DHS Moves Forward on Plans for Biodefense Center
Source Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News via NewsEdge Corporation
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday another important step toward stronger biodefense capabilities was made by awarding an $11 million design contract for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) facility at Fort Detrick.
The contract was made to the architecture, design, and planning firm Perkins+Will Inc. The NBACC facility, managed by Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate, will strengthen America's ability to defend against biological terrorism by delivering dedicated scientific research to better assess, anticipate, prevent, and mitigate biological threats, according to a statement from the agency.
The NBACC facility will be made up of two centers, the Biological Threat Characterization Center (BTCC) and the National Bioforensic Analysis Center (NBFAC). The BTCC is charged with defining the characteristics of biothreat agents and conducting rigorous biodefense risk assessments in order to guide national biodefense research, development, and acquisition efforts, and to provide scientific support to the intelligence community.
The NBFAC is the lead federal facility for conducting and facilitating the technical forensic analysis and interpretation of materials of concern to support the appropriate lead federal agency.
The NBACC facility will be located at the new National Interagency Biodefense Campus (NIBC) at Fort Detrick that will include laboratory facilities belonging to the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture, and the National Institutes of Health of the Department of Health and Human Services, offering many advantages for enhancing scientific collaboration and leveraging available resources, including proximity to other federal agencies and policy makers.
Construction of the NBACC facility is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2006, and the site is scheduled to be operational in 2008. Preliminary plans show a facility of approximately 160,000 square feet with a concentration of research and associated space. The NBACC will support approximately 120 staff members.
