Dangerous Decision

Dangerous Decision

The Bush Administration intends to create an Animal Infectious Disease Research facility in the heart of cattle country. This decision is contrary to all good sense. The UK certainly has good facilities, yet in the spring and summer of 2001 an accidental escape of Foot and Mouth disease resulted in a crisis in British agriculture and tourism. The epizootic saw 2,000 cases of the disease in farms in most of the British countryside. Over 10 million sheep and cattle were killed in an eventual successful attempt to halt the disease.

If immunization were used, the cattle would exhibit the disease making any meat from these animals unexportable. Immunization would be impossible in the US as much of our cattle market is in exports. An error could require killing all cattle in the United States.

The present facility, Plum Island Animal Disease Center Building 257, closed in 1995, sits fenced and boarded up on Plum Island off of the east coast of New York's Long Island. This facility could be reopened if it is necessary to research this disease. The community is also aware and prepared to deal with the restrictions required for safety.

Even being located on an island, there were many mishaps on Plum Island. A 1978 release of the virus into cattle holding pens on Plum Island, N.Y., triggered new safety procedures. While that incident was previously known, the Homeland Security Department told a House committee there were other accidents inside the government's laboratory. These were human error, something technology is unable to change. Because of it's location, these errors did not result in contamination of livestock. However, placing an Infectious Disease Facility in the heartland of cattle country is asking for disaster. It may be a year, it may be 50 years, but it will happen.

Because of the contamination of the Plum Island facility, it is necessary to maintain security of that facility even though it is not presently in use. Since the facility must be secured, it makes sense to continue any further research at Plum Island.

The research facility was under the US Agriculture Administration, it now falls under the Department of Homeland Security.

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