Panel Seeks Public Views On Md. Biodefense Labs

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- A committee of the Frederick City and County governments is asking local residents for their views on biological defense laboratories at Fort Detrick.

The Containment Laboratory Community Advisory Committee is holding a public forum Tuesday evening at Frederick City Hall.

Panel members were appointed in November to help foster communication about the planned expansion of military and civilian biodefense laboratory space at the Army installation in Frederick.

The committee will make recommendations to federal and military officials on ways to safeguard public safety and public health.

The projects include an upgraded version of the military's flagship infectious-disease lab. Other labs run by the federal departments of homeland security, agriculture, and health and human services will create an interagency biodefense campus at Fort Detrick.

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