Work on P-3 Labs Almost Completed

Construction of Harvard's p-3 containment laboratories is expected to be completed by the end of the month, Richard G. Leahy, associate dean for resources and planning, said yesterday.

A possible shipping delay of handling system parts makes it difficult to set a definite completion date, Macey D. Koehler, a biohazards safety officer, said yesterday.

Researchers using large enough doses of infectious materials to make one sick, thus requiring the p-3 classification, will use the facilities located on the fourth floor of the Bio labs. The materials could include recombinant DNA or viruses that cause tumors in mammals.

Harmful biological materials are prevented from escaping because the lab is sealed. "The pressure inside the p-3 labs is negative and there are exhaust systems," Leahy said. He added, however, that the human error factor in the lab work could cause harm if the prescribed National Institute of Health (NIH) guidelines are not carefully followed.

Inspection teams will visit the lab facilities to make sure the NIH guidelines for p-3 labshave been met.

Potatoes and Ducks

A Long Island-based independent consulting engineering firm will inspect the labs, Leahy said. This firm will also make sure that the work and design originally agreed upon by the Harvard Resource and Planning Office has been met by the contractors.

"Bob Gross of Medical Repair Labs is scheduled to inspect for the Harvard Biohazards Committee," Koehler said.

The Cambridge Biohazards Committee established by a 1977 Cambridge city ordinance which set regulations on recombinant DNA research, may also inspect the labs.

Expensive

The National Cancer Institute grant and the University are funding the facility, which costs approximately $600,000.

Originally the facilities were to have been larger but Harvard officials slashed the funds. Other changes included the addition of new features, which were not required under NIH guidelines.

Who will work in the facilities is still a question. "The Faculty Standing Committee reviews the applications for the work to be done there so I don't know yet who will be working there," Leahy commented.