To cull information from officials of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), the committee organized public meetings, including contractors involved in the development of its environmental impact statement. Also included were Fort Detrick emergency personnel, the Frederick County Board of Commissioners and members of the local community.
While acknowledging the uncovered problems, the committee came to the conclusion âthat it would not be useful to propose specific revisions to the environmental impact statement given that construction of the new facilities has begun. Rather, the Army should develop new guidelines for conducting hazard assessments of biocontainment facilities.â There is, at this time, no specific guidance for such assessments.