A new bio-safety laboratory is to be constructed as the first development of Grafton Science Park, thanks to a large grant and ongoing talks with the town around the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
The National Institutes of Health has given the school a $15 million grant for the project. The other $5 million needed to build the lab will be provided by the University. The project was initially announced over a yeas ago, but safety and economic concerns from Grafton residents held up progress.
The lab, expected to be completed by 2008, will be a 30,000 square foot facility in Grafton Science Park. The University wants to encourage biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical companies for the complex.
The new facility will house laboratories with bio-safety level 2 and 3 ratings (BSL-2 and BSL-3), as designated by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Center for Disease Control. BSL-3 facilities handle agents that can cause potentially lethal diseases.
There are already two BSL-2 labs and one nearly completed BSL-3 lab on the Grafton campus. Massachusetts has around 100 BSL-3 labs, the most in the country.
According to Cummings School Associate Dean for Administration and Finance Joseph McManus, the new lab facility will allow the school's faculty to better study infectious diseases.
The two types of infectious diseases studied by faculty are food and waterborne diseases - such as E coli and salmonella - and zoonotic diseases, which are transmitted from animals to people - such as rabies and West Nile Virus.
According to McManus, 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic diseases, a concentration well-suited for veterinarians. "The purpose of this laboratory is to safeguard scientists who are working to protect public health by better understanding ways to prevent, detect and treat these diseases," he said.
Cummings School Spokeswoman Barbara Donato said the Grafton facility is part of a national campaign to study these new diseases. The National Institutes of Health "is funding several of these [labs] around the country to advance public health by studying emerging infectious diseases in very safe, state-of-the-art facilities," she said.
Grafton residents opposed to the lab have raised a number of concerns with the University, including the effect on the local economy. The lab itself will not be taxed, but the companies that could potentially relocate near the new lab would generate income for the town.
"We hope it will be a catalyst and a magnet for further development," McManus said.
The construction of the lab will generate about 40 construction jobs over two years. The building will employ about 30 people per year, and as more buildings join the Grafton Science Park, more jobs and revenue should be created.
Grafton residents were also concerned about the lab's proximity to the town.
Tufts representatives have attended town meetings, held open forums for residents and spoken with a local emergency planning committee to hear resident's concerns. The University will provide special training for town emergency workers, McManus said.
"There are individuals who are concerned about the lab ... but we will continue to meet with the community and keep the lines of communication open," McManus said.
