BU seeks city occupancy permit for biolab

By David Abel, Globe Staff

As Boston University nears completion of a controversial laboratory to study the world’s deadliest germs, administrators have requested the city's permission to use the new South End building for training exercises -- but not for research.

Construction of the $198 million building that will house the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories is scheduled to be completed at the end of August. But research on Ebola, plague, and other pathogens cannot begin there at least until a court-ordered environmental review is complete, probably next year.

University officials said today that they hope to start public safety, health, and operations training in February, to include scientists and hundreds of local, state, and federal officials.

"This training period also will provide an opportunity for the community to learn more about how biosafety research in research labs is carried out and about the many safety protocols in place," said Dr. Mark Klempner, principal investigator of the laboratories, in a statement.

The 192,000 square-foot facility on Albany Street has encountered opposition since the university won a national competition in 2003 to open one of two new high-security labs, part of President Bush's defense against biological warfare. Opponents filed a federal lawsuit, and in 2006 a judge ruled that previous environmental reviews of the project were inadequate.

Before the city allows the university to occupy the seven-story building, it must pass a battery of tests of its fire alarms, elevators, staircase pressurization, and other safety mechanisms.

"If they meet all the criteria, there shouldn’t be any reason they do not get an occupancy permit," said Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

Klare Allen, an opponent of the lab and a leader of the community organizing group Safety Net, said she hopes the university keeps strict control over who enters the building during the exercises.

"As long as they’re not bringing in deadly viruses that could kill us, I don’t mind," Allen said. "We want them to do training, but the bottom line is they have to be cognizant of who’s going in and out of this building. We don’t want anyone studying how to game this place."