University of Wyoming President Tom Buchanan pledged to Wyoming livestock producers that sooner or later, he'll get a new biosafety lab at the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory in Laramie.

Buchanan was the lunch speaker before the Wyoming Stock Growers and Wool Growers at their winter Natural Resources Conference in Casper on Wednesday at the Parkway Plaza.

The university has a biological containment lab that is "older than some of the diseases we're studying," said Buchanan. In addition, the world of federal regulations is changing fast enough that it raises the specter that current facilities will no longer be adequate, he added.

Two years ago, the university started asking for money for a new lab, but the request has yet to find support from either the governor's office or the Wyoming Legislature, he told assembled cattle and sheep producers.

"We have a commitment with you to eradicate the diseases that plague your livelihood," said Buchanan. "We're going to continue to work on funding and we'll be back again and stay at the table until we get it done."

In a separate interview, Buchanan said two studies have looked at what it would cost to have a Level III biosafety containment lab. A pre-built modular lab could cost $4-5 million, he said. A non-modular lab could cost as much as $40 million.

"We're not at a crisis point," he said, but as federal regulations governing work with infectious pathogens continue to change and tighten, the university can anticipate that current facilities won't be able to meet those standards.

In other words, the university would like to have a new lab, before the old one becomes obsolete, he said.

{M3A Biosafety Level III facility is a federal designation for a laboratory designed to be highly secure. That means making it hard to get in and harder yet for any bugs inside to get out.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a Level III facility is:

Applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research, or production facilities in which work is done with indigenous or exotic agents which may cause serious or potentially lethal disease as a result of exposure by the inhalation route.

A place where laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic and potentially lethal agents, and are supervised by competent scientists who are experienced in working with these agents.

A place where all procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within biological safety cabinets or other physical containment devices, or by personnel wearing appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment. The laboratory has special engineering and design features.