News Releases from the Southern Research Station

Forest Service to Break Ground on $1.3 Million "Green" Laboratory

Wood Products Insect Research Lab - Starkville, MS

Starkville, MS -- USDA Forest Service Southern Research  Station (SRS) Director Jim Reaves announced that on Monday, Sept. 27, 2010, the  Station will break ground on a new $1.3 million environmentally friendly laboratory  in Starkville, Miss. The "green" laboratory will provide scientists in the SRS  Wood Products Insect Research Unit with a "state of the science" facility to  conduct research that helps protect homes, forests and other resources from insect  pests.

"The new facility  will give Forest Service researchers a modern laboratory where they can better  serve landowners, homeowners, the regulatory community and industry by meeting  the increasing demand for testing termite and other control products," said  Reaves. "This laboratory is an investment in Starkville and the nation that  will pay dividends today and in the future."

The new 6,635-square-foot Wood  Products Insect Laboratory will house the SRS research unit that includes the  Termiticide Testing Program. The program provides data to the Environmental  Protection Agency and state regulators for registration of termiticides (pesticides  used to kill termites) in the United States. The unit also conducts research on  termites and other wood-destroying insects. Currently, research unit employees  are scattered across three separate locations including two temporary  laboratories at Mississippi State University, a key research partner. The laboratory  will serve as a permanent location for about 10 employees and allow SRS to expand  its research and increase opportunities with existing and new partners. SRS  will construct the new facility on federal property across from the Forestry  Sciences Laboratory at Mississippi State University.

The Station designed the facility  to meet standards required by the United States Green Building Council's  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. The  laboratory includes the following environmentally friendly features:

• An Energy Star-rated standing seam metal roof  over structural insulated roof panels will reduce heat gain during the summer, thus  reducing the air conditioning load for the building.
• Glass block assemblies incorporated into  exterior walls will maximize daylight in laboratory spaces, reducing the use of  general area lighting in the laboratory spaces.
• The building will include energy-efficient T5 light  fixtures that are controlled by a lighting control system to maximize the  energy efficiency. Occupancy sensors will turn off light fixtures in unoccupied  short-term use areas of the building. A master time clock will ensure that no  lighting is inadvertently left on when the building is not occupied. A daylight  sensor will work in conjunction with the master time clock to energize the  exterior building lighting only when it is needed. 
• Seven small, highly efficient HVAC split systems  will allow zoned heating and cooling of occupied spaces. When a room is not in  use, that area of the building can be isolated to lower heating and cooling  demands.
• No ozone-depleting refrigerants will be used in  building systems.
• Extensive use of local and regional materials  will reduce the amount of fossil fuel used for material transportation.
• SRS will extensively use building materials  manufactured from recycled materials.
• Low volatile organic content of building materials,  paints, caulks and adhesives will contribute to indoor air quality.
• All workspaces will have operable windows to allow  occupants access to fresh outdoor air.

The new facility will contain four  laboratories and support space. Site preparation work for the new facility is  minimal, and existing parking spaces will serve the new lab. Construction will  not disturb the existing vegetative buffer between the new facility and nearby  houses. SRS is paying for the project with general Station funds and expects to  complete construction by April 2011.

Research at the laboratory will complement  programs at Mississippi State University, and it better satisfies cooperative  ties with federal and state regulatory agencies, private industries and  associations, and the public. SRS conducts insect and termiticide research with  a variety of partners including major corporations and is recognized  internationally for its research and testing activities. 

SRS is comprised  of about 120 Forest Service scientists and several hundred support staff who  conduct natural resource research in 20 locations across 13 Southern states (Virginia  to Texas). The Station's mission is "…to create the science and technology  needed to sustain and enhance southern forest ecosystems and the benefits they  provide." Learn more about SRS at: www.srs.fs.usda.gov.

###

Editor's Note: A  colored illustration of the laboratory's exterior is available upon request.