Missouri residents unhappy with BioDefense lab idea
MU wants to use DHS funds to build two research centers to study deadly disease, but residents of Columbia, Missouri are worried about safety
We reported last week of plans by Columbia, Missouri-based Missouri University to use DHS funds build two research centers to develop bioterror and infectious disease medications. As is the case in other places around the country, Columbia residents are not happy with the construction of two research facilities. MU School of Veterinary Medicine held a forum last week for local resident — about a week before the school must submit a construction plan proposal to DHS. Construction on one of the facilities, the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, is scheduled to begin in August. The second facility is in its planning phase. It will house a lab that DHS will operate and use and to study bioterrorism.
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Many at the forum were upset at the proposal because the DHS facility would be located near neighborhoods and an elementary school. The facility also would take up land used for research on the South Farms.
