27 



constructing new ones--to improve researchers' productivity or enable them to con- 

 duct state-of-the-art R&D. 



In a June 1990 report, the National Research Council's Building Research Board 

 found that underfunding is a widespread and persistent problem that undermines the 

 maintenance and repair of public buildings.' In concluding that procedures and allo- 

 cations of resources must be changed to recognize the full costs of the ownership of 

 these assets, the Board stated that an appropriate budget allocation for routine main- 

 tenance and repair lor a substantial inventory of facilities will typically be in the range 

 of 2 to 4 percent of the aggregate current replacement value of those facilities. 



AGING FEDERAL LABORATORIES NEED REPAIRS AND UPGRADES 



Federal laboratory facilities grew rapidly between 1943 and 1972 as agencies ex- 

 panded their R6cD missions. By the early 1990s, these facilities had aged-31 percent 

 of the eight federal agencies' laboratory space was more than 40 years old, and 54 per- 

 cent of the space was more than 30 years old. Only 24 percent of the eight agencies' 

 laboratory space was less than 20 years old. 



Mr. Vice Chairman, we have brought a series of pictures of the facilities' condi- 

 tions at five federal laboratories we visited. As you can see from the photographs, fed- 

 eral laboratories are experiencing many common problems associated with aging 

 facilities --leaking roofs and gutters, drafty window frames, and inefficient ventilating 

 systems that do not bring sufficient fresh air into laboratories. In particular, DOE, 

 EPA, and NASA have cited deteriorating laboratory facilities as a material manage- 

 ment weakness in their Financial Integrity Act reports. For example, NASA's 1989-91 

 reports cited inadequate maintenance funding for its laboratories and other facilities 

 as a material weakness. In response to a growing list of needed repairs and renova- 

 tions, NASA's Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Space Technology initiated 

 a 5-year program to augment maintenance and instrumentation funding at three labo- 

 ratories with $15 million of R&D funds in fiscal year 1991. This amount rose to $30 

 million in fiscal year 1993. 



In addition, some federal laboratories are using government facilities not designed 

 for R&D. For example. Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- 

 tion (NOAA) is using Fort Crockett, an Army post built in the early 1900s in 

 Galveston, Texas, as a sea turde and shrimp research laboratory. A NOAA facilities 

 manager told us that about $4 million is needed to repair and renovate this laboratory 

 because the buildings (1) have deteriorated in their advanced age and (2) were de- 

 signed as barracks for soldiers rather than as laboratories for scientists. 



In addition, many older federal laboratories are obsolete- they were not designed 

 to meet today's health and safety standards and advanced R&D needs. Many labora- 

 tory buildings do not have sprinkler and alarm systems and adequate fire walls be- 

 cause they were designed to prior, less stringent requirements. Similarly, computers 

 and other electronic equipment have increased the demand for electrical power and 

 air conditioning, while sensitive scientific instruments that make precise measurements 

 have increased the importance of temperature, humidity, air cleanliness, and vibration 

 controls. Furthermore, potential hazards associated with chemistry and biotechnology 

 R&D have increased air ventilation requirements. 



LABORATORY FACILITIES HAVE LIMITED PRODUCTIVITY AND SCIENTIFIC 

 CAPABILITIES 



The agency and laboratory officials we interviewed stated that their laboratories 

 generally have avoided a prolonged shutdown of R&D projects by successfully engi- 

 neering around emergencies. However, they noted that aging laboratory facilities have 

 reduced scientific productivity, citing various instances in which a facility's problems 

 disrupted R&D programs or reduced confidence in the reproducibility of experimental 

 results. These problems have caused researchers to repeat experiments in many in- 

 stances. Typical pro blems reported included ( 1 ) ventilating systems that do not meet 



' Building Research Board, Committing to the Costs of Ownership: Maintenance and Repair of 

 Public Buildings (June 1990). 



