Pacific Regional Biosafety Lab
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PROPOSED
PACIFIC REGIONAL BIOSAFETY LABORATORY
(PacRBL)
U.S. National Institutes of Health
in partnership with the
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
Last updated: 4/4/08
WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED?
The university is receiving $32.5 million in funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and an additional $15 million in State of Hawaii and UH funds to build a state-of-the-art biosafety laboratory where researchers will work to develop rapid and more accurate diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Researchers at the facility will focus on disease agents of the Asia-Pacific region that may be introduced to Hawaii and the U.S. by travelers. The goal is to protect the health and safety of people in Hawaii and elsewhere through early detection and rapid response to diseases such as influenza, antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis, SARS, dengue and unknown diseases, that might be introduced naturally or intentionally.
The proposed Pacific Regional Biosafety Laboratory (PacRBL) will be a Level 3 Biosafety Laboratory. Creation of these laboratories is part of the NIH plan to develop a better way to protect the American people against biological threats, both natural and intentional. The plan calls for more research aimed at diagnosing illnesses caused by microbial agents and at developing treatments, vaccines and cures. No biological weapons research will be done here, as that is prohibited under international law.
There are currently two other BSL 3 labs in Hawaii; a small BSL-3 laboratory at Leahi Hospital which is approved and certified by all required state and federal agencies for biosafety and security, and another BSL-3 laboratory in the Research Building at the University of Hawaii Kaka`ako campus of the John A. Burns School of Medicine. There is also a small BSL-3 being built for the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor.
Hawaii’s PacRBL would join the NIH network of 12 other Regional Biosafety Laboratories being built at universities across the country.
WHAT KIND OF WORK WILL BE DONE AT THE PACRBL?
Laboratories that handle infectious disease agents are rated on four levels.
Level 1 laboratories handle agents that are considered harmless. Level 2 laboratories are used to study agents that may potentially cause lethal infection, which are transmitted via variable methods, but not through the air. Level 3 laboratories are used to study agents that may potentially cause lethal infection, but which may be transmitted through the air. Researchers perform laboratory manipulations in biosafety cabinets in rooms that are under negative pressure. Other safety features include clothing decontamination, sealed windows and specialized filtered ventilation systems. Level 4 laboratories handle agents that are considered extremely dangerous and life-threatening and have an unknown cause of transmission.
The PacRBL will handle agents classified as levels 2 and 3 by the Centers for Disease Control and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Researchers will work to develop rapid and more accurate diagnostic tests, drugs and vaccines for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the Asia-Pacific region.
Chemical analysis will not be conducted in this laboratory. The only chemicals that will be used are those that are commonly used in microbiology laboratories, and those in very small amounts. A list of common chemicals used in such laboratories will be accessible on the PacRBL website at http://www.hawaii.edu/pacificrbl. UH is already doing important research on the role of the body’s immune system in fighting many infectious diseases, and on developing prevention and control strategies. Research projects now under way at UH include studies of host-pathogen responses to HIV/AIDS, West Nile, dengue, leptospirosis and tuberculosis, and the role of gene expression in causing dengue hemorrhagic fever. The PacRBL will enable scientists from UH, the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Defense (DOD) and the private sector to develop new technologies to rapidly detect and respond more effectively to emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorist events.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), through JABSOM’s Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases (APITMID) will manage and direct this new lab.
WHY IS THE PACRBL BEING LOCATED IN KAKA`AKO?
Scientists from the John A. Burns School of Medicine and other UH departments will conduct research at the PacRBL. The lab will enhance the Medical School’s research infrastructure and will be integrated into its maintenance and operations. Key personnel with responsibilities for managing UH’s other biological research labs will be able to oversee PacRBL operations. Locating the PacRBL at the Kakaako campus will also maximize the opportunities for students to participate in this area of research.
The PacRBL will become part of a thriving medical campus and life sciences community developing in Kaka`ako. The new lab will be a vital component in the university’s collaboration with other government entities and the private sector to develop Hawaii as a global center of excellence for infectious diseases that focuses on the Asia-Pacific Region.
The goal is to maximize our ability to detect, identify and contain introduced pathogens before they spread widely in the community, protecting public health. Currently, biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory space in the state is inadequate to support this type of disease detection system, posing a true threat to our well-being. Early detection and identification of introduced pathogens will protect public health and our state’s economy, which is heavily dependent on the visitor industry.
The PacRBL will also be a source of economic diversity, by helping drive the growth of the life sciences industry in Hawaii. The new laboratory will facilitate the development of new products, such as diagnostic tools, drugs, and vaccines. This industry can become the third economic pillar for Hawaii’s economy, resulting in new, high-paying biotech and research/technical jobs.
HOW WILL SAFETY AND SECURITY CONCERNS BE ADDRESSED?
The PacRBL will be built to the most stringent national and international design and safety standards. These laboratories are built to withstand natural disasters and have security measures in place to protect them against multiple threat scenarios. They are operated under strict federal regulations and protocols that insure a safe work environment and a safe shutdown in case of an emergency. An important fact for the community to know is that there has never been a pathogen escape into the surrounding community from any of the hundreds of BSL-3 laboratories in the U.S.
Experienced outside experts will be contracted to help UH design and build the PacRBL. These experts include architectural and engineering consultants to design the facility and others to develop safety and security measures for the building. Consulting firms the UH is considering are among the world’s best in designing and building these kinds of infectious disease laboratories, and have worked with both NIH and CDC to build similar laboratories for them.
BSL-3 labs are designed and built to fully contain the pathogens being researched within them. Sophisticated redundant air handling systems use HEPA filters to prevent microbes from escaping, and all specimens and contaminated materials are sterilized by chemical and/or steam autoclaves after experiments are completed. Rapid and complete decontamination of the entire lab by vaporized hydrogen peroxide gas is constantly available in the event of an emergency. These building systems are complemented by highly trained staff and meticulous protocols for biosafety that all lab personnel must adhere to while working in the lab.
The PacRBL will be built to withstand major storms and other natural disasters. An earthquake has never been known to damage a level 3 or level 4 laboratory. The PacRBL is outside of the evacuation zone on the City and County of Honolulu’s tsunami evacuation maps, and a high and substantial berm lies between the PacRBL site and the shoreline.
WOULD THE PACRBL POSE ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS?
UH is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the PacRBL that will conform with both the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and State of Hawaii Chapter 343 requirements.
An Environmental Assessment (EA) was conducted for the JABSOM campus in Kaka`ako in 2002. It determined that the JABSOM facility would not have a significant impact on the environment. The Archeological Report indicated that no archeological or historic resources would be affected by the development. Since the PacRBL would be located on the JABSOM campus, similar findings are likely for the PacRBL. Nonetheless, UH will conduct all required assessments to comply with Federal, State, and local planning regulations. This will be done with input from the community, and with complete transparency.
No risk to the environment is anticipated. No contaminated material from inside the facility would be discharged into the environment. All air from the laboratory is expelled through a special exhaust system that has redundant HEPA filtration; it is completely sterile when it exits the building. Laboratory materials will be thoroughly decontaminated before ever leaving the building. Any solid waste is bagged in special plastic bags and autoclaved at 250F for 30 minutes before disposal. Each bag contains an indicator to show that the proper temperature was reached, and each autoclave has a record to indicate the temperature of each cycle. There has never been a pathogen escape from a BSL-3 or BSL-4 laboratory in the U.S.
HOW WOULD BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS FOR RESEARCH BE TRANSPORTED TO THE PACRBL?
The type of work to be conducted in this laboratory does not require frequent movement of biological agents into and out of the facility. The biological agents researchers will study will be moved into the laboratory initially according to strict federal and state regulations and with the oversight of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and the UH Institutional Biosafety Committee, using the same system of closed hardened containers and documentation routinely used by physicians and clinics for transport to the existing DOH State Laboratory. Transport of infectious organisms is regulated under rules established by the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The University would not transport any potentially dangerous materials to or from the laboratory unless it could do so in a manner that assures the safety of people who live, work and frequent businesses in the surrounding area.
All clinical and research specimens will be transported to the laboratory, as they are now, via courier following standardized regulations developed by the federal government agencies and the World Health Organization. All live agents are shipped in non-breakable plastic cryovials, wrapped in absorbent material, packed inside a larger plastic vial with a screw cap, wrapped in absorbent material, packed inside still another larger plastic or metal container with a screw cap, wrapped in corrugated cardboard inside a sturdy cardboard box. This box is placed in a thick styrofoam container surrounded by dry ice. The styrofoam container is taped shut and placed inside another sturdy cardboard box, taped closed and labeled to indicate that it contains infectious materials.
PROJECT TIMELINE
February – December, 2008 – Environmental Assessment
June 2008 – August, 2009 – Architectural and Engineering Design
October, 2009 - Contracts Set, Construction Begins
June, 2011 - Construction Completed
October, 2011 - Certification Completed
Facility Expected to be Operational by the end of 2011
CONTACT INFORMATION
For general information contact:
Tina Shelton, Director of Public Affairs, John A. Burns School of Medicine. Ph: (808) 692-0897
For research and scientific information about the PacRBL lab contact:
Dr. Duane Gubler, PacRBL Director. Ph: (808) 692-1606
For construction, design or environmental assessment related information contact:
Keith Mattson, PacRBL Project Manager. Ph: (808) 956-6985