You are not supposed to know this, but the Environmental Protection Agency Research Center in Clifton is quietly ramping up to handle anthrax.

        Officials at the EPA say there's no reason to worry. “We have not conducted any anthrax testing and don't have any specific plans to do so,” said Tim Oppelt, director of the National Risk Management Research Lab for U.S. EPA in Cincinnati. “We would do it only on an emergency basis, if asked.”

        But an internal memo on the anthrax planning has some EPA workers worried.

        “We were contacted by an employee who was concerned about anthrax testing going on,” said a spokesman for Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati. Rep. Chabot wrote a letter to the EPA's regional administrator in Chicago.

        “As you know,” the letter says, “the ... Environmental Research Center is located in a densely populated area in close proximity to the University of Cincinnati — making the introduction of potentially dangerous biological agents a significant concern.”

"Fear factor'

        EPA officials were caught off guard when I called about possible anthrax testing. Mr. Oppelt acknowledged the “fear factor associated with anthrax,” but said EPA workers and surrounding neighbors have nothing to worry about.

        “We have performed research on pathogens that cause human disease for many years without any incidents,” he said. “We have the facility, the safety protocols and the trained staff to protect our staff and the surrounding community.”

        The Cincinnati EPA center, built in 1975, is already certified at Bio-Safety Level 3 (second highest), which can handle anthrax and “four other agents” that could be used by terrorists, the internal memo said.

        “I know what those are, but I have to plead the Fifth,” Mr. Oppelt said. “Those with ill intent could use that information.”

        He stressed that the Cincinnati EPA lab is a restricted facility, with air locks and negative atmospheric pressure to keep hazards contained. “Bio-safety cabinets,” or hoods, collect air that is then filtered and exposed to ultra-violet light to kill any dangerous agents before being released, he said.

No leaks

        Maybe the building is too airtight. The internal memo said the EPA should “develop a communications strategy with the local community” by January 2002. That was never done. UC officials and neighbors have not been notified. Mr. Oppelt said he would need permission from higher-ups and, “Communication of risk is a very difficult thing to do.”

        Dr. John Andrews, director of University Health at UC, said anthrax next door “doesn't worry me at all.”

        “There was a big backlog of testing last fall during the anthrax scares, and that caught us all pretty flat-footed,” he said.

        But he added, “Communication has been a problem for a long time at EPA.”

        The order to ramp up for bioterror came down from EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, Mr. Oppelt said.

        “We actually consider it very unlikely that we will be needed,” he said. “God help us if we are.”

        I guess that means the good news is that Cincinnati could be on the front lines in the war on bioterror. On the other hand, that's the bad news, too.

        Contact Peter Bronson at 768-8301; fax: 768-8610; e-mail: pbronson@enquirer.com. Cincinnati.Com keyword: Bronson.

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