City Council Seeks to Halt Nerve Gas Lab Extension

In the latest attempt by the City of Cambridge to eliminate or restrict nerve gas testing, the City Council last night moved toward a new zoning ordinance which would prohibit the manufacture, testing and storage of nerve gas.

Councilor David E. Sullivan said the ordinance was proposed after community activists complained that Arthur D. Little, Inc.--a Department of Defense contractor--is planning to build new laboratory facilities.

Sullivan added that the building would likely be used for testing nerve and blister agents, which he called "a clear and present danger" to the community.

Company officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Easy Does It

Sullivan, who authored the proposed ordinance, wrote that an amendment to the city's zoning regulations would be the "appropriate legal mechanism" for discouraging the company form expanding its experimentation with nerve gas.

The laboratory sued Cambridge this spring when the city prohibited the testing and manufacture of nerve gas. That suit is still pending before Middlesex Superior Court, and city officials predict it may go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.