Thursday, 4:30 PM
Judge orders further review of lab to study deadly germs
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff
A state judge has ordered further environmental review of Boston University Medical Center's construction of a high-security laboratory, where researchers would study the world's deadliest germs.
In a decision made public today, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Ralph D. Gants found that earlier environmental assessments of the South End lab failed to adequately consider alternative sites or weigh worst-case scenarios for the release of highly contagious viruses or bacteria. Gants said that when the state Department of Environmental Affairs approved the earlier environmental review of the lab, that decision "lacked the necessary rational basis."
As a result, Gants ordered a new review.
The decision does not explicitly halt construction of the $178 million building, which began earlier this year on Albany Street.
"This decision should not be misunderstood to indicate that this court believes that the Biolab Project should not proceed, or that it may not safely be located in the ... South End, or that it would be safer if located in a suburban or rural setting," the decision said.
Still, the judge's ruling represents a victory for a band of neighborhood activists who for three years have fought the Biosafety Level-4 lab, where scientists would be capable of studying smallpox, anthrax, Ebola, and other deadly agents. BU was one of two universities that won a high-stakes federal competition to build new Level 4 labs that are cornerstones in the Bush administration's campaign to prepare for an act of bioterror.
The activists, part of a group called Safety Net, filed the lawsuit. Their attorney, Douglas Wilkins, hailed the ruling and called for a robust reassessment of the lab's environmental consequences.
"We will urge the various state officials to take a serious look at this rather than give it a rubber stamp," Wilkins said.
BU spokeswoman Ellen Berlin said that the university intends to appeal the decision and that construction is continuing.
The original environmental review process, Berlin said, was "reasonable, comprehensive and complete."
