Washington Lab Construction Project Expected To Improve Efficiency

Last month, the Washington state Department of Agriculture, along with the department of Labor & Industries, held a groundbreaking ceremony on the construction of a new state laboratory and training center in Tumwater. The project, funded through a $53.2 million capital budget appropriation, will provide a new 53,000 square foot facility with room for several labs, office space and much more.

Hector Castro with the WSDA said this will also allow the state to bring food safety and hazardous chemical testing into the 21^st century. He said the lab work is currently taking place in an old Olympia warehouse which has proven a drain on resources. He noted the old facility forces employees to spend a lot of time, money and resources just to maintain operations.

“Because we’re constantly having to make sure the equipment is calibrated properly, the [current] buildings can affect the calibration of the equipment, and there’s just a lot of work that goes into maintaining facilities that are being used for a purpose for which they weren’t designed.  So, being able to get into a building that is designed from the outset as a laboratory building will really sort of allow the teams to focus on the work and research that they’re there for.”

Derek Sandison, director of the WSDA noted while the ag and food industry will benefit from this new facility, the real winner is the general public, allowing the state to more effectively monitor potentially harmful plant diseases and invasive species. The hope is WSDA and L&I will move in to the new facility in 2023.