, the high-containment lab capable of housing the most dangerous pathogens known aroused concern in the community because of the lab’s associated risks.

With experts available to answer questions, people took in information at five different stations, including one showcasing the required attire of scientists while working in level 4 labs. The light-blue plastic suit weighs about seven pounds and is cumbersome to move in. Its material is semi-rigid and the transparent face mask and helmet make it difficult to hear anything but muffled noise.

"I think I’d get used to it," said Laurie Doepel, who works at the Bethesda campus of the National Institutes of Health.

Scientists are trained for six weeks before they can wear the suit in an actual laboratory, according to Marshal Bloom, associate director at RML.

Some concerned community members directed questions at high-ranking officials in the NIAID, an arm of the National Institutes of Health.

"Why at Hamilton? Why not somewhere isolated where it wouldn’t affect a community?" one woman asked Karl Johnson, a noted scientist and expert on pathogens including Ebola. A semi-retired scientist, Johnson is consulting on the design of the facility – making sure it’s safe on the inside, safe on the outside and user friendly.

Johnson said the only real risk of a level 4 lab is the possibility of being bitten by an infected animal or of accidental exposure by sticking a needle through the suit.

"The lab itself is as clean as hell," he said. "The only thing to really be worried about is the people who work there – their psychology, dexterous skills and evasive accident." Scientists with access to the level 4 lab would be screened and trained prior to ever entering the facility, he said.

Those risks are all too plausible for some, however. Mary Wulff, who founded the Coalition for a Safe Lab, says human error is too common for such a facility to be located in Hamilton, a community with little infrastructure to handle a potential outbreak.

"I do trust that (the facility) will be state of the art, but accidents do happen," she said. "And people make mistakes."

Wulff is concerned about the community response in the event of accidental exposure or breach of security. Hamilton’s emergency response, hospital expertise and city utilities aren’t set up for a potential outbreak, she said.

Wulff asked questions of researchers on hand but wasn’t satisfied with the information provided. She said officials hadn’t explained what kind of pathogens the new lab would likely house.

"They’ve put on a lot of PR here," she said. "From the very beginning, we haven’t been getting our questions answered."

Many folks, including several who work at the lab, asked specific questions about the kind of research the new facility would house.

"I don’t really have concerns, but questions," Lacey Taylor said. "I want to know more about the nature of the research."

Most people were supportive of the project, said Tom Kindt, director of intramural research at NIAID. Researchers, community leaders and state officials came to learn more about the proposal. Greg Chilcott, director of the Ravalli County’s Disaster and Emergency Services and state health and human services came to learn more about the project.

While concerned about the possible effects the lab and its expansion may have on emergency services in the county, Chilcott said the agencies have recently developed a dialogue and will iron out the expectations before the project gets underway.

"Our primary concern is the safety of the residents of Ravalli County," he said. "We also want to be a good partner with the lab. We’re getting the information that we need, and I feel like we’ll figure out how the operations and expectations may change with the new lab."

Chilcott and Sheriff Perry Johnson have told federal officials that any increase of staff or training would need to be absorbed by the NIH, not Ravalli County taxpayers.

The proposal is pending the outcome of an Environmental Impact Statement – a comprehensive look at the project’s effects. Engineering work is still five months out, and the construction of the 76,000-square foot, $66 million facility would take about 20 months, according to engineer Les Gartner.

The public comment period for the EIS is open until Nov. 18. Public comment is being taken until Nov. 18 and can be sent to Valorie Nottingham, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, building 13, Room 2W64, Bethesda, Md., 20892, or by e-mailing [email protected].

Reporter Jenny Johnson can be reached at 363-3300 or [email protected].

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