Biolab debate rages again in Washington – Were N.C. opponents right after all?

Updated Jul. 31, 2009 at 8:10 a.m.

Biolab debate rages again in Washington – Were N.C. opponents right after all?

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – So were the opponents who helped derail North Carolina’s chances of landing a $5000 million bioresearch lab right after all?

Read this sentence from a Government Accounting Office report on the Department of Homeland Security’s site selection process that ended up picking Kansas rather than a site near Butner and four other locations:

“Given the significant limitations in DHS’s analyses that we found, the conclusion that FMD work can be done as safely on the mainland as on Plum Island is not supported.”

FMD is short for foot and mouth disease. Plum Island, N.Y. is where research is currently being conducted.

Two key concerns:

“DHS Did Not Effectively Characterize the Differences in Risk between Mainland and Island Sites

“DHS’s Estimate of Economic Impact Was Based on Limited Analysis”

A political firestorm of sorts erupted in Congress where opponents are using the GAO report as a bludgeon to delay building the biolab.

"Moving contagious animal research to the heart of America's livestock industry remains a foolish tempting of fate," said Rep. Bart Stupak, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations committee. He’s from Michigan.

Added fellow Michigander and fellow Representative John Dingall: "The new GAO report concludes that the evidence DHS used in its environmental impact statement had severe limitations. After two hearings and three years, we still don't know if it is safe to conduct foot and mouth disease research on the mainland.”

North Carolina critics were quite vocal in concerns about a possible bio accident and resulting contamination. Their opposition helped deter Homeland Security officials from picking N.C., which was the leader in the early stages of the process.

Now, with the GAO report in hand, critics in Congress could delay the project indefinitely. Both the House and Senate have passed bills that require more studies even though groundbreaking had been set for next year.

The Kansas Congressional delegation was outraged by the GAO report, however.

"Given the fundamental errors in the (GAO) report, the conclusions are highly suspect," Sens. Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, and Reps. Lynn Jenkins, Dennis Moore, Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt said in a statement, as reported by the Wichita Eagle Beacon.

"DHS provided nearly 30 pages of technical comments and corrections to the draft and still the final report doesn't correctly list the results of DHS's site selection determinations," they added.

Obviously, the debate is far from over.

But here’s another chilling statement from the GAO report:

“If foreign infectious viruses are introduced into the United States, research on these viruses must be done with the utmost care and planning. For these reasons, work of this nature should be conducted only where adequate analyses have shown that the consequences of an accidental release are absolutely minimized.”

Maybe Kansas’ gain wasn’t a loss for N.C. after all.

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