Biolab hearing is ignored by the daily papers
Sep 23, 2007 13:10
Neither the
Boston Globe nor the Boston Herald thought it
newsworthy that hundreds of people packed Faneuil
Hall last Thursday night to express their views on
the biolab worst-case risk assessment ordered by the
court -- an assessment that hadn't been done even
though the funding was awarded, the project was
approved, and the building is almost entirely built.
Fortunately, the South End News covered it.
NIH, which made the award, also prepared the assessment report -- a clear conflict of interest. The cover letter and introduction are unprofessionally biased, praising the lab and stating the need for it. An objective scientific report doesn't do that. NIH presented computer modeling of fictional scenarios that conclude there was no more danger from escaped pathogens if the lab is in a densely populated area than in exurban locations -- although all the other biolabs were sited in sparsely populated areas.
An independent scientific panel should have been established to prepare this risk assessment. My testimony was that it still should be. I think independent scientists might come up with a different result. There is too much at stake to take a chance; the court ordered a worst-case risk assessment, and I think the community should demand one.
Write Klare Allen at safetynetrox@yahoo.com for more information. Comments to NIH must be e-mailed (nihnepa@nih.gov) or postmarked in mail (Valerie Nottingham, HIH, Building 13, Room 2S11, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892) by Nov. 12, 2007. You can also request a copy of the report.
NIH, which made the award, also prepared the assessment report -- a clear conflict of interest. The cover letter and introduction are unprofessionally biased, praising the lab and stating the need for it. An objective scientific report doesn't do that. NIH presented computer modeling of fictional scenarios that conclude there was no more danger from escaped pathogens if the lab is in a densely populated area than in exurban locations -- although all the other biolabs were sited in sparsely populated areas.
An independent scientific panel should have been established to prepare this risk assessment. My testimony was that it still should be. I think independent scientists might come up with a different result. There is too much at stake to take a chance; the court ordered a worst-case risk assessment, and I think the community should demand one.
Write Klare Allen at safetynetrox@yahoo.com for more information. Comments to NIH must be e-mailed (nihnepa@nih.gov) or postmarked in mail (Valerie Nottingham, HIH, Building 13, Room 2S11, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892) by Nov. 12, 2007. You can also request a copy of the report.
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