A medical research lab is planned for the heart of London. Is it safe to house a facility dealing with deadly diseases in a large urban population? Natasha Gilbert reports

A £500m medical research laboratory in the heart of London could carry out work on the world's most deadly diseases, Guardian Education has learned. Backed by the prime minister, the lab, to be built yards from the St Pancras Eurostar terminal and the British Library, will replace the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Mill Hill, which includes one of the UK's 10 category 4 labs. These have the highest security level and work on highly contagious and incurable diseases such as Ebola and Lassa fever. The government also has around 350 category 3 labs where work on Sars and HIV takes place.
The potential threat of terrorism - as well as the ongoing investigation into the biosafety breaches at the Pirbright laboratory in Surrey, which caused last year's outbreak of foot and mouth disease - mean a decision to build a category 4 lab in the King's Cross area by 2013 could cause a political storm as London gears up to host the Olympics.

While most experts agree that security and safety at high-risk labs in the UK is very good, there is debate about whether they should be sited in major conurbations. Siting a secure lab in a remote field makes any outbreak easier to contain, but could limit its usefulness to scientists and hospitals.

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Tough standards

Most labs are subject to at least yearly safety inspections by their regulatory body and must meet tough security standards set out in the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001. "People don't need to be alarmed; these labs can be run safely," says Professor George Griffin, chairman of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) advisory committee on dangerous pathogens.

Griffin, who is leading a study for the Health Protection Agency to chart the UK's category 4 labs, said putting a high-security lab in any conurbation should be avoided, but added: "It should be viewed in the context of a risk assessment. There may be compelling reasons for locating a laboratory at a particular site; for example, a hospital may need facilities for diagnosing haemorrhagic fever.

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