Security and a lab

The federal government has its eye on a site in Butner for a laboratory that would do research for the Department of Homeland Security on germs that might be used against Americans. That kind of facility would be bound to make some people nervous. But with the right amount of regulatory control, it could be a good addition to the region's science-oriented portfolio.

A consortium of North Carolina universities, business and government agencies (including UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State, Duke and N.C. Central) is trying to win the $450 million, 520,000-square-foot lab, called the Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. It would handle anthrax, avian flu and other bio-agents. It would create about 200 jobs.

In all, 18 sites in 11 states are being considered for the ultra-high-security lab, which would replace a 50-year-old facility on Long Island, N.Y. Homeland Security will trim the list to about five finalists this summer, and a selection would come next year.

Clearly this area's cluster of universities makes Butner, in southern Granville County, a reasonable choice. N.C. State, for example, was among the first colleges in the nation to win a Homeland Security grant, to develop fire-fighting equipment with protection from chemical and biological agents. The region is also home to several major pharmaceutical and biotech companies that can add their expertise and discoveries to the government's work.

Obviously, the bio-lab would need the same high degree of security against sabotage as the New York facility. And the government would need to be sensitive to local development impacts. If Homeland Security can work with Granville County to address those issues, it would go far toward resolving local concerns.