Court Mandates New Report on Boston Biodefense Lab

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court yesterday backed a previous order requiring Boston University to carry out a new environmental risk assessment for a biological defense laboratory being built on its campus, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 30).

Once complete, the Biosafety Level 4 facility would join several U.S. laboratories studying diseases and potential biological weapons agents that are considered among the world’s deadliest.

Scientists, local activists and environmental groups have raised safety and environmental concerns about the planned laboratory, which is being built in the South End neighborhood.

The Supreme Judicial Court agreed with a lower court’s ruling that state environmental officials did not conduct a satisfactory review of other possible locations for the facility.  The decision requires Boston University to submit a new report on the laboratory’s projected environmental effect (Associated Press/Boston Globe, Dec. 13).

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