RESIDENTS TO WEIGH IN ON NEEDLE PROGRAM

The public soon will have the chance to comment on how
needle-exchange programs should be operated in Allegheny County, the
county Board of Health decided at a meeting Wednesday.

After hearing a report by Renee Cox, executive director of Prevention
Point Pittsburgh -- which runs a needle exchange program out of
Health Department offices in Oakland -- the board said it would
consider public comment on a draft of rules for operating such a
program and vote on official rules in July.

The health department will begin a 30-day public comment period "in
the near future," spokesman Guillermo Cole said.

County Councilman Vince Gastgeb has worked to shut down Prevention
Point Pittsburgh until the council adopts an ordinance approving the
program. The program originally was approved by the Board of Health
in 2002 to address a public health emergency regarding the spread of
HIV and hepatitis C through used needles.

At yesterday's meeting, the Board of Health also learned the state is
offering money toward the construction of a health laboratory capable
of testing for bioterrorism agents.

The board, however, must specify how much it would need, and use the
money by Aug. 31.

That might not be possible because construction of the laboratory,
valued at $4 million in 2002, has not started, Cole said. Efforts to
begin construction have stalled because the county also wants to
include space for its facilities in the lab, but has not agreed on a location.

The Health Department will continue talking with the county about
choosing a site for the laboratory and beginning construction before
the state's offer expires, Cole said.

The Board of Health also approved $52,600 from the Health
Department's Clean Air Fund to replace old air pollution monitors and
to buy 'do not idle' signs for local schools.