| October
9, 2002 Little
Rock — Governor Mike Huckabee was the
keynote speaker this afternoon and helped break ground with
Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) Director Fay Boozman for a
new Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory facility.
“Arkansans
should be proud that our state is once again leading the
nation in an important area of technology,” Governor
Huckabee said. “With
the creation of this new lab, the public health will be
protected in a way that was never before possible.”
The new
facility, to be located directly behind the Department’s
headquarters at 4815 West Markham in Little Rock, is expected
to be completed and operational by the end of 2002. With the
introduction of the BSL-3 lab, Arkansas will be one of 15
states with the ability to respond rapidly and definitively
during a bioterrorist event and other emergencies.
Designed for
multiple tasks, the facility will also be used to isolate
multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis organisms and other
infectious organisms like West Nile Virus. It will also
improve the agency’s response to routine outbreaks such as
salmonellas, E. coli, Pertussis and Meningitis.
“We
believe that this new technology for the Department is
critical to providing the level of support required in
today’s world to help prepare for possible threats of
bioterrorism,” Dr. Boozman said. “We want to thank
Governor Huckabee for his foresight and support. We could not
have done this without him.”
The
Governor released $950,000 from the General Improvement Fund
for the BSL-3 laboratory.
For
additional information about the BSL-3 laboratory, see the
accompanying fact sheet, artist’s rendering and a laboratory
floor plan.
Biosafety
Level 3 Laboratory
Structure:
- Measuring
30 feet by 56 feet, the modular facility will be
constructed offsite, delivered to the Arkansas Department
of Health and made ready to use. Before using the
facility, it will pass inspection by an independent third
party.
Cost:
- $950,000
for facility and site preparation – paid completely
through state funds.
Projected
Completion:
- The
facility should be completed and operational by the end of
this year.
Staffing:
- Five
Health Department colleagues will staff the laboratory.
General
Information:
- With
the introduction of the Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory,
Arkansas will be one of 15 states to have such a facility.
- The
laboratory will allow Arkansas to respond rapidly and
definitively during a bioterrorist event and other
emergencies.
- The
facility will help protect our staff and enable them to
identify agents of bioterrorism and the causes of
infectious disease outbreaks.
Capabilities:
- The
BSL-3 lab will improve safety, such as eliminating the
need to transport hazardous specimens through the Arkansas
Department of Health building.
- The
facility will enhance laboratory security. The BSL-3 lab
will ensure the air flow is directional rather than being
re-circulated through the facility; negative air pressure
relative to the outside of the laboratory is maintained to
protect colleagues if a specimen becomes airborne.
All
air exhausted from the facility will pass through a High
Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter. Alll openings are
sealed, including wiring, light fixtures, windows, and doors.
An air lock protects the entrance to each of the laboratory
areas and a high-level security system monitors the lab inside
and out. All entrances and exits by employees are logged and
stored in a computerized history file.
- The
facility will allow for testing of anthrax and other
agents that could be used in bioterrorism events, such as
the plague, Ricin toxin and Brucellosis.
- The
laboratory can also be used for the isolation of
multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis (TB) organisms and other
infectious organisms like West Nile virus.
- The
laboratory will house modern equipment capable of
identifying organisms through their DNA or RNA and provide
results in 4-5 hours rather than 4-5 days.
Additional equipment will allow rapid
identification of toxins that have no DNA or RNA.
- The
facility will help the Department respond more
efficiently, effectively and timely to outbreaks such as
Salmonellas, E. coli 0157:H7, Pertussis and Meningitis.
- The
laboratory will house sophisticated Victor, Biolog, and
SmartCycler organism detection systems capable of
producing definitive results in four to five hours.
The Victor system will add new capability to the
laboratory by detecting Staphylococcus Enterotoxin and
will also assist in assessing a new blood test for TB.
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