NEIDL Upgrades Wall Coating

October 17, 2012

Through a series of inspections, NEIDL staff found that the wall coating installed by a contractor did not perform up to the standards we require for the Level 4 facility. Therefore, over the next several months, we will be re-coating several surface areas in the NEIDL, including in the BSL-4 lab space.

The NEIDL’s safety protocol for cleaning and disinfecting BSL-4 laboratories requires completely smooth walls and ceilings. The initial coating, over time, failed to meet that standard.  For that reason, we have engaged a new contractor to replace the coating which requires some construction activity at the facility.  The re-coating work will start this month and will be done in stages. The first lab will be finished in April 2013.

The re-coating project will not affect the NEIDL’s timetable to open as approval to commence BSL-4 research must still await the completion of regulatory and judicial review; the remedial work on the surface areas will be done during that period.

This wall coating issue was reported to members of the public who serve on the NEIDL’s Community Liaison Committee (CLC) in July, 2011 and is noted in its minutes which are available on the NEIDL website (https://www.bu.edu/neidl/files/2012/03/7-26-11-CLC-Minutes.pdf). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Boston Public Health Commission were also notified advised of the wall coating issue when it was first detected.

Once the issue was identified and appropriate authorities notified, we completed an engineering analysis, developed a remedial plan and selected a contractor to do the work. The work will be done in stages and will not impact ongoing BSL-2 research and training activities currently underway in the building.