• More Blogs
• Observations »
• Bering in Mind »
• Cross-check »
• Extinction Countdown »
• Solar at Home »
• Expeditions »
• Guest Blog »
• Anecdotes from the Archive »

Is it a good idea to build an infectious animal disease lab in an agricultural area in Kansas that is within the nation’s Tornado Alley?

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has plans to do just that, but a report draft from the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—obtained by The Washington Post—calls the reasoning for the move not “scientifically defensible,” according to the paper.

The lab in question is the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, which studies biological threats that could sicken U.S. livestock. The current facilities—formerly run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and now also managed by the DHS—are on Plum Island (off the coast of Long Island, N.Y.) and have been in operation for more than 50 years. But, according to the DHS’s Web site, “there is physically not enough room at the Plum Island Facility” to expand research to new diseases.

That’s why the DHS has plans to build a multi-million-dollar new lab in Manhattan, Kan. There, researchers could study novel diseases “that have not been thoroughly characterized before,” the department’s Web site explains—an undertaking tagged as “Biosafety Level 4”—not allowed at level 3-rated Plum Island. 

But starting such a sensitive laboratory on the U.S. mainland in a highly agricultural area—and one that is frequently struck by damaging storms—has raised eyebrows at the GAO. After looking into the methods that went into selecting the site, investigators found them lacking.

“Drawing conclusions about relocating research with highly infectious exotic animal pathogens from questionable methodology could result in regrettable consequences,” the GAO report draft noted. Those “regrettable consequences” could include the spread of an infectious disease to U.S. animals—and even humans. The costly 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the U.K. was a result of an accident at a similar research facility, the Post reported.

Five other sites had been in the running for the facility as of a 2007 report [pdf], some of them campaigning quite hard for the dubious selection, which, the Post reported, would likely bring in some $3.5 billion to a local economy.

“This really boils down to politics at its very worst and public officials who are more concerned about erecting some gleaming new research building than thinking about what’s best for the general public,” Michael Guiffre, of a Texas A&M group that had lobbied for the facility, told the Post. 

The official GAO report is expected to be released later this week. 

Image of the existing Plum Island Animal Disease Center off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., courtesy of USDA via Wikimedia Commons

8 Comments

1. 1. hotblack 10:08 PM 7/27/09

   Awesome. The human race cannot kill itself fast enough.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

2. 2. krabcat 04:28 AM 7/28/09

   yes, tornado+ level 4 biosafty rated lab. great idea because i would LOVE to catch something such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, along with several others, when a tornado hits. at least i am far enough away so that once an outbreak happens it will either be contained or i will be warned before it gets to me. sure you can make a building resistant to tornadoes but can it really be tornado proof while still keeping all of its containment?

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

3. 3. galaxy_man 07:56 AM 7/28/09

   "Hey, you know what would be really cool? Putting an infectious diseases lab in a zone where not only is it in close proximity to a significant portion of our food supply, but it has a 70% chance of being demolished by tornadoes any year!"
   
   "Wow, that sounds awesome! Here's all the funding you need to make it happen!"
   
   "Man I can't wait for the germs to start flying!"
   
   
   Ugh.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

4. 4. SpoonmanWoS 10:39 AM 7/28/09

   I'm not sure I understand..I see a whole lot of unused space around that facility. Why can't it be expanded?

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

5. 5. AtlantaTerry in reply to SpoonmanWoS 06:06 PM 7/28/09

   Why not use one of the decommissioned underground mistle silos that populate Kansas and other Great Plains states?
   
   What about the underground facility where that was used for "Andromeda Strain"?
   
   Terry Thomas
   Atlanta, Georgia USA

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

6. 6. dubephnx 02:40 PM 7/31/09

   Not without continuous structural reinforcing of the structural building frame!!
   
   Continuous steel strapping reinforcing alleviates the fears of the building structurally failing in a tornado!
   
   Structural Strap-Nets and Extensions, from Tor-Eggs-Tor Design Solutions and Systems Developer Randy Lee Dube, are the long sought after by Structural Engineers, first affordable, safe, and effective continuous reinforcing method for rigid material building frames!!
   
   These reinforcing systems add the currently three missing structural performance elements of Flexure, Post-Tensioning, and Elasticity TO the rigid frames instead of trying vainly to include these elementswithin the frame materials.
   
   By placing flexure and elasticity NEXT to the rigid material framework of buildings and structures, interconnected continuously with the continuous assmbled rigid materials of the structure frame, the dynamic forces from wind are handled by the Structural Strap-Nets, leaving the rigid Structural Frame to handle all of the applied static forces from the tornado!!
   
   Developing a dual-tributary structure frame system, initial and durational force impacts on building frames are reduced in power and effectiveness, making the dual structure frame system twice as strong and stronger in both resistance and resilience to the applied tornadic forces on the building/structure!!
   
   Solving the continuous reinforcing installation location "puzzle", with solid steel strapping, was a long and arduous 30 year journey, but from the point of "puzzle solution", continuous reinforcing is quite easy to follow in both Design and Assembly Practice!!
   
   Reference the www Tor-Eggs-Tor Design Solutions website for more detailed data on these recently developed systems and contact information.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

7. 7. tlinget 04:23 PM 7/31/09

   Your overuse of the exclamation point is annoying and draws attention away from your statements. Plus, the proper use of the exclamation point is usually single. If more than one is used, it is used in threes!!! Use only one or three. This and the fact that you tend to make each sentence into entire paragraphs. Keep the sentences concise.
   
   I'm not debating your statements, just how you present them grammatically.
   
   Best regards.
   
   

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

8. 8. nickknight0 08:00 AM 4/2/10

   http://sangambayard-c-m.com

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this