Planned bioresearch lab would seek cures for deadly pathogens. Critics fear accident. In the shadow of the snow-capped Bitterroot Mountains, moon-suit-clad scientists will soon begin producing gallons of concentrated death. Armed guards, a reinforced perimeter and biometric locks will protect a hermetically sealed laboratory — a “hot zone” designed to trap the deadliest microbes on Earth: Ebola and Lassa viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers, and others that produce exotic scourges for which no vaccines or medicines exist. The lab’s goal is finding cures for these feared bioterrorism agents, but that is little consolation to residents at the Hamilton Senior Center across the street, diners at the Spice of Life cafe downtown, or boys scrimmaging on Hamilton Middle School’s football field, a few blocks from the lab fence. “We’ve got homes and children sleeping 50 meters away,” said Jim Miller, a University of Montana research biologist and local resident. “They never consider the possibility that there could be a pathogen breach. It’s like at Three Mile Island, saying that there could never be a release of radiation from a nuclear power plant.” Full Story
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