The new high-containment HTRL, which is on track to open in 2008, will be located on the 1500-acre Argonne National Laboratory site, one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s largest research centers. Argonne is in DuPage County, Ill., approximately 25 miles southwest of the University of Chicago’s downtown campus.

When completed, the 48,647-sf facility will include two BSL-2 laboratories, four BSL-3 laboratories, seven ABSL-3 animal suites, an aerosol procedure room, and administrative space. The facility is designed to house approximately 30 full-time staff members and will have the capacity to accommodate approximately 30 ventilated cage racks containing approximately 4,000 animal holding cages.

“Although small laboratories already exist at the University and at Argonne for studying infectious microbes, the new HTRL will enable researchers to study multiple pathogens simultaneously,” says Judd Johnson, associate director for facilities operations at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “The HTRL will also be prepared to assist national, state, and local public health efforts in the event of a bioterrorism or infectious disease emergency.”

Operations and Maintenance

Johnson adds that even though Argonne is a federally controlled reserve, the RBL will be owned and operated by the University of Chicago. The University plans to outsource facility operations and ongoing maintenance of the RBL to an outside vendor.

“It took a lot of coordination between our facilities team and lab users to define the right scope of services to be included in the operations and maintenance bid process,” says Johnson. “Facilities took the lead in outlining the scope of services to be bid, but we had a lot of input from researchers, veterinarians, and even representatives from the senior University management.”

The final bid document defines the vendor’s primary responsibilities as operation and maintenance of all HVAC equipment and systems, fire/life safety systems, and electronic security; documentation of procedures and safety manuals; and preventive maintenance for lab equipment and animal care equipment. In addition the vendor will be responsible for asphalt/concrete repair, general building maintenance, health and safety, signage, tenant services, energy conservation, infrastructure project management, and general cleaning.

The annual cost of operations and maintenance for the RBL is expected to total just over $300,000 for personnel, supplies, and services. Cost estimates for annual utility expenses in the RBL are projected to be nearly $500,000, and security costs are expected to total $100,000 each year.

Security Issues

“Since Argonne is a federally controlled reserve, there is no public access to the site and a 24-hour protective force patrols the Argonne site,” says Johnson. “If we had built this facility on our downtown campus, security expenses would have been much higher.”

He adds that much of the security related to lab access and inventory control within the HTRL will be dictated by guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control since the facility will be registering for Select Agent use in its BSL-3 and ABSL-3 labs.

The University completed a site specific threat and risk assessment to evaluate physical access to the labs, information systems control, and inventory control of Select Agents.

“After completing our assessment, we developed a matrix to incorporate the assessment’s findings with additional information provided by Argonne and the Department of Energy,” says Johnson. “This helped us develop an appropriate security profile that weighed the various concerns of all the agencies involved against the University’s cost expectations and our project budget.”

Environmental Control

Johnson points to environmental compliance costs as another major expense associated with the new facility.

“It took nine months to complete an environmental assessment that assessed construction activities as well as routine operations once the HTRL is up and running,” says Johnson. “Wastewater discharge is a significant environmental concern to Argonne as they have a wastewater treatment facility on-site.”

A specific Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) program, procedures for wastewater discharge, hazardous waste disposal, and infectious waste disposal are under development for the HTRL.

The University will take a similar comprehensive approach to assessing and developing emergency response plans for the HTRL. These plans will include a public relations program to communicate the plans throughout Argonne and to nearby communities.

“We are fortunate that Argonne has an on-site fire department which includes EMTs who are hazmat certified personnel,” says Johnson. “We will be doing specific drills with them to respond to our facility and we will also be identifying specific personal protective equipment for them to wear as they enter our facilities.”

Lessons Learned

Johnson recommends development of an overall biorisk management plan as an early step in planning the design and operations of biocontainment facilities.

“You need to identify what biorisk elements you are going to have to address, and start with the facility’s intended research,” says Johnson. “Don’t necessarily think facilities, instead think processes flows and focus on what the building is intended to accomplish.”

He also points to the value of using an integrated project management approach.

“In a highly specialized facility like the HTRL it is very important to involve all of the disciplines that will eventually use the space in the planning process,” says Johnson. “In our case we have been working closely with our researchers, animal care workers, and biosafety and facility staff to incorporate their concerns and recommendations.”

In addition, Johnson cautions that biocontainment facilities will be more costly to construct and operate than normal research buildings.

“In general it’s safe to say that high-containment labs may be twice as expensive to operate as standard research labs due to the higher costs associated with specialized equipment, utility redundancies, security, and environmental health and safety expenses,” says Johnson. “This fact should be communicated upfront to upper management in private settings or to the deans and provosts in university settings.”

By Amy Cammell