Big science

Dozens of the laboratory's employees work in what used to be animal pens, the drain holes on the floors now covered with linoleum, the rooms still tiny and cramped. Knocking down a few walls would help, but they're full of asbestos, which would mean enormous renovation costs and lots of down-time. Hallways in the crowded three-story building are clogged with numerous pieces of equipment and thousands of water samples stacked on metal carts. In many passageways, employees cannot walk two abreast.