A&M loses bid for biodefense site

By: Kristin Leveille

Posted: 7/12/07

The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology director announced on Wednesday the five sites that have advanced to the next phase in the process to selecting the location for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), and Texas A&M University is no longer being considered as a potential site.

A&M was one of 18 finalists in the running to host the $450 million facility, which will be responsible for studying high consequence biological threats for humans and animals and will be capable of handling diseases and pathogens rated at the highest biosafety levels.

The NBAF will be a high security, 520,000 square-foot lab to research bioterrorism threats that could affect animals, humans or the nation's food supply. It will employ more than 300 people and will replace the current lab at Plum Island, N.Y.

"Texas A&M has a long and distinguished history of service to our state and nation, and we are disappointed that our proposal to host the Department of Homeland Security's National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility is not among the five selected for further consideration," said Interim President Eddie J. Davis in a statement released Wednesday.

The announcement that A&M is out of the running comes two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control suspended the university's biodefense research.

The CDC's investigation stemmed from two unreported cases of exposure in 2006 when researchers came in contact with the biological agents brucella and Q Fever. Regulations require incidents to be reported within a week, but A&M administrators didn't report the exposures until this past spring.

It isn't clear whether or not the CDC investigation had any effect on A&M being overlooked as a site for the NBAF. In a previous statement, Davis called the failure to report the brucella exposure a "screw-up."

No one died from exposure to the diseases, but CDC officials said they had to question whether or not A&M met biosafety standards.

"Despite this, we remain committed to our ongoing research on homeland security issues and our implementation of research findings to improve the lives of the people in Texas and the nation," Davis said.

Texas had proposed sites in San Antonio and at A&M, with the Texas Research Park in San Antonio advancing to the next stage. The other sites in the running are Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi and North Carolina.

In the next step of the selection process, the Department of Homeland Security will conduct an environmental impact survey of the sites and the site will be chosen in 2009. The facility will be opened by 2014.

"We believe that this facility is an important addition to our country's homeland security efforts," Davis said.

"We extended our best wishes to Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Mississippi and San Antonio, which remain in competition for the site, and we would be pleased to pursue areas of collaboration on this project," Davis said.