Court Blocks Opening of Livermore Biodefense Lab

The U.S. Energy Department cannot open a biodefense laboratory at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California until it has studied the potential environmental effects of a terrorist attack on the facility, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 6).

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the agency to consider the likelihood of a terrorist attack on the laboratory, and whether the potential impact triggers a complete environmental review.  It could take a year to complete that review, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The Energy Department had previously dismissed the need for such a review, saying there was a negligible chance of an attack. 

The laboratory is intended to improve detection of biological agents such as anthrax and plague that might be used in acts of terrorism.  Plaintiffs in the 2003 lawsuit that led to the ruling argued that the research would involve using aerosolized forms of the pathogens on test animals.

“I feel safer because of the court’s decision,” said Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley CAREs, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.  “In the event of a terrorist attack on this laboratory where bioagents become airborne, hundreds or thousands of people could have been exposed to deadly pathogens.”

Livermore spokesman Steve Wampler said the government has not determined its response to the ruling or an opening date for the laboratory (Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 17).

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