The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is moving forward with additional measures, as part of a "comprehensive plan" to address concerns about public safety national biocontainment laboratory research currently under construction at the University Boston Medical Center."Our main concern is the safety of people working in the laboratory and those who live in the surrounding communities," Elias A. Zerhouni, MD, Director of NIH, says.
NIH has set up a coordination committee to guide the Agency's efforts to resolve the security concerns raised by community representatives and other members of the public.
NIH has also created a group of experts, chaired by Adel Mahmoud, MD, Ph. D., of Princeton University, which will review the current risk assessments and to provide independent technical expertise and guidance. The group includes specialists in infectious diseases, public health and epidemiology, risk assessment, environmental justice, risk communication, biodefense, biosafety and modeling of infectious diseases. "Biomedical research conducted in facilities such as the one under construction at Boston University Medical Center is essential to the development of vaccines, treatments, diagnostic and protect the American public against infectious diseases that can occur naturally or deliberately introduced, "says Anthony S. Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
"Thanks to a transparent process, we will thoroughly examine any potential risks to the community associated with this project and continue to foster open communication and mutual understanding," he adds.
In accordance with NEPA, the NIH has completed an environmental impact study and final report issued a decision in February 2006, said that the safety of the laboratory. Additional risk assessments were developed in response to concerns raised in the proceedings of a federal court about a challenge to the previous NIH.
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