The Containment Laboratory Community Advisory Committee is keeping a close watch on research laboratories in Frederick County.
Marking its first anniversary as an organization, the committee’s seven regular members and a handful of others continue to seek more accountability from these labs.
“We’re not trying to be unsupportive of our growing biotech industry in our community, but we’re trying to discern where the gaps are,” Chairwoman Beth Willis said. “This is the first time ever that there is a conversation going on where people can discuss concerns. … This has never happened before, and we think a whole lot more needs to go on.”
Concerned residents banded together in November 2010 with the goal of establishing better lines of communication among the public, the county, officials at Fort Detrick, and officials at other containment labs in Frederick County that work with potentially harmful chemicals.
“That does not mean getting into nitty-gritty issues about how to run laboratories,” Willis said. “It is very important to realize the labs are very large institutions that have their own culture. Their point of view about many things is going to be very different than of those living in the community.”
Positive results have followed, according to Willis, who said there has been great communication with laboratory representatives.
One of the agencies working closely with the group is the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, a containment laboratory based at Fort Detrick that works to develop vaccines and other treatments for military personnel.
USAMRIID Public Affairs Officer Caree Vander Linden, who has regularly attended the advisory committee’s meetings, said the members have been invited to USAMRIID for a tour to better understand the operation.
“I think they’ve accomplished a lot in the past year,” Vander Linden said. “In this case, the committee is more of a conduit for us, which we haven’t had before. That’s going to be very useful working both ways, us informing them and them informing us of the public’s concerns.”
Over the past year, Vander Linden said there has been a great deal of learning.
“It was surprising in some cases to hear about some of the misconceptions that are out there, but to me, that just says we need to do a better job communicating,” she said. “It’s always interesting to hear what people think. We don’t always have a way to hear that directly.”
Frederick Alderwoman Karen Young, a nonvoting liaison to the committee, had nothing but praise for the group.
“I don’t know of another organization that has been able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time,” Young said. “This has been a contentious issue for decades. This committee has brought more information and understanding to the table in the one year they’ve been in existence than I’ve seen in years.”
Now that the group has met its initial goals, it has some new objectives.
One concern is that the public is kept in the dark when it comes to private laboratories, Willis said. She said the reason for this is to protect the companies from threats.
The committee recently met with officials from the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene who agreed to review the regulations that allow the state to keep information about private companies out of the public eye, Willis said.
“I think we’re beginning to see a little more transparency, but I think there is a long way to go,” she said. “There are still many questions and concerns in the community.”
The committee’s future goals include expanding dialogue with government laboratories, getting basic details about private labs, learning more about oversight, and providing more information to the public on its website.
“We don’t have any authority, but we do have aspirations,” Willis said. “If we can have good working relationships with everyone, we can be an honest broker and work with everyone. … As specific issues from the public come up, that’s what we take on.”
Copyright 2011 The Frederick News-Post. All rights reserved.
