WiccanLiberal
06-10-2012, 10:49 AM
(CBS News) A place that's off-limits to most of us was in the news this past week. The federal government announced it has granted a license for a new foot-and-mouth vaccine . . . a vaccine developed at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. With correspondent John Miller we get a rare inside look:
Plum Island sits at the end of New York's Long Island like a question mark. For nearly 60 years, controversies and mysteries have engulfed it.
And no wonder. The island is controlled by the Department of Homeland Security. Its labs are staffed by scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture. They come and go by special government ferries, guarded by armed officers...A vocal critic of Plum Island is Michael Carroll, who detailed his reasons in his book, "Lab 257." He says the USDA's record of running the island is "somewhere between dismal and abominable. Their record is really a record of mishaps, outbreaks, people getting infected."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57450054/plumbing-the-mysteries-of-plum-island/
I live about 70 miles away from this facility. The security there has always been in question. It is my opinion that the facility relies too much on the safety factor of being on an island and not enough on appropriate procedures. This is a BSL4 lab, people. For years there have been local rumors about Lyme and other diseases being connected with the island. I don't see enough to support the conspiracy theorists on this one but I have no doubt that accidental exposures to all sorts of pathogens are, not only possible, but have happened and will happen in the future. While the claim is that the pathogens under investigation are all agricultural and livestock disease entities, I have a high level of suspicion for that statement. Those organisms don't require the highest level of containment. The upgrade to a BSL4 is an indicator that the microorganisms they study are much deadlier. The upgrades were done, by the way, but the designation was never approved. Presumably this means Level 4 research is not being done but, with government being involved, I would not be certain of that. About ten years ago, there was a strike of the facilities engineers. Partially as a result of temporary replacement workers, there was a power failure on the island. No air filtration, no safety. That one actually made the news. I wonder how many other problems have not been made public.
Plum Island sits at the end of New York's Long Island like a question mark. For nearly 60 years, controversies and mysteries have engulfed it.
And no wonder. The island is controlled by the Department of Homeland Security. Its labs are staffed by scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture. They come and go by special government ferries, guarded by armed officers...A vocal critic of Plum Island is Michael Carroll, who detailed his reasons in his book, "Lab 257." He says the USDA's record of running the island is "somewhere between dismal and abominable. Their record is really a record of mishaps, outbreaks, people getting infected."
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57450054/plumbing-the-mysteries-of-plum-island/
I live about 70 miles away from this facility. The security there has always been in question. It is my opinion that the facility relies too much on the safety factor of being on an island and not enough on appropriate procedures. This is a BSL4 lab, people. For years there have been local rumors about Lyme and other diseases being connected with the island. I don't see enough to support the conspiracy theorists on this one but I have no doubt that accidental exposures to all sorts of pathogens are, not only possible, but have happened and will happen in the future. While the claim is that the pathogens under investigation are all agricultural and livestock disease entities, I have a high level of suspicion for that statement. Those organisms don't require the highest level of containment. The upgrade to a BSL4 is an indicator that the microorganisms they study are much deadlier. The upgrades were done, by the way, but the designation was never approved. Presumably this means Level 4 research is not being done but, with government being involved, I would not be certain of that. About ten years ago, there was a strike of the facilities engineers. Partially as a result of temporary replacement workers, there was a power failure on the island. No air filtration, no safety. That one actually made the news. I wonder how many other problems have not been made public.