COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — The South Carolina Department of Public Health and the SC Department of Environmental Services are celebrating the opening of a new state laboratory — meant to strengthen South Carolina’s ability to protect public health and the environment. Out with the old — and in with the new! The 140,000 square-foot laboratory replaces the nearly 50-year-old facility next door. “When I think about all the hard work that’s gone into building it, designing it, all the details, to see it in person, not have to wear a hard hat to walk in and have it all complete, is just, it’s wonderful,” says Dr. Brannon Traxler, Acting Director for SCDPH. The new space provides much more room for training and education — as well as advanced technology, and the ability to collaborate among the two agencies. Inside, scientists will conduct newborn screening — which tests for rare and life threatening genetic, metabolic, and developmental disorders. Services will also include infectious disease testing, drinking water analysis, and radiological testing. Leaders say the facility will also give scientists an increased response to chemical or biological public health emergencies. Another perk? The new site will be attractive to local graduates and scientists across the country. “I think science is always evolving, and it’s a competitive field. We’re excited that scientists will be attracted to the state because of our new facility. The flexibility of it, the space, the new emerging things that are happening in science that they can come here and be a part of, and so it’s just an opportunity to be a recruitment tool for the state of South Carolina, because science is very competitive and we want to have the best to protect our citizens,” says Micheal Mattocks, Assistant Bureau Chief of SCDES’s Bureau of Regional and Laboratory Services. Around 71 employees with SCDES and around 120 employees with SCDPH will work inside the new facility. “This is exciting to know that we have the ability to handle everything we do now but even more in the future,” says Traxler. Total cost for the project was just over $116 million. Categories: Local News, News Tags: Dr. Brannon Traxler, laboratory, Micheal Mattocks, SC Department of Environmental Services, SC Department of Public Health ...read more read less