The new bioresearch facility, scheduled for construction in Fred Beekman Park, has come under scrutiny before groundbreaking activities have taken place.

Some residents of Upper Arlington and university employees have joined together to form the Coalition for Environmental and Biohazard Safety in order to voice their objections to the Level 3 bioresearch facility.

The lab, which will be constructed adjacent to Pressey Hall, has been a matter of concern for the group for over a year.

“We have contacted the board of trustees and the president,” said Jan Grosso, a resident of Upper Arlington and member of the coalition. “We have written letters to different papers.”

The Center for Disease Control established the rating system for labs based on four tiered hazard levels. A Level 3 rating indicates the lab will be capable of housing airborne agents that can be potentially lethal if inhaled.

“I have personally tried contacting the zoning board to find out how this facility got zoned so near a residential area,” Grosso said.

CDC protocol states that “BSL-3 laboratories should be located away from high traffic areas.” To this point, Grosso has not received any response to her inquiries.

Cecil Smith, of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, explained that ‘high traffic’ does not necessarily refer to pedestrian traffic.

When the CDC discusses high traffic, it is talking about limiting access within the facility’s parameters, he said.

A meeting was held in early August to quell some of the concerns surrounding the facility. Most of the fears voiced involved the potential harm that could occur should any of the agents escape.

“We are not opposed to the research. We are opposed to it being in a metro area. We are also opposed to them not being allowed to tell us if there has been a leak. What if Ohio Stadium has 104,000 fans and the wind blows that way?” Grosso said.

The building’s construction is also a concern.

Since it is a modular building, “What would happen if the building were struck by a tornado and could possibly harm residents in the area?” said an Upper Arlington resident. “I know there are labs buried on main campus, and that being the case, these facilities are very protected, but this building seems to be very vulnerable.”

“Saying that the building is ‘modular’ means the construction is prefabricated in a warehouse,” Smith said.

He assured that the new building will be of the same quality as other bioresearch facilities.

Once the construction of the building is complete, it is then transferred to the site and secured firmly to the same type of foundation used by any other building in the vicinity. If such a storm were to occur, it would destroy all buildings in the area, not just the lab, he said.

The coalition is in the process of gathering information on the facility in order to distribute fliers to local residents in order to gather support. But residents have been unresponsive.

“The support from the community, I have not seen it. I thought Upper Arlington would be opposed, but so far they have shown no indication,” Grosso said.

Upper Arlington City Council has kept its distance on the issue.

“We are not in a position to give our opinion on the matter because it is not in Upper Arlington, and because it is state regulated and funded,” said Emma Sonora, community affairs manager for the Upper Arlington City Council.

Grosso, a homemaker, has two children attending Upper Arlington schools.

“There are two schools by me. I live only a mile and a quarter away from the facility,” she said.

The two schools, Jones Middle School and Barrington Elementary School, are located about a block from Grosso’s home. The concerns of residents and the CEBS has done very little to disrupt the construction.

“What scares me is I don’t know that we can stop it. Without the community support I know we can’t,” Grosso said.

Marcia Taber, a member of the CEBS, is the clinical supervisor in the speech-language-hearing clinic and director of the LEAP preschool, both located in Pressey Hall. Concerns from parents and state regulations have sparked concern for the school’s future.

“The Child Care Licensing Bureau is aware of the situation here,” she said. “They do plan to investigate how the first responders, police, paramedics and the fire department feel about their preparedness to deal with the possible risks, and the treatment of children exposed to these agents.”

“That will be their determining factor as to the renewal of our license.”

Smith does not foresee licensing as a problem.

“You have to look at the location of other BSL-3 labs,” he said. “Some are located within the confines of hospital buildings. The CDC in Atlanta has a Level-4 lab a few 100 feet away from a day care center.”