To the editor:
On Tuesday night, the Lynn City Council is scheduled to consider a proposed ordinance that would allow for facilities that handle recombinant DNA (rDNA) within city limits.
Although presented as an opportunity for the people of Lynn, this ordinance poses serious risks and problems that cannot be ignored.
The ordinance allows for materials requiring a level-3 biosafety environment which, according to the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, includes pathogens such as West Nile virus, tuberculosis, and COVID-19.
Some will take comfort in the fact that the ordinance requires these facilities to follow National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines (except perhaps beagle owners), but the ordinance lacks effective means to ensure any compliance in the first place.
Each violation only results in a $300 fine per day. For many companies, it may be more cost effective to simply pay the fine instead of correcting the safety hazard. If a violation could result in loss of life, shouldn’t the penalty be at least in the seven-figure range?
Furthermore, “any accidental release… shall be reported to the public health director immediately, and in no case more than 24 hours after the release.”
Depending on the circumstance, 24 hours could be too late to prevent an infectious outbreak from spreading to the public. If the City Council decides to permit these pathogens in the city, wouldn’t it be more effective to require immediate ― in the literal sense ― notification of fire, police, or other emergency personnel, instead of a leisurely day and night to notify a bureaucrat?
Are our emergency services equipped to handle the types of incidents that may occur? Would it be outrageous to require a hardwired panic button to the fire department to ensure instantaneous response to a potential crisis?
Should we install air-raid sirens, such as those outside nuclear power plants, to immediately alert residents of a problem? If such extreme measures are even slightly warranted, this ordinance becomes less and less sensible.
The ordinance is also the result of an influx of federal funding for biomanufacturing, which creates doubt as to whether there is a true demand for such facilities. Will these proposed bio facilities still have the money to operate safely, or could they degenerate into hazardous industrial slums? Can we just have our tax dollars from the federal government returned without the biohazard element?
I’d encourage any interested residents to attend the meeting at City Hall on Tuesday to ask the hard questions that guarantee good policies.
Brian Hickey
Lynn
