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Tuesday, June 03, 2003

By Christopher Snowbeck, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Allegheny County's plan to build a new bioterrorism lab in Lawrenceville is poised to move forward after a year's worth of what proponents describe as bureaucratic languishing. But it could easily be another couple of years before the project is finished.

County officials are on the verge of choosing a firm to handle design work on the 8,000-square-foot project, part of which will be certified as a "Bio-Safety Level 3" lab.

Level 3 labs have special ventilation systems and safety features that allow them to safely test for potential bioterror agents such as anthrax, plague and botulism. The bulk of the lab's work will be routine testing for infectious disease.

Design work must be completed before construction can begin.

"We've been frustrated with the delays," said Guillermo Cole, spokesman for the Allegheny County Health Department. Almost a year has passed, he noted, since former Gov. Mark Schweiker came to Pittsburgh to announce the funding for the project.

"We had hoped to have it under way by now, but this is beyond our control," Cole said.

Tom Donatelli, director of public works for Allegheny County, said Health Department officials have had unrealistic expectations for how quickly the project could begin.

While public health officials won more than $900,000 in federal funding for the project early last year, an additional $2 million in county money subsequently had to be secured during the regular budget process, Donatelli said. That's because the lab includes improved facilities for routine testing for infectious disease that the Health Department provides in Oakland.

"We have to go through the selection and bidding processes," he said. "This is what I have to do to spend the public's money. ... We are trying to expedite the project as quickly as possible."

The design firm should be selected within a few days, Donatelli said. Design work will likely take nine to 10 months, and it will then take another year to build the lab.

The laboratory will be built on the grounds of the county Health Department's Clack Health Center in Lawrenceville and will replace one run by the county coroner.

During the anthrax scare of 2001, when anthrax spores were sent through the mail, the State Health Laboratory in Chester County was flooded with requests to analyze suspicious substances. The new lab was meant to provide backup, but that backup has been slow in coming.

The county received 25 letters from design firms interested in working on the project, said Margaret Philbin, spokeswoman for the county. The county's professional services review committee whittled the list to four firms, three of which submitted proposals.

The federal money for project was part of Pennsylvania's $37 million share of bioterrorism money awarded last year.

The state Department of Health is preparing an application for the second year of funding, which would bring $54.6 million to Pennsylvania.

Smallpox program update

That second-year funding includes $4.3 million for the state's struggling program to vaccinate health-care workers against smallpox.

As of Friday, Pennsylvania had vaccinated 87 public health workers, 112 hospital responders and 21 emergency medical service personnel. Initially, the program envisioned vaccinating thousands.

Richard McGarvey, spokesman for the state Department of Health, said that while the vaccination campaign has been slow, the state is still providing some inoculations. Also, hospitals that are not participating in the vaccination program are nonetheless receiving education programs, McGarvey said.