Biocontainment

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers selected John C. Gremberg Co. of Rockville to construct a $27 million steam sterilization plant at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md. Sited adjacent to the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) facility, the plant will utilize high temperature steam to sterilize liquid biowaste from the USAMRIID laboratories at a capacity of 126,000 gallons per day. Completion is slated for April 2011.

The Howard T. Ricketts Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at Argonne National Lab officially opened on April 6, 2008 in Argonne, Ill. Designed by Flad Architects, the 54,100-gsf facility will support multi-pathogen research for the University of Chicago’s Great Lakes Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research and other partner institutions. The Ricketts laboratory will enable the creation of vaccines and diagnostic devices to counter bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases.

Rocky Mountain Laboratories is constructing the $67 million Integrated Research Facility located on 33 acres in Hamilton, Mont. The project is the first National Institutes of Health laboratory to contain BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 space in the same facility. The 6,750-sf BSL-4 suite is undergoing certification and is expected on open in fall of 2008. Occupancy of other parts of the building began in March of 2008. The two-story facility began construction in September of 2004 and is the only BSL-4 laboratory in the Western United States.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) approved the construction of a BSL-3 laboratory for foot-and-mouth research and testing near Bhubaneswar in March of 2008. Located on 117 acres in Jatani, the facility will enable vaccine development as well as serving as a repository unit for various serotypes. The centre will act as a referral laboratory for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and will be more technologically advanced than the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

East Carolina University rededicated the Carol Belk Building in Greenville, N.C., on March 28. Designed by MHAworks, the $9 million renovation project transformed the existing facility to create a home of the College of Health and Human Performance. Designed to promote interaction, the Belk Building houses research laboratories up to BSL-3, teaching labs with low flow hoods and customized storage systems, three auditoriums, offices, work rooms, and conference rooms. The facility features extensive daylighting and an exterior low-e glazing.

The National Centre for Zoonosis Research opened in Leahurst in the United Kingdom in March of 2008. Based at the Liverpool University Leahurst veterinary field station, the facility will accommodate collaborative zoonotic disease research. Supported by a £1.7 million grant from the North West Development Agency, the project included renovating a former graduate student housing facility to accommodate a suite of Category 3 laboratories, including a bacterial zoonoses lab, administrative offices, and lecture facilities.

Esco launched the new Labculture Low Noise Class II Biological Safety Cabinet in March of 2008. The cabinet is the industry's lowest noise Class II cabinet, featuring noise levels as low as 53.5dBA (1.2m cabinet, tested according to EN12469). Typical Class II BSCs operate at 60dBA, with a reduction of 3dBA representing approximately a halving of perceived noise level. The Low Noise Labculture therefore has a perceived noise level 75% lower than standard Class II cabinets, allowing users to spend many hours working continuously.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced additional steps in a comprehensive plan in March of 2008 to address public safety concerns regarding a national biocontainment research laboratory now under construction at Boston University Medical Center. Research in the laboratory, the construction of which is funded partly by the NIH, will focus on the development of diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines for a variety of infectious diseases.

Colorado State University initiated construction in early 2008 on a $42 million Diagnostic Medicine Center in Fort Collins. Sited south of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the 90,000-sf facility will be comprised of the Clinical Pathology Laboratory, the CSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and the Animal Population Health Institute. Completion is slated for December 2009.

Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) is engaged in an expansion of its diagnostic laboratories in Saskatoon. The facility will house postmortem rooms and laboratories for animal disease diagnosis and will be constructed to national biosafety standards. The project began construction in fall of 2006 and is expected to reach completion in 2008. The existing diagnostic laboratory will be renovated once the expansion is complete. The project is part of a major WCVM construction initiative.

The University of Florida broke ground on the Pathogens Research Facility in Gainesville on February 27, 2008. Housing the Emerging Pathogens Institute, the $60 million facility is slated for completion in August of 2009. Accommodating research on select agents and viruses including SARS, West Nile, and avian influenza, the 108,000-sf building will house BSL-3 facilities, 28 laboratories, offices, three rooftop greenhouses, and support. In addition to the construction cost, the building will contain $15 million in equipment.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s BSL-3 laboratory became operational in late January of 2008. The $2.45-million facility supports select agent research in a one-story, permanent, self-contained 1,600-sf building with three individual laboratory rooms: an animal lab, a mechanical room, and shower/change rooms.

Kansas State University’s 113,000-sf Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI) in Manhattan, Kansas will provide training in biocontainment operations and maintenance in a March 2008 session. As part of the National Biosafety and Biocontainment Training Program, the session will support the Midwest Regional Center for Excellence, which is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Emory Vaccine Center partnered with the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in January of 2008 to create the Joint ICGEB-Emory Vaccine Center in New Delhi, India. The center will accommodate vaccine research for diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, dengue fever, and malaria. Funding to support scientific staff will be provided by Emory University with ICGEB providing space and infrastructure.

The National Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute opened the first Vietnamese BSL-3 laboratory meeting international standards in Hanoi in January of 2008. Construction began on the $8 million project in August of 2006 and reached completion in December of 2007. The facility was funded by the government of Japan and will accommodate research on diseases including avian influenza and SARS. The National Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute will work with the Japanese government to implement a $2 million project to train ten officials in the operation of the laboratory.