- A proposed lab west of Lubbock intended to handle the
world's most dangerous chemical and biological agents has won two of three
political trials, and now officials are preparing to win public acceptance.
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- Texas Tech is pushing for a biosafety level 4 lab, or
BSL4, which would be used for developing countermeasures for biological
and chemical agents.
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- Even though anthrax, cholera and deadly chemical toxins
would be involved in the research, Tech officials and economic development
planners have promoted the lab as a world-class facility that would bring
tremendous clout to Lubbock and the region.
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- Funding for the $98 million Advanced Research Facility
at Reese Technology Center has yet to be identified, and even if plans
are developed and funding is secured, the lab would not be completed for
some four years.
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- But Lou Chiodo, an assistant director at Tech's Institute
of Environmental and Human Health at Reese, said he is keenly aware of
the need for public support.
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- ''No question is too small for something like this,''
Chiodo said Friday. ''Whatever people are interested in getting information
about, that's what we'll give them.''
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- Tech regents approved a plan Friday to spend $4 million
to prepare detailed construction documents needed to secure grants and
other revenue to fund construction. Regents were the second political subdivision
to approve the plan last week.
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- Market Lubbock Inc., the city's economic development
corporation, agreed to provide the $4 million earlier in the week. Funding
comes from the city of Lubbock, and the expenditure still requires approval
from the City Council.
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- Deputy City Manager Debra Forte said funding is available
and the project meets criteria established for economic development projects.
Payments could be staggered over several months, she said.
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- City Councilman Alex ''Ty'' Cooke said he expects the
council to be receptive to the plan.
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- ''It sounds to me like it's got tremendous potential,''
Cooke said. ''I anticipate it will be received well by the council, but
we're still finding out about it.''
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- Chiodo said area residents will have many opportunities
to learn about the plans. An advisory committee was appointed in 1999,
and its members already have broached the topic on radio shows and in public-speaking
appearances.
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- ''What we're thinking of is several forums,'' Chiodo
said. ''That will include town-hall meetings and small get-togethers, such
as Rotary luncheons or the Junior League.''
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- Chiodo said a Web site about the lab likely will be developed,
but he acknowledged that some people may perceive that as being too impersonal.
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- ''Then if we need to meet people face to face and look
them in the eye, that's what we'll do,'' he said. ''It's important for
this kind of facility that people don't lack information. That leads to
misperception.''
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- He said he hopes residents will be sold on the national
importance of the kind of research that would be conducted at the lab.
He said the economic impact also will be promoted.
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- If developed, Tech officials have said the lab would
have the potential to attract research projects valued at between $15 million
and $20 million annually.
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- One of the most frequent concerns Chiodo said he hears
about the lab is the threat that a West Texas tornado could destroy the
facility and expose its deadly agents.
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- He said he visited the University of Texas Medical Branch
in Galveston where construction on a BSL4 lab will begin later this year.
He said officials there overcame public concerns about hurricanes by having
an intense public awareness program.
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- ''It's a valid question, but when we talk to architects
and engineers, they say, 'No problem. We build tornado-proof buildings
all the time,' '' Chiodo said.
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- A feasibility study has been completed. Preliminary plans
call for a 175,000-square-foot facility. The center also would include
labs designated at lower levels for a variety of other types of research.
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- Within the facility would be the BSL4 lab, which is designated
by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to handle 11
deadly chemical and biological agents that are considered the most dangerous
in the world.
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- Mike Ellicott, Tech's vice chancellor for facilities
planning and construction, said a BSL1 lab is similar to a high school
lab. He said a BSL2 lab is rated to handle low-risk infectious agents,
such as the virus that causes common colds.
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- ''A BSL3 handles infectious agents that have treatments
and cures, but they're not a sure thing,'' Ellicott said. ''A BSL4 handles
extremely infectious agents that have no known cures.''
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- Ellicott said the proposed Tech lab would be the only
one with 2-, 3- and 4-level labs at the same site. He also said the lab
would conduct groundbreaking research on ''smart building'' technology.
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- ''It's a building that acts like a human body,'' he said.
''It acts to detect and neutralize diseases and agents through the use
of sensors.''
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- The laboratory would have medical uses, and scientists
would conduct research for programs offered through Tech's Health Sciences
Center.
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- Other research would have military defense applications
related to bioterrorism and chemical warfare.
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