When can a single word hamper a major project? When it’s a terrifying term like “bioterrorism.”

After years struggling with the FBI’s forensics lab at Quantico, the District is trying to build a $250 million facility of its own somewhere in Washington, setting aside local dollars and petitioning the federal government for contributions. The lab would be the primary location for the Metropolitan Police Department’s evidence and DNA investigations, and would include a laboratory for identifying biological agents used in a terrorist attack.