The Department of the Army issued today a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) associated with the construction and operation of new U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) facilities and the decommissioning and demolition or re-use of the existing USAMRIID facilities at Fort Detrick, Maryland. A Public Scoping Meeting will be conducted at Governor Thomas Johnson High School, 1501 N. Market St., Frederick, at 7 p.m. on February 22. The purpose of the Public Scoping Meeting is to describe the National Environmental Policy Act process and solicit public comment on environmental issues and alternatives related to the Proposed Action.

The Proposed Action will replace the outdated and crowded existing USAMRIID facilities and provide adequate state-of-the-art biocontainment laboratory space, animal facilities, and administrative offices, as well as operational and administrative support facilities. USAMRIID's mission involves conducting research to develop medical solutions -- vaccines, drugs, therapies, and diagnostics -- to protect our armed forces and citizens from biological threats. The biocontainment laboratories and animal facilities will be designed, constructed, and operated in accordance with standards established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, consisting of facilities, equipment, and procedural guidelines designed to minimize risk of exposure to potentially hazardous biological pathogens for laboratory workers and the outside environment.

The proposed new USAMRIID facilities will be located on Fort Detrick, adjacent to the existing USAMRIID facilities and near the planned Integrated Research Facility of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, now under construction, and the planned National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center of the Department of Homeland Security.

USAMRIID, an or
'"/>

Contact: Caree Vander Linden
Caree.Vanderlinden@us.army.mil
301-619-2285
US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
8-Feb-2006

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Winner of Tyler Environmental Prize announced
2. Environmental markets theme for February meeting in Houston
3. USGS at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
4. Environmental toxicology experts to convene at Penn symposium
5. Symposium Environmental Change in Siberia -- Insights From Earth Observation and Modeling
6. Environmental toxins may cause bodys defenses to worsen lung disease
7. Global Environmental Change: Regional Challenges
8. Comparative Environmental Politics
9. Penn receives $4 million to establish a Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology
10. Environmental tobacco smoke linked to behavior problems in children and pre-teens
11. Environmental triggers may promote human genetic variation