SEQUIM — A Sequim laboratory is set to benefit from the federal government’s war on terrorism through a $4.2 million contract expected to pass through Congress in a matter of days.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Marine Research Operations facility, operating under the business name of Battelle, is on tap to partner with the federal Department of Homeland Security in a project to develop sensors for detecting weapons of mass destruction which may appear in coastal waters.
The contract is part of a defense spending bill scheduled for final approval this week, according to the office of Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton.
Battelle’s 125-acre complex on Sequim Bay provides marine research services for a number of federal agencies, the largest three of which are the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, said Dick Ecker, the marine sciences division director.
“We’ve worked on this project for a long, long time,” Ecker said Wednesday.