BIOLAB WATCH

“… LAB ACCIDENTS AREN’T RARE…[P]OWERFUL PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS OFTEN WORK HARD TO KEEP THE INFORMATION SECRET”

Alison Young, Pandora’s Gamble: Lab Leaks, Pandemics, and a World at Risk (2023)

WHAT IS BIOLAB WATCH?

Biolab Watch, begun in 2023, is an informal network of concerned citizens and civil society groups that rose in response to the enormous boom of biolab development in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially, Berkeley, California. It is dedicated to increasing transparency, oversight, civic participation, and community involvement in the siting and operation of biolabs. Recognizing that biotechnological safety and bioethical responsibility are concerns with international ramifications, Biolab Watch seeks to share information and initiatives with concerned parties locally, nationally, and internationally.

For inquiries contact: biolabwatch@humanebiotech.org

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See, UC Berkeley’s Public Notice RE its plans for more biolab building.

See, Questions Relevant to the Siting of Biolabs

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PUBIC INTEREST GROUPS ENDORSING BIOLAB WATCH

Friends of the Earth https://foe.org

San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility https://www.sfbaypsr.org

Our Bodies Ourselves, https://ourbodiesourselves.org

International Center for Technology Assessment https://www.icta.org

Center for Genetics and Society https://www.geneticsandsociety.org

Alliance for Humane Biotechnology http://www.humanebiotech.org

Biosafety Now! https://biosafetynow.org

Center for Food Safety, https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org

Independent Science News, https://www.independentsciencenews.org

Bioscience Resource Project, https://bioscienceresource.org

Global Justice Ecology Project, https://globaljusticeecology.org

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, https://www.iatp.org

Millennium Institute https://www.millennium-institute.org/about-us

Stop Designer Babies, https://stopdesignerbabies.org

Centro Ecológico / Brazil, https://m.centroecologico.org.br

La Red Por Una América Latina Libre de Transgénicos, http://www.rallt.org

GE Free NZ, https://www.gefree.org.nz

GeneEthics, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064784013939

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BioLab Boom in Berkeley, California, USA: What We Need to Know

Major biolab developments are in various stages of consideration, planning, or construction in the City of Berkeley, home to the University of California, Berkeley. This includes:

• A massive 8.67 acre “campus” meant to house laboratories and offices, called Berkeley Commons. This is under construction alongside Aquatic Park, just east of Route 80, in West Berkeley.

• A half mile south of that, a $33 million expansion by Bayer (which recently acquired Monsanto) is planned. In December 2021, the Berkeley City Council approved a 30-year agreement with Bayer that streamlines approvals for new buildings.

• At the 700 block of Grayson Street a 72-foot-tall structure with a seven-story garage was reviewed by the City of Berkeley in 2022.

- Fifth Street renovations: underway since at least 2022, the project covers over 3 acres for a $240.7 million plan for a life sciences campus.

• In northwest Berkeley, developers have made a rezoning request for a proposed new 10 acre life sciences development, Gilman Forge Project. Buildings would stand as high as 105 feet. Three seven-story parking garages will have room for nearly 1,900 cars.

City of Berkeley approvals for these projects are either being considered or were granted without adequate public notice, civic participation, media coverage, or consideration by city officials of potentially significant risks to surrounding communities. This lack of transparency and community involvement, particularly in the face of public concerns, is unacceptable. New revenue-generating facilities in Berkeley are needed, but not at the expense of public health and safety.

- Bakar Labs is is a bioengineering incubator sponsored by the University of California. It opened its doors in 2022 after completing the retrofitting of the former University Art Museum building. With capacity to rent to over 50 companies, “open labs are located at each of the five tiers of the building and range from 454 to 1,112 square feet, with every other tier containing private labs that range from 144 to 329 square feet”. Berkeley city officials have demonstrated no concern over what public health and safety training or protocols apply to these “early stage,” “start up” companies.

- UC Berkeley is planning to knock down four building in the downtown area in order to build two large laboratory buildings over almost two acres. This includes demolishing two city landmarks. UCB does not need city approval for this plan because the university owns the properties.

SAFETY CONCERNS

Biolabs can be dangerous to workers, nearby communities, and beyond. City officials and developers have not been clear about what kinds of labs will be sited or what kinds of research and manufacturing activities will be conducted at the new Berkeley facilities. Yet they are all located in densely populated areas where flooding, sea level rise, and earthquakes are real and perennial threats.

Biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) labs conduct research on microbes that can cause serious or potentially lethal illness through respiratory transmission. (BSL-4 labs are even more hazardous; there are none in California.) There have been numerous reported mishaps at BSL-2 labs, some resulting in serious harms or grave risks. Regulations concerning lab mishaps are guidelines that rely on self-reporting and do not carry the force of law. The city of San Carlos recently banned BSL-3 labs due to the risk of accidents and leaks. Even BSL-2 labs require oversight. In Wuhan China, for example, bat coronavirus research suspected of being related to the Covid pandemic was conducted at BSL-2 and BSL-3 labs. Berkeley would do well to establish public oversight over biotech labs.

For more information, see:

AHB: Biotech Safety

Biosafety Now, which advocates for strengthening oversight of research on pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms).

Click here for a list of notable lab accidents and mishaps

Click here for an interactive map of biosecurity incidents

Read, Pandora’s Gamble: Lab Leaks, Pandemics, and A World at Risk

Visit interactive information site: Biolabs in Your Backyard

Watch video: Biolabs in Your Backyard

ETHICAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE CONCERNS

While much biotech research works crucially to find cures and improve human and environmental health and welfare, some of it threatens a future of social justice and equity. Some scientists and biotech companies, for example, are working on techniques that would enable modification of the DNA of human embryos or gametes (human eggs and sperm) to manipulate the genes and traits of future generations. Using genetic engineering in this way is prohibited in 70 countries. Research aimed at creating GM babies (“designer babies”), that will result in eugenic application, should not be permitted in Berkeley.

QUESTIONS

• What research or manufacturing will be conducted in these biotech facilities?

• Why has there been so little public involvement in this process?

• Have these developments already contracted with tenants? If so, who are they? What sort of research will they be conducting, involving what microorganisms?

• What agreements have been made with the City of Berkeley with regard to zoning, taxation, oversight of laboratory activities, etc?

• What safety and emergency preparedness plans have been put in place? What has been done to inform the neighboring communities of these plans and the potential risks?

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Contact the Berkeley City Council with your concerns: council@berkeleyca.gov

Contact individual members: https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-roster\

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This September 19, 2023 letter to Berkeley’s Mayor and City Council was signed by 73 local, regional, national, and international signatories and endorsed by 18 public interest groups: (See Archives, below, for complete list of signatories.)

September 19, 2023

Dear Mayor Arreguin and Berkeley City Council:

We the undersigned are deeply concerned that Berkeley’s civic leaders are not taking necessary precautions in siting biolabs in Berkeley. Biolabs are facilities that can house research on pre-existing as well as novel pathogens and research on genetically engineered plants and animals, even potentially humans. This kind of research is increasingly raising concerns for Bay Area residents, particularly for public health and the environmental risks of potential lab leaks. Biolab facilities should only be sited after thorough civic oversight, including ample public notice to allow meaningful participation and due diligence in addressing both biosafety and ethical considerations.

The City Council approved the expansion of the Bayer Laboratory site, and the construction of a massive facility, Berkeley Commons, on one of Berkeley’s treasured natural areas, the Aquatic Park. These approvals were done without adequate public notice or civic participation. Additional biolab facilities already under development in the city or under consideration are also moving forward without transparency or meaningful public input.

We are especially concerned that these facilities are being established or expanded in densely populated areas and, importantly, where flooding, sea level rise, and earthquakes are real and perennial threats.

Therefore, the undersigned urge the City Council to curtail further biolab development including the northwest Berkeley Gilman St. and 700 Grayson St. proposals.

END. PRESS RELEASE

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IN THE NEWS:

Bayer says 2 a.m. horn blasts were boiler alarms, no threat to neighbors, December 9, 2024

U.S. Chemical Safety Board Releases Investigation Update into September 2024 Massive Fire and Toxic Plume at Bio-Lab Facility in Georgia

What we know after 43 monkeys escaped a South Carolina research facility, November 14, 2024

Biolab Risk and Development: Who’s Accountable?, August 15, 2024

Hey, City Council: Do You Know What’s Happening in Berkeley Biolabs? October 9, 2023

Dangerous lab leaks happen far more often than the public is aware By Alison Young (May 30, 2023)

Chemical safety board releases report on Bio-Lab accident, April 26, 2023

How California can improve safety and transparency of privately run bio labs, CalMatters,(September 13, 2023)

The Danger of “Invisible” Biolabs Across the U.S. Time, (August 31, 2023)

Genentech in South San Francisco fined for hazardous waste violations, (August 8, 2023)