Protect Our Safety - Regulate Bio Research Labs!
This petition urges members of the State legislature to answer citizen concerns about BU's proposed BSL4 laboratory, slated to be built in the heart of Boston and to pass Gloria Fox’s groundbreaking bill which will provide enforceable regulations.
I am very concerned that Boston University intends to build a BSL4 Bioterrorism Research Laboratory in an urban neighborhood of Boston, where experiments will be done on extremely dangerous biological agents that cause deadly diseases for which there are no known vaccines or cures. As you may know, accidents occur in biological laboratories, including the recent tularemia infections at a BU lab, and accidents with toxic biological agents can jeopardize the safety of the public and people who work in laboratories.
Rep. Gloria Fox’s legislation, "An Act to Protect the Public Health and Environment from Toxic Biological Agents", HB # 4249, would create a state oversight program to help assure that high containment biological laboratories operate as safely as possible. Currently, Massachusetts has no comprehensive regulatory program for such laboratories -- and there is no effective federal regulatory program either.
I urge Speaker of the House Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Robert Travaglini as well as my my State Legislators to support and work for the passage of HB # 4249 so that if the BU lab is built the public health and safety will be protected.
