The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and Gov. Gary R. Herbert today celebrated the opening of the new Unified State Lab (USL). The USL is a three-story, 78,000 square-foot facility that houses a variety of public health laboratories and replaces the existing lab on the University of Utah campus. The $27 million project was built on state-owned land in Taylorsville and houses the UDOH’s public health, chemistry, microbiology, radio chemistry and forensic toxicology labs.

“The work that occurs inside this laboratory is critical to ensuring Utahns’ health and well being on a daily basis,” said Gov. Herbert. “This facility is truly state-of-the-art, and it allows our public health professionals and scientists to better respond to the needs of Utah’s growing population.”

Funded by the State Legislature in 2007, the new lab includes such modern features as negative air pressure lab spaces and dedicated BSL3 (Bio-safety Level 3) facilities. These features allow for better and safer testing of potentially dangerous chemicals and organisms like anthrax, tuberculosis, and pandemic influenza. It was scientists at the Unified State Lab who detected Utah’s first cases of H1N1 influenza last year.

Other lab services provided by staff at the USL include:

• Detecting, identifying and responding to emerging disease threats – be they natural or man-made, biological, chemical or radiological
• Disease screening for newborns
• Drinking water testing
• Alcohol and drug testing for more than 200 Utah law enforcement agencies
• Certification of more than 1,500 clinical and environmental labs throughout the state
• Chemical and biological terrorism preparedness and response
• Soil, air and waste water testing
• Forensic toxicology testing for the State Medical Examiner

“Public health’s ability to rapidly and accurately detect disease in our community is paramount to our being able to stop a disease outbreak in its tracks,” said UDOH Executive Director Dr. David Sundwall. “From newborn disease screening, to air, water and soil testing, to chemical and bioterrorism preparedness, the lab is an important tool in ensuring the public’s well being.”

The new lab is unlike any other state-owned building. It incorporates an abundance of natural light and views, integrates public art as part of a 150-foot long canopy structure visible from I-215, and includes many sustainable design features.

“I’m proud to say our new lab meets the state’s High Performance Building Standards in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability,” said UDOH Laboratory Director Dr. Patrick Luedtke. “We’ve incorporated natural ventilation, a ‘green roof,’ solar power, and used ‘slit windows’ to limit the amount of afternoon heat that can enter the building, all in an effort to be good stewards of our resources.”

Future plans for the USL site include construction of two more buildings that will consolidate lab functions from the Department of Agriculture and Food, Department of Public Safety and the Office of the Medical Examiner. The site also includes plans for a “Power Park” to demonstrate renewable energy systems using wind, solar and geothermal power.

The USL was designed and constructed through a collaborative design process by VCBO Architecture, Smith Group and Big-D Construction, and is being managed in partnership with the state’s Division of Facilities Construction and Management.

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