BU Biolab

Correct me if i'm wrong but I was under the assertion that the level IV testing is built into the upper floors in fireproof cells?
 
And the Titanic was unsinkable. Nothing is fully fire proof. For the same reason you wouldn't put nuclear processing plant in the middle of a city, is the same reason you shouldn't put a highly dangerous pathogenetic disease lab in. Both create jobs, but still. Not to mention anything in a city is much more suseptable to attack. Your barrior is lessened, you can be attacked by many angles (near by roof tops, underground) and there are many hiding spots. Now this is being a touched parinoid, but if you think that taking down huge towers was devastating to this country, and it was, think about a terrorist attack that cracks open this building. It would releases horrible highly-contagious diseases into the mass public. It could potentially be the worst thing in American history. And the ripple affect of this could maybe bring down the economy into its worst depression. And if it were to spread to NY then forget about it, most of the country would die. Again this is a touch paranoid and thinking about the worst case senario, but I guarentee you that in a world of 6.6 billion people there are a few (maybe even homegrown) people, that are looking for the best targets out there. This is one of them, because it is in the middle of a city. If it were in a remote area it would be less detramental b/c if breached the possibiliy of containing it would be higher.
 
"My name is Robert Neville. I am a survivor living in New York City. I am broadcasting on all AM frequencies. I will be at the South Street Seaport everyday at mid-day, when the sun is highest in the sky. If you are out there... if anyone is out there... I can provide food, I can provide shelter, I can provide security. If there's anybody out there... anybody... please. You are not alone"
 
This ain't hollywood, anthrax and what not are real. And its coming to Boston. And yea if the s*** were to fit the fan, then you could expect something like that, not the zombies, but an entire city being contained by force. I'm sure the CDC has some ugly contigency plans for large outbreaks in cities. I'm well aware of an outbreak is slim, and buildings like this do need to exist, but this pandora's box dosn't need to be in a major American city.
 
I know it's a real threat. I don't like this in a densely settled area either. It's Boston, not New York, and you don't have to go too far outside the city to get to some place that's settled much more sparsely and something like this becomes less of a threat.

On a side note, has anyone noticed how many of the developments that are actually coming to fruition are either colleges or hospitals? Sure, it's development, but it would be nice to see more development from other sectors getting of the ground.
 
jass said:
Id say engineering and safety standards have improved since then.
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Unfortunately humans are just as error prone as back then - and that's what caused the Titanic to sink as well as nuclear plant disasters. They all lead back to carelessness and sloppiness, something that even the most powerful safety precautions can't fix.
 
It does not make sense for their to be a level IV lab would exist in a major city, but it seems like this one is happening for sure. I feel the same way you guys do though, especially after seeing all the latest Sci-fi movies that are out right now, like as Lrfox mentioned earlier, I Am Legend. Haha i hope that stuff doesn't happen but we'll see.
Also, I was looking at this building more and more, and although it looks terrible now, if you just imagined the whole building had a glass facade, I think it would look stunning. The jutting out triangle towards the end of it really has a nice impression on the building, and if this weren't a level IV testing lab, I definitely would be happy to see this in all glass.
 
The Globe" said:
Federal review delays opening of BU lab

By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff

The opening of a Boston University laboratory designed to study the world's deadliest germs will be delayed several months, or longer, according to documents filed this week in federal court.

BU administrators overseeing the Biosafety Level-4 lab, the centerpiece of a larger federally sponsored project, had predicted that the facility would be operating by this fall. But the National Institutes of Health said in this week's court filing that it now anticipates that an ongoing environmental review of the lab will take longer than expected and won't be completed until "on or before April 30, 2009."

A BU spokeswoman, Ellen Berlin, said today that "the NIH is doing additional studies and that clearly adds time to the schedule. As the NIH process is ongoing, it is premature to set a precise opening date."

Still, the disclosure by the federal agency of its extended timetable for finishing the environmental analysis constitutes a clear setback for BU, which first began pursuing federal grants to build the lab on its South End medical campus five years ago.

The revised NIH schedule also appears to acknowledge blistering criticism of the agency's conclusion that the lab posed no danger to the surrounding neighborhood. In November, an independent panel of scientists concluded that the federal review "was not sound and credible" and failed to adequately address the consequences of highly lethal germs escaping from the lab.

At that time, the director of the NIH, Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, pledged to personally review the critical report from the National Research Council.

An NIH spokesman last night declined to comment on this week's court filing, other than to confirm April 30, 2009, as the latest date on which its final environmental assessment will be completed.

But even that report will not provide the final say on the project, which is under construction on Albany Street and already more than 70 percent complete. Legal cases brought by lab opponents have yet to be resolved.

In the federal lawsuit, US District Judge Patti B. Saris had refused to immediately block construction of the project. But Saris said she would retain oversight of the Biosafety Level-4 lab, leaving open the possibility that she could prevent research with the deadliest germs, including Ebola, plague, and Marburg virus.

The new court documents were filed to address Saris' questions about the status of the environmental review.

Once the federal review is completed, representatives of BU, the NIH, and the lab opponents must appear before Saris again, adding further time to the lab's opening date.

"The way I read this is they can't open the BSL-4 piece of this conceivably before the end of 2009 or more likely the beginning of 2010, just the way the world works and because nobody can tell the judge when to decide," said Eloise Lawrence, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, which sued to stop the lab. "She could also decide at that point it will never open."
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Link
 
A couple from Mass Ave

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^ I kinda like the muscular neo-industrial look of this stretch.
 
I agree with you on that, czsz. This definitely shows a part of the bio-tech industry in Boston all in one stretch. Nice to see that side of Boston.
 
Looks like a master-planned industrial park with wide roads and large-scale buildings, definately something that isn't common in Boston. Nice to see this less known stretch of Boston.
 
Just one decent, modern building could really spruce up this streetwall (like a Blackfan type).
 
This area is certainly unique. I love the flower pushers at all hours of the day (even at about 1:30am) on this corner. Thanks for the pictures.
 
If they ever make another film-version of Orwell's 1984, this would be a great Ministry of Truth.
 
More like a water pumping station stabbed with an office tower from the year 1984.
 
Weren't those ministry buildings in '1984' over 900 feet tall? That would be even better!
 
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