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Galveston National BSL-4 Laboratory and Hurricane Ike
On September 8, 1900, the Galveston Hurricane demolished the infrastructure of the fragile two-mile-wide, 35-mile-long barrier island of Galveston, known by the Spanish as the Island of doom. Between 6,000 and 12,000 souls perished. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is (to date) the deadliest natural disaster in the United States. (1-2) I. David Walker, M.D., Envisions Biocontainment Laboratory on Galveston Island Eighty-seven years after the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, then 44-year-old David H. Walker, M.D., joined the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston as pathology department chairman. (3) Five years later, on June 2, 1992, Dr. Walker accompanied Harvard geneticist Matthew Meselson, Ph.D., a longtime crusader against bioweapons, on a fact-finding mission to Sverdlovsk, Russia. Dr. Meselson had been working with the US Central Intelligence Agency on determining the cause of the 1979 Sverdlovsk human anthrax epidemic in which 96 sickened people required hospitalization and 64 died. (4-10)
David H. Walker, M.D. Source: http://blog.utmb.edu/...; accessed September 29, 2008. During their trip to Russia, Drs. Walker and Meselson examined the remains of the 42 victims autopsied in the wake of the 1979 anthrax epidemic. The American group determined the epidemic occurred when deadly anthrax spores escaped from the Sverdlovsk biological research facility’s air handling systems on the roof. Following the trip to Russia, Dr. Walker hosted as a visiting scientist at UTMB at Galveston Russian pathologist Dr. Lev Grinberg, who, with lead Russian pathologist Dr. Faina Abramova, had performed the original 42 anthrax victim autopsies in 1979 and aided the Meselson team in its fact-finding mission in 1992. The specimens saved by Drs. Abramova and Grinberg are the largest series of data on human anthrax available today. Dr. Walker’s career took off in subsequent years. For example, he became founding director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases (the organizing force behind UTMB’s rise in national recognition in infectious diseases) and of the UTMB Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases. Dr. Walker was the first person to advocate the construction of a Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory at UTMB to perform research on the world’s most deadly infectious organisms. Biosafety levels are based on a combination of microbiological practices, laboratory facilities, and safety equipment determined to be sufficient to reduce or prevent occupational exposures of laboratory personnel to the microbiological agents they work with. (3) The four biosafety levels are based on the hazards associated with the various microbiological agents. For example, a biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) laboratory is one in which the infectious agents manipulated are not known to cause disease in healthy adults. Work practices are standard microbiological practices. Safety equipment (primary barriers) is not required. Facilities (secondary barrier) are an open bench-top sink for hand washing. A representative microorganism manipulated in this type of laboratory is the harmless Bacillus subtilis. A biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory is one in which infectious agents are exotic with potential for aerosol transmission and for which no vaccine or therapy currently exists. These agents pose a high risk of exposure and infection to laboratory personnel, the community, and the environment. Work practices and safety equipment are complete isolation of the laboratory worker from aerosolized infectious materials through working in a Class III BSC or in a full-body, air-supplied positive-pressure personnel suit. Facilities are generally a separate building or completely isolated zone with complex, specialized ventilation requirements and waste management systems to prevent release of viable agents to the environment. Representative microorganisms include Marburg or Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever viruses. (4) II. Construction of the Robert E. Swope, M.D. BSL-4 Laboratory on Galveston Island Dr. Walker led the project to build a BSL-4 lab at UTMB until the completion of the Robert E. Shope Laboratory, which has been in operation since 2004. (3) Robert E. Shope, M.D., a colleague of Walker’s, died of complications of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Galveston, Texas, on January 19, 2004, at age 74. In November 2003, UTMB celebrated the completion of the Biosafety Level 4 laboratory, the first in the United States at an academic institution, and named it in honor of Dr. Shope, i.e., the Robert E. Shope, M.D. Laboratory. (11) The Shope Lab is located in the Keiller Building on the UTMB at Galveston campus.
Keiller-Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Source: http://www.flickr.com/...; accessed September 29, 2008. The Robert E. Shope Laboratory was only the beginning of astonishing laboratory expansion at UTMB at Galveston. On March 29, 2005, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) implemented the proposed action to partially fund the construction of a “state-of-the-art national biocontainment laboratory, known as the Galveston National Laboratory (GNL), on the University of Texas Medical Branch Campus in Galveston, Texas. (12) Details of the decision to build GNL are available in the Galveston National Laboratory Record of Decision published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2005. Several factors contributed to the decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (via the NIH) “to provide approximately $110 million (UTMB provided $37 million) to build a “new reinforced concrete seven-story building…within the footprint of a recently demolished building on the UTMB campus.” This new structure would contain “a total net area of approximately 82,411 square feet” to “house Biosafety Level (BSL)-4, BSL-3, and BSL-2 facilities, BSL-4 and BSL-3 animal facilities, Arthropod Containment Level (ACL)-3 insectary, offices conference rooms, and support facilities including an effluent treatment room, secure loading dock, and dedicated mechanical floors to enhance containment and minimize the risk of exposure.” (12) The factors involved in the HHS decision to build the Galveston National Laboratory included the department’s intent “to rectify the national shortage of biological containment facilities with laboratories and procedures for handling potentially lethal infectious agents. This condition,” says the Record of Decision document, “represents a substantial impediment to conducting research on infectious diseases and is a national biodefense vulnerability. To be most effective, these facilities must be located where established teams of researchers [such as Dr. Walker and his colleagues] are already working on related scientific problems. [Italics added.] Additionally, the biological containment facilities should be located in an area with existing infrastructure critical to providing timely public health assistance in the case of a national, state, or local disease outbreak or bioterrorism emergency. Locating a new national biocontainment laboratory on the UTMB campus takes advantage of UTMB’s extensive expertise in biological medical research, its experience in operating BSL-2, -3, and -4 laboratories (only five other operational BSL-4 laboratories exist in the United States), and its infrastructure as a regional medical center.” (12) III. Threats to Constructing Galveston National Laboratory on Galveston Island The threats to constructing the Galveston National Laboratory noted in the Record of Decision included vulnerability to severe storms, including hurricanes; location within a 100-year floodplain; and location within the Gulf Coast Normal Faults Region (earthquakes). Other than vulnerability to hurricanes, floods and earthquakes, the idea of locating a BSL-4 laboratory on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico made perfect sense.
Smith Carter Architects and Engineers in a joint venture with B2HK coordinated the feasibility study and design of the BSL-4 containment laboratory at University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The lab houses the Department of Pathology and the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases. Challenges included integrating the secure lab within the historical building and withstanding the high-force winds in this hurricane zone. Source: http://www.smithcarter.com/... and http://www.smithcarter.com/...; accessed September 29, 2008. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services promised to design the new laboratory “to safely support all of the superimposed loads applied to the building and to resist 140-mile-per-hour hurricane force winds. Also, as required by the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, [the HHA promised to design and construct the laboratory] to the highest building protection classification category of IV. Furthermore, [the HHS designed the proposed GNL] with regard to its location within a 100-year flood plain. For example, [HHS located] the BSL-4 laboratories…above the extreme 25-foot storm surge that might occur during a category 4 or 5 hurricane. In addition to standby generators to provide power in the event of a power outage, the proposed GNL facility will have a distributed on-line uninterruptible power supply module or a fuel cell power supply to power the BSL-4 biosafety cabinets, BSL-3 enhanced biosafety cabinets, [and] critical building control panels and alarms. The Record of Decision continues: “In addition to designing for severe weather conditions, operating procedures will call for a lockdown of all infectious materials and decontamination of high-level biocontainment laboratories in the event of an approaching hurricane. Storm preparedness will be based on approximately 24-hour notice of probably landfall, taking into account the predicted strength of a storm. This allows sufficient time to close down high containment operations, should this be deemed necessary, including the management of animals.” “The building also will be provided with an environmental monitoring system to assess room pressure differentials (to ensure negative pressure in the biocontainment areas), smoke detection, automatic watering system pressure and flow, and the condition of high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. Visual indication (such as pressure gauges) and audible or strobic alarms will alert GNL personnel to an emergency or a situation that requires corrective action. The proposed GNL will have fire protection systems that meet or exceed requirements specified by the National Fire Protection Association and all applicable local, State, Federal, and UTMB requirements…” (12) Stakeholders wasted no time launching construction of the Galveston National Laboratory, which began in May 2005. UTMB owned and operated the GNL in support of the biodefense research agenda of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says an “About Us” document published by UTMB. (13) The type of pathogens to be studied includes anthrax, plague, hemorrhagic fevers (such as Ebola), typhus, West Nile virus, influenza, and drug-resistant tuberculosis. The principal investigator for the laboratory is Stanley M. Lemon, M.D., director, Institute for human Infections and Immunity and John Sealy Distinguished University Chair in Human Infections and Immunity, endowed by The Sealy & Smith Foundation.” (13) The expectation for completion of the GNL was June 2008. (Hurricane Ike smashed into the laboratory before just before its completion and occupation.) IV. Hurricane Rita (2005) and Galveston National Laboratory On September 24, 2005, four months after construction teams broke ground for the new facility, Hurricane Rita grimly made landfall at the Texas-Louisiana border, east of Galveston Island. Hurricane Rita was the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. She missed Galveston Island, sparing the Robert E. Swope, M.D. Laboratory. Officials had been concerned, however. “Pre-Rita worries focused on the University of Texas Medical Branch's (UTMB’s) highly secure labs for studying deadly infectious agents such as viruses that cause hemorrhagic fever,” noted reporter Jocelyn Kaiser on September 30, 2005. (14) This laboratory is less than one mile from the Galveston sea wall constructed after the infamous 1900 Galveston Hurricane. Stanley M. Lemon, M.D., noted above, remarked, “We’ve thought about this for a long time, obviously.” In preparation for Rita, researchers in BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories in the Robert E. Swope, M.D. Laboratory “shut down experiments, autoclaved cultures, euthanized several hundred research mice, and fumigated labs.” They locked up “samples in secure freezers plugged into backup generators and stocked with dry ice, and a skeleton crew waited out the storm.” Hurricane Rita caused “only minor damage to air handlers [gulp!] on the roof of a building with a shuttered BSL-3 lab.” The worst outcome of Rita, Lemon lamented, was the monetary “costs associated with shutting down experiments.” (14) Michael R. Holbrook, director of the UTMB BSL-4 laboratory, reported on September 20, 2005, that workers were destroying lab cultures Rita made landfall] in which viruses were growing and were beginning to pack the lab up…putting remaining viruses in sealed and locked freezers. “Then, if Rita still threatens Thursday, the lab will be fumigated with formaldehyde,” he continued. “Four hours later, the lab is rendered completely safe.” Holbrook said the BSL-4 lab “sits on the second floor of a secure building on UTMB’s campus, 31 feet above sea level. Its 10-inch-thick concrete walls are rated to handle powerful tornadoes, which have stronger winds than the worst hurricanes…If power to backup generators is lost, the samples are already encased in large liquid nitrogen refrigerators, with enough supply of the freezing chemical to support the refrigerators for three or more weeks, he said. "We won't go back into the lab until we have electricity," Holbrook said. (15) After Hurricane Rita, construction of the Galveston National Laboratory proceeded. Details and many photos on the construction of the Galveston National Laboratory are available at SEMP Biot Report #322: “Galveston National Laboratory: ‘The Best Little Bug House in Texas?’” (January 19, 2006), available at http://www.semp.us/...; accessed September 29, 2008. As of August 2008, construction of the GNL neared 99 percent completion. (16) “The facility remains on track and on budget,” declares a GNL webpage. “The GNL achieved ‘substantial completion’ in early August, with final completion projected within the next 30 days. Finishing touches and final checks are ongoing in the building’s interior. As these final checks are completed, we will begin delivering equipment and furnishings to the building. Between August and September, we expect the majority of the laboratory equipment will be brought into the facility. Researchers and staff are also projected to begin moving into the facility during this time. Preparations are on track and well underway for the GNL’s formal dedication ceremonies on November 11, 2008. Check this site again soon for further information on the dedication ceremonies.” (16) V. Hurricane Ike (2008) Strikes Galveston National Laboratory On Friday, September 12, 2008, at 11:07 p.m. EDT, as Hurricane Ike approached Galveston as a direct hit, CNN reporter Jeanne Meserve wrote, Workers at a Galveston, Texas, laboratory said to contain dangerous biological agents secured the pathogens Friday ahead of Hurricane Ike, officials said. The pathogens, which include the deadly Ebola virus, were purposely destroyed before the staff left the facility in advance of the hurricane, said [Texas] Governor Rick Perry’s spokesman, Andrew Barlow…The lab is one of the country’s five biosafety labs that are Level-IV, the highest level. Such laboratories typically handle pathogens like smallpox, tularemia and anthrax to develop vaccines and antidotes. The laboratory followed protocols for shutting, said Gretchen Michael, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said that for security reasons, she would not detail the procedures or describe the agents. A Department of Homeland Security official concurred that all the samples had been destroyed, and the building was locked down, quarantined and “rendered safe.” But a former student who worked at the Level-III laboratory while the Level-IV facility was being constructed and who knows the manager, said she would be surprised if all of the pathogens had been destroyed, since some of them are rare and extremely valuable. The facility is the World Health Organization’s center for research on arboviruses, such as ticks and mosquitoes, and tropical disease work, said the student, who asked not to be identified. It also holds Ebola virus and fever-causing Lassa virus, sometimes-fatal hantaviruses and anthrax bacteria, she said. She added that all Level-IV laboratories are designed to ensure they can withstand hurricanes, and because of its location, special care was taken with the laboratory in Galveston. “I know that everyone at that facility, every single person at that facility, I’m certain has done everything they could possibly do to ensure that the community and the facility is absolutely safe, because all the people that work there, their livelihood and careers are dependent on the things that are held in that lab, and they would be destroyed -- just as much as the community would be destroyed -- if anything were to happen," she said. CDC spokesman Von Roebuck said only that ‘quite a bit has been done’ to secure the laboratory. (17) On Saturday, September 13, 2008, at 2:10 a.m. CDT, Hurricane Ike made landfall over the east end of Galveston Island, in fact the eye of storm passed directly over the Galveston National Laboratory. (18) Hurricane Ike arrived as a category 2 storm, with sustained winds of 110 miles per hour but storm surge less than the expected 20 to 25 feet.
Hurricane Ike Base Map. Source: http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/...; accessed September 29, 2008.
Galveston post-Hurricane Ike impact. Source: Yudhijit Bhattacharjee and Jennifer Couzin. “Texas University weathers Hurricane Ike.” ScienceNOW Daily News. September 15, 2008. Available at http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/...; accessed September 29, 2008. UTMB Emergency Operations Center posted on September 13, 2008, the following online message to readers: “Despite rumors to the contrary, the Galveston National Lab (GNL) has suffered no damage as far as we can see. The building was at the end phase of construction. There was no research taking place and no one is occupying the building. The Keiller Building did experience some flooding in the basement but the rest of the facility is fine. There has been no loss of biocontainment or biosecurity. All labs were decontaminated and secured prior to the arrival of the storm. All agents have been stored in proper containers. The Shope Lab within the Keiller Building also remains secure.” (19) To this Emergency Operations Center report, a reader (Edward Hammond) responded at 1:58 p.m., Saturday September 13, 2008: “How many animals were sacrificed at the Keiller Building and other high containment labs prior to the arrival of Ike, and what was the overall cost to the public of the numerous experiments that were canceled as a result of the need to lock down these facilities? Also, it is stated that the new BSL-4 lab is intact “as far as we can see”. Does this mean that the appraisal has only been made from the exterior and that nobody has in fact been able to assess for possible damage inside the building, e.g. flooding? Finally, what systems are located in the basement of the Keiller Building? For example, HVAC / HEPA, power systems, effluent systems (from high containment labs), etc.” (19) On Sunday, September 14, 2008, “Ike Answers” website reported, This afternoon, the Houston Chronicle’s Eric Hanson reported that Galveston city manager Steve LeBlanc said, ‘power is out all over Galveston and that the University of Texas Medical Branch will be the first customer to have electricity restored. It is going to be at least one week to get UTMB up and running and they are in line first.’ And this, according to the UTMB Web site today: UTMB remains on emergency status. Employees and students will be advised when they can return. We don't have an estimated date at this time. ...Facilities update. Power, water and gas remain the primary issues. The portable generators are working and more are on the way. But most areas are still without air conditioning and lights. The county is working to restore water and natural gas lines to the island and hopes to have at least a temporary fix within 48-72 hours. Two cooling tents and a portable kitchen have been ordered to facilitate food services. Information specific to the research community will be coming shortly.
Communication internally and with the “world outside” is still spotty. Internet connectivity has been restored in a few areas, but phones still aren’t working, with the exception of those in the command center -- and even they aren’t completely reliable. Cell service is sporadic. And there is no email service. However, the National Guard is setting up a satellite dish now, and we hope to have improved communication capability within the next 24 hours. We have established a central message board and will post phone messages and blog postings (to utmbinfo.com) for employees on a regular basis. We're also working to establish a few external phone lines so employees can make personal calls out. (20) On Monday, September 15, 2008, Christi Myers reported that UTMB’s electric power was out. “The hospital has sent doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical staff home for the first time since the hurricane. CenterPoint Energy [power company] told hospital officials that it will be two to four weeks before they have power. All medical problems will be treated by the D-MAT team which has set up. The disaster management assistance team will do the medical care and ship any people who need to be hospitalized out of Galveston. The D-MAT team is now the only medical care on the island—as per UTMB.” (21) At 1:14 p.m., Monday, September 15, 2008, Sue Sturgis of the Institute for Southern Studies published the following report, titled “Ike coverage: Galveston biolab researching killer viruses reportedly secured before hurricane hit.” The Galveston area of Texas that took a direct hit from Hurricane Ike is home to a top-level biodefense laboratory that studies highly contagious and deadly diseases including bird flu, but lab officials are assuring the public that the pathogens were secured before the storm made landfall. The Robert E. Shope Laboratory is located in the Keiller Building on the sprawling University of Texas Medical Branch campus in Galveston. The basement of the Keiller Building flooded during the storm, but UTMB reports there was no loss of biocontainment or biosecurity. All labs were decontaminated and secured prior to the storm, with all infectious agents stored in proper containers, according to UTMB. However, UTMB’s statement contradicts claims by state and federal officials that the lab’s pathogens were destroyed before Ike hit. For example, Texas Governor Rick Perry's spokesperson told CNN that the lab’s pathogens were purposely destroyed before the staff evacuated the facility. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security also told the network dangerous materials were destroyed. CNN reported on questions about the pathogen destruction claims raised by an unnamed former UTMB student who worked at the lab. She said she would be surprised if all of the pathogens had been destroyed, since some of them are rare and very valuable -- though she did note that the lab was designed to withstand hurricanes: “I know that everyone at that facility, every single person at that facility, I'm certain has done everything they could possibly do to ensure that the community and the facility is absolutely safe, because all the people that work there, their livelihood and careers are dependent on the things that are held in that lab, and they would be destroyed -- just as much as the community would be destroyed -- if anything were to happen," she said. But there have been security problems at the Shope lab before. In January of this year, for example, the lab was temporarily shut down after an internal security door failed twice. The door was in a lab holding mice that had been exposed to the deadly and highly contagious bird flu virus. UTMB at Galveston is also the site of Galveston National Labs, a new top-level biosecurity facility. That lab, where construction is just wrapping up, suffered no readily apparent damage in the storm, according to UTMB. Some observers question the wisdom of building top-level biolabs on a barrier island vulnerable to severe tropical storms and intense flooding. There are also questions about the cost to the public due to facility damage and canceled experiments.”
Galveston National Laboratory South, post Hurricane Ike, September 13, 2008. Source: http://www.flickr.com/...; accessed September 29, 2008. On Tuesday, September 16, 2008 “The Biodefense Barbeque,” (a website published by Texas Biodefense Alliance), posted the following message, titled “Emergency Power Restored at the UTMB Galveston Terror Labs.” (22)
According to officials at the UTMB, the University of Terror Mongering near Baytown, emergency power has been restored to its BSL-4 terror labs following a direct hit by the Category Two Hurricane Ike on Galveston Island. That ostensibly positive news is where the questions begin. Also on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, The Dallas Morning News reporter Emily Ramshaw wrote the following: Hurricane Ike's timing--just a week before the opening of Galveston's massive national biodefense lab--is raising new questions about the prudence of housing deadly pathogens on a disaster-prone island. Biosafety experts at the University of Texas Medical Branch say the $175 million Galveston National Lab and their other high security research labs are sturdy enough to withstand almost any natural disaster. They note that Ike, whose devastating winds and monstrous waves washed away much of Galveston, left the university’s biodefense research facilities completely intact. But opponents of the new lab, which will research some of the world’s most dangerous diseases, say housing it in a heavy hurricane zone is just asking for accidents. Biological agents stored at the lab, which is less than a mile from the seawall, could leak out after damaging winds or flooding, they say--or could be looted by rioters in post-disaster mayhem. “What happens if there's a hurricane that’s even stronger than what they’ve designed for?" asked Edward Hammond, a lab safety watchdog [see above]. “Lab accidents happen despite our best efforts to build systems that are immune to them. The location seems to almost dictate that, at a minimum, you’ll have a big setback in the research agenda nearly annually.” UTMB officials have worked for years to convince local residents that the new lab--and the existing ones--are safe. Their facilities are built to withstand tornadoes, which can have stronger winds than many hurricanes. And dangerous agents are stored in powerful industrial refrigerators, with chemicals that can keep them cool for at least three weeks. University spokeswoman Chris Comer said the national lab, which is not yet open for research or specimens, withstood this weekend’s storm well. At the campus’s other high security labs, there was some minor flooding in an unused basement and a couple of generators failed, she said, but nothing that endangered any of the research conducted there. Every potentially dangerous agent was in vaulted storage or refrigerators long before Ike hit. But accidents do happen--and UTMB isn't immune to them. In January [2008], university officials temporarily shut down a biohazard lab after an internal door failed twice during experiments with the avian flu. No pathogens were released, and no one fell ill. In 2005, a different door failed, the result of being mistakenly programmed to open during a power failure. In the last five years, UTMB has recorded 17 cases of potential exposure to infectious diseases, none of which resulted in infections. Only one case--where a lab worker was pricked by a needle used on a mouse being treated for anthrax poisoning--was serious enough to be reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (23) A third reporter Suzanne Gamboa of the Associated Press wrote on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 6:10 p.m. the following: Scientists on Galveston Island sealed up highly infectious germs days before Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf coast and officials say the deadly agents have stayed safely stored despite the mighty storm. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is home to two high-level biohazard labs where experiments are conducted on small amounts of such highly infectious germs as the virus that causes bird flu. But while Hurricane Ike was churning in the Gulf of Mexico, ongoing experiments on hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis gradually shut down before the storm hit. Anything left over was incinerated, said Raul Reyes, a UTMB spokesman. The labs generally have a lighter experiment workload during hurricane season, so many of the germs used in other times of the year already were sealed away and refrigerated, Reyes said. As Ike moved in, dry ice was added to the refrigerators, in the event of failure of generators backing up the emergency power systems. “Everything worked in terms of the research side the way it’s supposed to. We locked it down. We made sure there was no danger to the public, to our employees or to the community. Containment within containment within containment is working,” Reyes said. The lab kept emergency medical staff and researchers who had ice in freezers as Ike slammed Galveston. Reyes said the lab has ordered and received 44,000 pounds of dry ice from a Houston vendor on contract. The first floor of the building containing the labs, the Keiller Building, had some flooding, but the labs are about two stories above ground and were not affected, Reyes said. The lab has provided updates via its Web site on conditions. On Saturday, lab officials used the site to tamp down rumors that the Galveston National Lab, whose construction is almost complete, had been damaged. Officials said no damage to the lab could be seen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has checked in daily with officials at the Galveston lab since the hurricane struck, as is standard procedure, said Von Roebuck, CDC’s spokesman for biosecurity issues. The lab’s emergency power is working and “we've not heard of any problems or issues concerning the facility,” he said. (24) On Friday, September 19, 2008, Dr. Ben Rainer, vice president for community outreach at UTMB, wrote, “We are drying out great and moving into our recovery mode. We have been blessed by NO RAIN and cool weather (low 79s) for the past five days. Otherwise, the heat and humidity would have been unbearable. We have power generators or REAL electricity from the grid to ALL of our campus buildings at this point, so we can really start moving on clear up faster. Water (not for drinking) is on at a low pressure. There are Port-a-Toilets, hand washing stations, military-style showers for staff, a dining hall on the parking garage top by Waverley Smith, and a good attitude.” (25)
Flooding at University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston following landfall by Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008. Source: http://www.flickr.com/...; accessed September 29, 2008. On Friday, September 19, 2008, the UTMB News & Information website reported the following message titled, “Researchers: Your samples and work are secure and being maintained. We’re here to answer your research questions:” The prospect of getting back on the power grid is getting better and better. In the meantime, we have had very good success in maintaining the integrity of our research samples. To that end, this message is a reminder to continue this tremendous effort until we are fully back on the grid. Researchers: We understand the importance of your work. Research samples and work are being maintained by a dedicated team of staff onsite at UTMB. Freezers. Note to researchers on their -80 degree freezers: We want each department to identify a contact individual who can work with the research office to inventory all freezers that are not currently energized on red plugs. We need information on the status of these freezers and to know if there is any space in those freezers that are on emergency power. We will provide space in those freezers for critical samples .E1 personnel should continue to provide dry ice and nitrogen to those freezers not on emergency power. We have identified some freezer space in the Animal Research annex. Joan Nichols is working to open up 6 new -80 freezers in the GNL to accommodate more samples that are in non-emergency freezers. Ventilate. It is also important to make sure that those freezers that are in a small room be properly ventilated so they do not overheat. Prop open the doors to the room and consider turning the freezer temperature to -50 degrees if possible. Dry ice available. There is currently dry ice available in a number of buildings, including Pharmacy, MRB and Ewing Hall. To get additional liquid nitrogen or dry ice go to MRB lobby between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. You can contact Dee Zimmerman. Remember, appropriate foot ware is required (no sandals). There is a working elevator that will help you transport liquid nitrogen and dry ice to research areas. (26) On Monday, September 22, 2008, the UTMB website ran the following report, titled “Important update on research for E1s” Many Galveston residents will be allowed to return on Wednesday, and travel onto the island might be difficult. It is recommended that research E1s complete freezer checks and liquid nitrogen fills before then and turn off all equipment and controlled temperature rooms as soon as possible. Major progress continues to be made in bringing our buildings back up to power. The MRB came on the city grid today. However, we will not have air conditioning in these buildings until the City of Galveston provides sufficient water pressure to run our cooling towers. Until then, the E1s must continue to monitor their research areas and turn off all electrical equipment in the labs that are not essential (cold rooms, hot rooms, freezers and refrigerators that have already defrosted, ice machines, etc.). This equipment will generate additional heat in the buildings as they become fully electrified, putting the essential freezers under additional heat stress. Make sure you have access to the keys to unlock the control room access panels. Please lower the temperatures to -50 and prop open your room doors to provide adequate ventilation and bring additional fans down to help ventilate small rooms with freezers. (27)
“The University of Texas Medical Branch is seeking $609 million after Hurricane Ike damaged buildings and equipment.” Source: James C. McKinley, Jr., The New York Times, September 22, 2008. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/...; accessed September 29, 2008. Also on Monday, September 22, 2008, bad news about damage to UTMB began to emerge. Officials from Galveston asked Congress for about $2.2 billion in disaster relief to repair the port, “save a major research hospital from going under and rebuild the city’s infrastructure.” (26) Specifically, UTMB requested $609 million “to get the complex’s six hospitals, medical school and various research centers up and running,” noted Ben G. Raimer, M.D. Dr. Rainer also said “the university’s board bought only $100 million worth of insurance to cover the medical school, teaching hospital and various research laboratories, including the new Galveston National Laboratory, which is to investigate, among other things, pathogens used as biological weapons.” Furthermore, the “medical center is in shambles, officials said. Flooding on the first floor of the main hospital knocked out $8 million worth of equipment, and repairs to its buildings alone will cost $225 million. In research laboratories, the school lost some $17.6 million of equipment to heat and humidity, Dr Rainer said. An addition $51 million worth of equipment was damaged in the complex’s clinics.” (28) On Tuesday, September 23, 2008, Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas testified in a throaty voice before the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery of the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, to request more than $2 billion in disaster aid. (29) On Thursday, September 25, 2008, Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick and State Representative Craig Eiland first toured UTMB with Dr. David Callender, UTMB president since September 2007.
Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, center, was asked questions by news reporters on Sept. 25 as he and State Rep. Craig Eiland (left of the speaker) and State Rep. Larry Taylor (right of the speaker) toured UTMB with Dr. David Callender. Source: http://www.utmb.edu/; accessed September 29, 2008. On Saturday, September 27, 2008, at 4:55 p.m., UTMB officials stated research buildings would not be open on Monday, September 29, 2008, as follows: No UTMB research buildings will be open for business on Monday, Sept. 29, and research staff should not come to work, according to William New, associate dean of research administration. Early next week UTMB will present a plan for returning to campus research buildings. The MRB, the Basic Science Building, Building 17, and all other research buildings are not ready to be occupied, New said. "None of these buildings have hot water or fire alarms and some lack flushing toilets." This is not an environment that is safe for normal operations. UTMB will continue the E-1 “look and leave" practice of the past 10 days. Research staff is encouraged to come in to check on any freezers that have failed and to work with Safety to empty failed freezers and refrigerators. (30) On Monday, September 29, 2008, UTMB posted the following message, titled “Non E-1 employees invited to visit offices for ‘look and leave:’” Beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, non-E1 employees may come to the UTMB campus to for a "look and leave" of their office space or laboratory. We are asking that employees plan on being in the buildings for no more than one hour. Office and laboratory visits will continue from 1 to 4 p.m. daily Tuesday through Friday, Oct. 3, according to Mike Shriner, vice president for UTMB facilities. “This is an opportunity for individuals to check their offices, to retrieve personal items or needed work documents," he said. Employees should not start equipment or other electronics or plan to work in their offices or labs at this time. Every employee must have their UTMB identification badge and wear proper clothing included closed toe shoes. The following buildings will be open with a log-in sheet: Mary Moody Northen/Graves, Levin hall, UHC, School of Nursing and Allied Health, Rebecca Sealy, Keiller, Medical Research/Basic Sciences Building, the Clinical Core buildings (Children’s, Clinical Sciences, Old Childrens, John Sealy Annex, McCullough, John Sealy Tower, and Jennie Sealy). UTMB staff will be posted at one of the main entrances at each of the above buildings to accommodate entry and answer questions. Other buildings may be accessed by called the police dispatch at (409) 772-1111 or (409) 772-1511 and making an appointment. Since some buildings in this group are still not suitable for a look and leave, we ask that you call ahead for an appointment to access these sites. (31) VI. Summary Information about the status of the Robert E. Swope, M.D. BSL-4 Laboratory and the Galveston National Laboratory post-Hurricane Ike remains sketchy as of this writing. The uninterrupted electricity was an overly optimistic promise made by the Department of Health and Human Services officials who signed off on Galveston National Library. Local officials have requested $600 million to repair research facilities at the UTMB. Notes: |
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