Plum Island Animal Disease Center: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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~~{{for|Plum Island|Plum Island (New York)}}~~{{Infobox laboratory|name=Plum Island Animal Disease Center|image=Plum Island Animal Disease Center.jpg|operating_agency=[[United States Department of Homeland Security]]|research_field=[[Foreign animal disease]]s<br>[[biological warfare]] (until 1969)|website=[https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/plum-island-animal-disease-center DHS site]|city=[[Plum Island (New York)|Plum Island]]|established=1954|budget=$16.5 million|affiliations=|location_map=USA New York Long Island|caption=Buildings 100 and 101 on Plum Island|country=U.S.|state=[[New York (state)|New York]]|zipcode=11957|logo_caption=DHS logo|logo_size=100|logo=Seal of the United States Department of Homeland Security.svg|coordinates={{coord|41.178889|-72.205556|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=inline,title|format=dms}}|director=Dr. Larry Barrett}}

'''Plum Island Animal Disease Center''' ('''PIADC''') is a United States federal research facility dedicated to the study of [[~~Foreign~~foreign animal disease~~|foreign animal diseases~~]]s of [[livestock]]. It is part of the [[DHS Directorate for Science and Technology|Department of Homeland Security Directorate for Science and Technology]], and operates as a partnership with the [[United States Department of Agriculture|U.S. Department of Agriculture]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=PIADC Fact Sheet|url=https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/piadc_fact_sheet.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=[[Department of Homeland Security]]}}</ref> The facility's director is Dr. Larry Barrett.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-05-07|title=Inside the mysterious Plum Island Animal Disease Center|url=https://www.nbc4i.com/news/u-s-world/inside-the-mysterious-plum-island-animal-disease-center/|access-date=2021-02-09|website=NBC4 WCMH-TV|language=en-US}}</ref>

Since 1954, the center has been tasked with protecting America's [[livestock]] from animal diseases. During the [[Cold War]], a secret [[biological weapons]] program targeting livestock was conducted at the site, which ended in 1969 when President Nixon [[Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs|declared an end]] to the [[United States biological weapons program|United States' offensive bioweapons program]]. Today the facility maintains laboratories up to [[Biosafety level#Biosafety level 3|biosafety level 3]], but has remained controversial as a result of its high risk work and proximity to the [[New York metropolitan area]].

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==Location==

The center is located on [[Plum Island (New York)|Plum Island]] near the northeast coast of [[Long Island]] in [[New York (state)|New York]] state. During the [[Spanish–American War]], the island was purchased by the government for the construction of [[Fort Terry]], which was later deactivated after [[World War II]] and then reactivated in 1952 for the [[Chemical Corps (United States Army)|Army Chemical Corps]]. The center comprises 70 buildings (many of them dilapidated) on {{Convert|840|acres|km2}}.<ref name="wallstjournal">{{cite news |title= Bioterrorism Fears Revive Waning Interest In Agricultural Disease Lab on Plum Island |work=The Wall Street Journal|date=2002-01-08|url=http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/bioter/bioterrorismplumisland.html|access-date=2008-05-17}}</ref><ref name="nytimes1999">{{cite news |title=Long Island Lab May Do Studies Of Bioterrorism |work=The New York Times |date=1999-09-22 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02EED7163FF931A1575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=~~&pagewanted=2~~|access-date=2008-05-18|first=Judith |last=Miller}}</ref> Plum Island has its own [[fire department]], [[power plant]], [[water treatment]] plant and security.<ref name="wallstjournal" /><ref name="nytimes1999" /> Any wild mammal seen on the island is killed to prevent the possible transmission of foot and mouth disease.<ref name="wallstjournal" /> However, as Plum Island was named an [[important bird area]] by the New York [[Audubon Society]], it has attracted different birds. Plum Island has placed [[osprey]] nests and [[bluebird]] boxes throughout the island. {{as of|2008}}, new [[kestrel]] houses were planned to be added.<ref name="dhssite">{{cite news |title=About Plum Island Animal Disease Center |publisher=Department of Homeland Security |date=2008-12-28 |url=https://www.dhs.gov/xres/labs/editorial_0902.shtm |access-date=2008-08-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801090352/http://www.dhs.gov/xres/labs/editorial_0902.shtm |archive-date=2008-08-01 }}</ref>

==History==

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In 2003, a [[whistleblower]] who voiced concerns about safety at the facility was fired by the contractor he worked for. He had discussed his concerns with aides to Senator [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref name="nytimes2004outbreak">{{cite news

| title = Plum Island Reports Disease Outbreak

| newspaper = The New York Times

| date = 2004-08-22

| url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E1D6113FF931A1575BC0A9629C8B63

| access-date = 2008-05-17

| first=John

| last=Rather}}</ref> A [[National Labor Relations Board]] judge found that the contractor, North Fork Services, had discriminated against the whistleblower.<ref name="nytimes2004outbreak"/>

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On September 11, 2005, DHS announced that the Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center will be replaced by a new federal facility. The location of the new high-security animal disease lab, called the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), is being built in [[Manhattan, Kansas]].<ref>{{cite web|title=DHS: DHS Issues Record of Decision on Proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility|url=https://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1232132671186.shtm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706233031/http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1232132671186.shtm|archive-date=2011-07-06|access-date=2011-08-10|publisher=Dhs.gov}}</ref>

The plan was controversial almost immediately when it was unveiled, following a cost assessment by DHS and prime contractor [[Booz Allen Hamilton]] in which the agency determined that the cost of maintaining or moving the facility would be comparable.

Those conclusions, as well as claims about the safety of the facility proposed were called into question several times, first by a 2009 [[Government Accountability Office]] study, which stated that claims by DHS that the work on [[foot and mouth disease]] performed on Plum Island can be performed "as safely on the mainland" is "not supported" by evidence.<ref>{{cite web|date=2009-07-31|title=Study spurs request to not phase out Plum Island|url=http://www.newsday.com/long-island/study-spurs-request-to-not-phase-out-plum-island-1.1341825|access-date=2011-08-10|publisher=Newsday.com}}</ref>

In 2012, DHS completed a risk assessment of the Kansas site that called the proposed facility "safe and secure".<ref>{{cite web|title=DHS Issues Updated Site-Specific Risk Assessment For Proposed National Bio And Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF)|url=https://www.dhs.gov/news/2012/03/02/dhs-issues-updated-site-specific-risk-assessment-proposed-national-bio-and-agro|work=dhs.gov|date=2 March 2012}}</ref> In response, a 2012 review of the risk assessment by the [[National Research Council (United States)|National Research Council]] called it "seriously flawed".<ref>{{cite web|title=Officials press feds for NBAF|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/jun/15/officials-press-feds-nbaf/|work=LJWorld.com}}</ref>

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===Biological weapons research===

The original anti-animal biological weapons mission was "to establish and pursue a program of [[research and development]] of certain anti-animal (BW) agents".<ref name="wheelis">Wheelis, Mark, et al. ''Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945'', ([https://books.google.com/books?id=Usskez9NfEYC&pg=PA225~~&dq=Fort+Terry+biological+weapons~~ Google Books]), Harvard University Press, 2006 pp. 225–228, ({{ISBN|0674016998}}).</ref> By August 1954 animals occupied holding areas at Plum Island and research was ongoing within Building 257.<ref name="carroll" /> The USDA facility, known as the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, continued work on biological warfare research until the [[Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs|U.S. program was ended]] by [[Richard Nixon]] in 1969.<ref name="cella" /> The bio-weapons research at [[Building 257]] and Fort Terry was shrouded in aura of mystery and secrecy.<ref name="cnn">

Dunn, Adam. "[http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/04/02/lab.257/index.html The mysterious lab off New York's shore]", ''[[CNN.com]]'', April 2, 2004, accessed January 10, 2009.

</ref><ref name="lambert">Lambert, Bruce. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/17/nyregion/closely-guarded-secrets-some-islands-you-can-t-get-to-visit.html~~?pagewanted=3~~ Closely Guarded Secrets: Some Islands You Can't Get to Visit]", ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 17, 1998, accessed January 10, 2009.</ref> The existence of biological warfare experiments on Plum Island during the [[Cold War]] era was denied for decades by the U.S. government. In 1993 ''[[Newsday]]'' unearthed documents proving otherwise and in 1994, Russian scientists inspected the Plum Island research facility to verify that these experiments had indeed ended.<ref name="lambert" />

==Diseases studied and outbreaks==

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==Historic buildings==

===Building 257===

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===Building 101===

The structure is a {{Convert|164000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} T-shaped white building.<ref name=carroll/> It is situated on Plum Island's northwest plateau on a {{convert|10|acre|m2|adj=on}} site where it is buttressed by a steep cliff which leads into the ocean.<ref name=carroll/> To the south-west of the building's site is the old [[Plum Island Light]]house.<ref name=carroll>Carroll, Michael C. ''Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory'', ([https://books.google.com/books?id=aLyWOYcC3zAC&pg=PA48~~&dq=%22Fort+Terry%22+biological+weapons&client=firefox-a~~#PPA46,M1 Google Books]), HarperCollins, 2004, pp. 45–48, 60, ({{ISBN|0060011416}}).</ref>

Construction on Plum Island's new laboratory Building 101 began around July 1, 1954, around the same time that the Army's anti-animal [[biological warfare|bio-warfare]] (BW) facilities at [[Fort Terry]] were transferred to the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]].<ref name=newsletter/> Following the transfer, the facilities on Plum Island became known as the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.<ref name=newsletter/> The USDA's $7.7. million<ref name=carroll/> Building 101 laboratory facility was dedicated on September 26, 1956.<ref name=newsletter/> Prior to the building's opening the area around it was sprayed with chemicals to deter insect or animal life from approaching the facility.<ref name=carroll/> Upon its opening a variety of tests using [[pathogen]]s and [[Vector (epidemiology)|vectors]] were conducted on animals in the building.<ref name=carroll/> Research on biological weapons at PIADC did not cease until [[Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs|the entire program was canceled]] in 1969 by [[Richard Nixon]].<ref name=cella>Cella, Alexandra. "[http://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/bitstream/1951/43871/1/LIHJ2004.pdf An Overview of Plum Island: History, Research and Effects on Long Island]", ''Long Island Historical Journal'', Fall 2003/Spring 2004, Vol. 16, Nos. 1 and 2, pp. 176–181 (194–199 in PDF), accessed January 10, 2009.</ref>

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==Controversy==

=== Conspiracy theories ===

Prolific but unfounded [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] have alleged that [[Lyme disease]], first documented in nearby [[Lyme, Connecticut]], was a biological weapon which originated in the Plum Island laboratory.<ref name="Telford-wapo">{{cite news|last1=Telford|first1=Sam|date=11 August 2019|title=No, Lyme disease is not an escaped military bioweapon, despite what conspiracy theorists say|language=en|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/no-lyme-diease-is-not-an-escaped-military-bioweapon-despite-what-conspiracy-theorists-say/2019/08/09/5bbd85fa-afe4-11e9-8e77-03b30bc29f64_story.html|access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref> A discredited 2004 book entitled ''Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory'' fueled the conspiracy theories.<ref name="cnn" /><ref name="kirby">Kirby, Reid. "[http://www.wood.army.mil/chmdsd/pdfs/Jan-June%202005/BookReviews.pdf Book Reviews] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309171459/http://www.wood.army.mil/chmdsd/pdfs/Jan-June%202005/BookReviews.pdf#|date=2009-03-09}}", ''Army Chemical Review'', January–June 2005, accessed January 10, 2009.</ref> Archived specimens show that Lyme disease was endemic well before the establishment of Plum Island laboratory.<ref name="Telford-wapo" /> Additionally, Lyme disease was never a topic of research at Plum Island, according to the US Department of Homeland Security and Department of Agriculture.<ref name="plum-island-web-site">{{cite web|date=6 July 2009|title=Plum Island Animal Disease Center|url=https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/plum-island-animal-disease-center|access-date=10 August 2020|website=Department of Homeland Security|language=en}}</ref><ref name="cnn" />

On July 12, 2008, a creature dubbed the [[Montauk Monster]] washed ashore at Ditch Plains Beach near the business district of [[Montauk, New York]]. The creature, a [[quadruped]] of indeterminate size, was dead when discovered, and was assumed by some to have come from Plum Island as a result of the currents and proximity to the mainland. [[Paleozoology|Palaeozoologist]] [[Darren Naish]] studied the photograph and concluded from visible [[dentition]] and the front paws that the creature may have been a [[raccoon]].<ref name="Naish">{{cite web |url=http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/08/the_montauk_monster.php |title=What was the Montauk monster? : Tetrapod Zoology |publisher=Scienceblogs.com |date=2008-08-04 |access-date=2009-07-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507175716/http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/08/the_montauk_monster.php |archive-date=2012-05-07 }}</ref> This was also the opinion of Larry Penny, the [[East Hampton (town), New York|East Hampton]] Natural Resources Director.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indyeastend.com/PicPaperBody.lasso?-token.issue=2008-07-23&-token.page=10 |title=The Hound of Bonacville |publisher=Indyeastend.com – The Independent |date=2008-07-23 |access-date=2009-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722114350/http://www.indyeastend.com/PicPaperBody.lasso?-token.issue=2008-07-23&-token.page=10 |archive-date=July 22, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

=== Terrorism ===

When American educated Pakistani neuroscientist [[Aafia Siddiqui]], a suspected [[al-Qaeda]] member, was captured in Afghanistan in July 2008, she had in her handbag handwritten notes referring to a "[[mass casualty]] attack" that listed various U.S. locations, including the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/nyregion/03indict.html~~?_r=0~~|title=Indictment Hints of Plan to Attack Landmarks|last=Weiser|first=Benjamin|date=September 2, 2008|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 25, 2015}}</ref> In February 2010, she was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and attempting to kill U.S. servicemembers and FBI agents who sought to interrogate her.

== In popular culture ==

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==Further reading==

* [https://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-1577:1 ''The Plum Island Animal Disease Laboratory''] (1956)

* U.S. General Accounting Office. (2003). ''Combating bioterrorism: actions needed to improve security at Plum Island Animal Disease Center''. Washington, D.C.: Author.

* U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2005). ''Plum Island Animal Disease Center: DHS and USDA are successfully coordinating current work, but long-term plans are being assessed: report to congressional committees''. Washington, D.C.: Author.