How many people have ever heard of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center operated by the United States Department of Agriculture? This is a government research facility located on Plum Island, NY off the tip of Long Island. Some of the world's most deadly and contagious animal diseases are studied there diseases such as hoof and mouth disease, vesicular stomitis virus, African swine fever, and hog cholera. That's why the facility is located on an island. Unfortunately the facilities are outdated and do not include Biosafety Level 4 facilities. Also, no research on human disease is done at Plum Island.
So what to do with such a facility? The Department of Homeland Security has proposed building a new Biosafety Class 4 facility.....wait for it......on the mainland. The possible locations are Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Texas or North Carolina. Build a new updated facility is a good idea. The Plum Island facility is old having been built over 50 years ago. True, local Long Island residents protested upgrading the facility to BSL-4 several years ago. I wonder what the local residents of the new proposed sites are going to say.
But what galls me is that New York is going to lose a government lab that employs about 200 people, seemingly without a word of protest.
2 comments:
how can they work without cat 4 labs? is it that wonderful theory of that animal diseases can't hurt humans? if the place now is good, why not just redo it there? peronally i doubt many people in georgia, kansas, mississppi, texas or nc are keen on having it moved there, but then again maybe they don't realise what's actually being moved into their backyard.
i'm still amased that NIMR is building their new facility behind Kings Cross - PETA people are going to screw up the traffic so badly!!
Wow!
You've peaked my paranoia.
If the Department of Agriculture has the same quality of political appointees as OSHA, HUD, ARMY CORPS OF ENGENEERS, HOMELAND SECURITY, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, IMMIGRATION NATURALIZATION..........We are headed for a disaster movie.
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