Madison-Based Research Lab Awarded Federal Grant
Money Will Expand Research At Lab
Updated: 11:37 am CDT August 16, 2007
MADISON, Wis. -- Solving the issue of mold in homes and other buildings is one reason a large federal grant has been awarded to a national research lab based in Madison.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportNearly $50 million in federal money is slated for the nation's leading wood research institute -- the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory near the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.The money will be used to help expand lab research into mold and other issues related to wood, including turning forest waste into fuel.Experiments at the lab might not be well-known to the public, but scientists said the research can be exciting.Scientists on Wednesday tested the durability of wooden walls by loading a 12-foot wooden beam into a cannon and firing it at more than 100 mph.Staff and scientists said that they will soon be very busy as their field of research expands.Politicians and lab officials said that industry and consumers will see benefits from the research."(They will see) benefits like safer homes, safer water quality, sustainable development and new fuel resources. Those are really important things," said Sen. Herb Kohl, a Democrat from Wisconsin and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.Kohl helped secure $15 million in federal funds but the lab's director said another $15 million has been put into both House and Senate bills and appears to be on solid ground. Another $15 million is also expected, some of which would be used for new lab equipment.The money will build a second freestanding facility and four new labs, WISC-TV reported.Forest Service personnel and others used golden shovels Wednesday morning to symbolically break ground. Although the new facility carries a large price tag, officials said the money will be well spent.The new labs will do everything from test the tiniest wood fibers to the biggest wooden structures for strength to create better and cheaper materials to research how to build more water-resistant buildings, WISC-TV reported.Lab officials said it was the moisture and mold that closed Madison's Chavez School soon after it opened in 2001 that got the lab off the ground."It was a catalytic event for me personally, to realize that we had this kind of challenge in some of our public buildings. And looking into it more, we found out its a very common problem," said Chris Risbrudt, lab director.The problems started at Chavez School on Madison's far West Side when some teachers and others complained of health issues related to growing mold there.A costly partial rebuild of the school ensued, along with a big legal battle with the general contractor Westra Construction.Lab researchers said they hope to figure out who is to blame in such issues -- the products or the builders. Those findings could figure heavily into what are now very costly lawsuits.The new forest products labs are slated to be dedicated in April 2010.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportNearly $50 million in federal money is slated for the nation's leading wood research institute -- the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory near the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.The money will be used to help expand lab research into mold and other issues related to wood, including turning forest waste into fuel.Experiments at the lab might not be well-known to the public, but scientists said the research can be exciting.Scientists on Wednesday tested the durability of wooden walls by loading a 12-foot wooden beam into a cannon and firing it at more than 100 mph.Staff and scientists said that they will soon be very busy as their field of research expands.Politicians and lab officials said that industry and consumers will see benefits from the research."(They will see) benefits like safer homes, safer water quality, sustainable development and new fuel resources. Those are really important things," said Sen. Herb Kohl, a Democrat from Wisconsin and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.Kohl helped secure $15 million in federal funds but the lab's director said another $15 million has been put into both House and Senate bills and appears to be on solid ground. Another $15 million is also expected, some of which would be used for new lab equipment.The money will build a second freestanding facility and four new labs, WISC-TV reported.Forest Service personnel and others used golden shovels Wednesday morning to symbolically break ground. Although the new facility carries a large price tag, officials said the money will be well spent.The new labs will do everything from test the tiniest wood fibers to the biggest wooden structures for strength to create better and cheaper materials to research how to build more water-resistant buildings, WISC-TV reported.Lab officials said it was the moisture and mold that closed Madison's Chavez School soon after it opened in 2001 that got the lab off the ground."It was a catalytic event for me personally, to realize that we had this kind of challenge in some of our public buildings. And looking into it more, we found out its a very common problem," said Chris Risbrudt, lab director.The problems started at Chavez School on Madison's far West Side when some teachers and others complained of health issues related to growing mold there.A costly partial rebuild of the school ensued, along with a big legal battle with the general contractor Westra Construction.Lab researchers said they hope to figure out who is to blame in such issues -- the products or the builders. Those findings could figure heavily into what are now very costly lawsuits.The new forest products labs are slated to be dedicated in April 2010. Copyright 2007 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
