Pol won’t support BU biolab
By Jessica Van Sack (From Boston Herald), October 16, 2008
At-large City Councilor Michael F. Flaherty slammed the Hub’s emergency evacuation plan as “a complete joke” – and part of the reason he now refuses to support the controversial Boston University biolab he once favored.
Flaherty’s explosive remarks came during a public meeting Tuesday about the under-construction South End lab, in which scientists would study and handle the deadliest toxins. Taking on the biolab constitutes the latest of sharpened criticisms by Flaherty that may foreshadow a much-speculated potential mayoral run.
“I realize now that my earlier decision to support the lab was made without knowing all the details,” said Flaherty. “I am troubled by the report released in 2007 by the National Research Council that concluded that neither BU nor (the National Institutes of Health) exhaustively and accurately assessed the true risks of the lab.
”“I am also troubled by the city’s ability to evacuate its residents in a safe and timely manner,” Flaherty added, citing a December 2007 snowstorm that infamously paralyzed Hub streets.
Dot Joyce, spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, noted that the city’s evacuation plan was chosen by the feds as a “best practice” model in 2006. Joyce said the administration is constantly updating the plan and now is working with the state Executive Office of Public safety to better plan how Hub residents would filter out through surrounding towns.
Added Joyce, “This isn’t simply about evacuation routes; this is about bringing jobs and new industry to our city – and working out the challenges that come along with it.
”Joyce said the city holds training sessions for Community Emergency Response Teams, which would help guide neighbors in the event of an evacuation.
But Flaherty said: “What we need is an evacuation plan that actually informs residents about what they need to do in the event of an emergency.”