Bio lab plan stirs lots of questions
Pulaski meeting draws more than 100 residents

By Bill Estep,
South-Central Kentucky Bureau
March 3, 2006

WELBORN - People who live near the proposed site for a giant federal bioterrorism laboratory in Pulaski County have concerns about potential dangers, depressed land values and disruption of their quiet farming community.

Many don't want to be seen as fighting jobs, but worry they will pay the price for progress.

"I don't want to knock the state out of such a prestigious thing. But at the same time, how does it treat us right next door?" said Mary Lou Mink, who lives near the site. "It's just a little scary."

Last night, more than 100 people gathered at a Baptist church in the rural Welborn community to hear more about the lab. It was the first public meeting about the facility in the community where it would be, if the site is chosen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

They came with dozens of questions. What chance would there be for leaks of dangerous pathogens -- either from the lab or shipments to and from it -- hurting people or the hundreds of cattle on nearby farms?

Would their land devalue because no one would want to buy property close to the lab? Or would land values and taxes shoot up because of development?

Would the community be stuck with a big contaminated building if the government shut down the lab someday? Would the facility be a potential terrorist target?

Some also wondered whether their concerns really matter, since U.S. Rep Hal Rogers, the Somerset Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, wants the facility for his home county and has great influence.

To that, the answers are yes, residents' concerns do matter and no, it's not a done deal that the lab will come to Pulaski County, said officials involved in trying to get the project.

There will likely be stiff nationwide competition for the lab because of the estimated economic benefits. Rogers has made clear the decision on where to put the lab will be based on technical and scientific merit, said Greg Jones, executive director of the Southern Kentucky Economic Development Corporation.

Federal officials won't want to put the lab someplace where there is not widespread community support, Jones said.

Local political and business leaders support the project, and officials hope people who live near the proposed site will become comfortable with it. Last night's meeting was part of that effort.

Scientists at the bioterrorism research lab would study treatments for viruses and diseases that could be unleashed on America through its food supply. Though much of its work would be secret, that means it would handle dangerous pathogens -- such as Ebola and foot-and-mouth disease -- and would have the highest security level for a biological lab.

Political and academic officials from Kentucky and Tennessee have teamed up to propose building the 500,000-square-foot, $451 million facility about 12 miles northeast of Somerset. The facility would employ more than 400 people and have an annual payroll above $30 million, as well as create spin-off jobs, officials have said.

Ewell H. Balltrip, executive director of The National Institute for Hometown Security, said last night that officials don't yet know the answers to some community questions, such as how the project would affect land values. Officials are researching that now; Balltrip pledged to try to get an answer in coming weeks, and to address any other questions that came up.

On the issue of safety, he and William Hacker, state commissioner of public health, told the crowd at Pleasant View Baptist Church that the lab would be safe.

Activists who monitor biosafety issues say there have been more than two dozen incidents and accidents at such labs in the U.S since 1985, including failures of containment and security, missing samples and exposures and infections of lab workers. And Sujatha Byravan, president of the Council for Responsible Genetics, said there are no public reporting rules that would reveal whether there had been other problems.

Balltrip and Hacker, however, said there has never been an accident that resulted in pathogens being released from a lab like the one proposed for Pulaski County and causing harm in a community. The lab would have extensive safety measures, the latest technology and highly trained scientists, Hacker said.

"I believe it's safe," he said. He also said the building wouldn't remain a hazardous site if the government closes it because it could be easily cleaned.

Similar labs are in urban areas such as Atlanta, Balltrip said, indicating they are safe.

Some people weren't reassured about living close to the lab.

"I don't want to live close to it because there's nothing 100 percent," Cheryll Ford said of the safety procedures.

The proposal troubles many in the community because they thought they'd found some space and peace in the country, and now could have a building as big as several super Wal-Mart stores nearby. It's a heartbreaking possibility, said Micki Hamilton.

"We're living out here because we love the countryside," she said to applause from the crowd.

Balltrip said Rogers' goal is to transform the economy of the region, which has lost traditional manufacturing jobs to cheaper labor in other countries.

Federal officials will choose a short list of potential lab sites by this fall. If Kentucky makes the list, there would be extensive environmental and other studies at the site in Pulaski County and many opportunities for questions and comments from residents, Balltrip said.