#9
BBC
14 March 2002
Russian germ centre faces power shutdown
By Stephen Dalziel
BBC Russian Affairs Analyst

A leading Russian scientific institute which researches dangerous bacteria and viruses is being threatened with a complete power shutdown.

Its electricity supplier says that the research centre owes it more than $1.25m in unpaid bills.

But scientists say that if the power is switched off, the institute will become contaminated - and making it safe again would be a lengthy process.

The Centre for Applied Microbiology carries out research into extremely dangerous bacteria and viruses, such as plague and anthrax.

In anticipation of the power shutdown, the animals used in the experiments have already been destroyed.

Armed guards

Scientists who work at the institute, in Serpukhov, 90 kilometres (56 miles) south of Moscow, say that they have sealed the laboratories.

But they add that if the electricity is switched off, security systems will not function and they will have to post armed guards around the perimeter to prevent break-ins.

If the institute is without power for 24 hours, it will become contaminated.

And the shutdown would also affect several villages in the area.

Harsh fact

Some 7,000 people would be left without electricity, water and telephone lines.

Power shutdowns have become a harsh fact of life for many Russians.

And, as the armed forces have found in various parts of the country, the importance of an institution for Russia's security is no protection if the bills have not been paid.

The Centre for Applied Microbiology receives a budget of 18 million roubles ($579,000) a year from the state.

But this covers only the wages of the research scientists.

The energy company, Mosenergo, is demanding more than twice that just to meet the institute's debts.

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