Controversial Boston Biolab Gets Federal Approval

Federal regulators have given Boston University approval to open an infectious disease research lab that has sparked years of opposition from neighbors.

In a notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register, the National Institutes of Health said that after "careful consideration" it has concluded that BU's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories in the city's South End, which will perform research on some of the world's deadliest germs, "poses minimal risk to the community."

The decision clears the way for final state environmental review, which has been in limbo pending the federal decision.

The 192,000-square-foot lab still faces legal challenges.

A lawyer for neighbors suing to block the lab told The Boston Globe there are still "gaps in the assessment."

The lab is already studying less dangerous agents.