Plant and animal research safety top priority inside the PAAR facility
In the summer of 2012, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) will welcome some of the top scientists in the world doing research on infectious diseases in plants and animals to a facility virtually unmatched in the nation.According to Mauricio Espinoza, OARDC communications and technology associate editor, "under federal guidelines, all facilities handling potentially infectious agents must adhere to strict procedures to ensure containment of these pathogens. Depending on the ease with which microorganisms can be transmitted, they are classified as BSL-1 (biosafety level 1), BSL-2, BSL-3 or BSL-4, with BSL-4 carrying the highest risk of infection."
Once complete, the Plant and Animal Agrosecurity Research (PAAR) facility on the campus of OARDC "will enable OARDC scientists to work with infectious agents classified by federal standards at the BSL-3 and BSL-3 ag safety levels," said Espinoza, adding "PAAR will be the first facility in Ohio and one of only two nationally with capacity for both plant and animal research at such safety levels."
Constructed at a cost of $22 million, the more than 27,000-square-foot highly secure bio-containment building will include two BSL-3 labs and four BSL-3 ag isolation rooms, which are needed to work with large animals such as cows and pigs.
While The Ohio State University operates several BSL-3 labs on its Columbus campus, this is the first such lab on the Wooster campus and the first BSL-3 ag lab in the Ohio State system with the capability to work with livestock.
OARDC is the research arm of The Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, and the largest university agricultural bioscience research center in the nation. It will use the secure bio-containment laboratory to enhance its already nationally and internationally recognized research programs on infectious diseases of plants and animals, "further contributing to the viability of Ohio's $90-plus billion agricultural sector, the state's largest industry," said Espinoza.
"The facility will allow Ohio to proactively develop new diagnostic tools, treatments, vaccines, and genetically resistant animals and plants to reduce economic losses from diseases and pests," Espinoza noted.
The PAAR facility is expected to significantly boost research on a number of disease organisms and pests capable of causing billions of dollars in losses to crops, trees and livestock, including emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that is projected to cause $3 billion in economic loss to Ohio communities over the next decade, soybean rust, a devastating disease that could jeopardize Ohio's $1 billion-a-year soybean industry, and avian influenza, which threatens the state's $93 million turkey industry, according to Espinoza.
Because animal-borne diseases such as avian influenza can sicken humans as well, the research conducted by OARDC scientists at the PAAR facility is also expected to contribute to advancements in public health, though no human studies will be conducted at the facility.
Espinoza noted that access to the new BSL-3 facility, which will comply with all federal regulations governing BSL-3 and BSL-3 ag labs, "will be limited and tightly controlled."
"It will be physically isolated and constantly monitored," said Espinoza, noting that "the building will be constructed to be airtight, with outgoing air filtered to trap microorganisms and prevent them from spreading into other sections of the facility or the surrounding environment."