Dan's Papers -December 19, 2008 - Plum Island Center May Shut Down for Good

After years of federal studies and numerous local public hearings over the past 10 months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has chosen Manhattan, Kansas, out of six possible locations, as the site of a future National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, a Bio-Safety Level 4 laboratory, rather than the Animal Disease Center (ADC) on Plum Island, which would have been upgraded if it were chosen. At Level 4 labs, some of the most dangerous, communicable animal diseases known to man are studied.

Currently, Plum Island operates at BSL-3 and is known primarily for its work with foot-and-mouth disease. Local officials and residents had been arguing against the upgrade, claiming the North Fork has no proper evacuation route and that such a lab shouldn't be located in the New York metropolitan area.

"The current facility is too small to meet new research needs, has an outdated physical structure and is not appropriate for zoonotic disease research that must be conducted at BSL-4," reads a statement from the DHS.

There is, however, a catch.

In order to open the BSL-4 lab in Kansas, the DHS said that Plum Island, a local institution that has been in operation since the 1950s and is viewed as a boon to the local economy, will have to be shut down. Scott Russell, supervisor of Southold Town, said he received a call from the DHS prior to its public announcement of the location of the future BSL-4 lab, and he was told Plum Island would be open "for no less than five more years and no more than 10."

And while local officials rallied against Plum Island becoming a BSL-4 research center, they fought equally as hard to keep the ADC operating at a BSL-3. "We want them to stay a part of our economical landscape," Russell said. "I'm happy it was rejected as a BSL-4, but Plum Island is good as a valid, viable BSL-3."

Officials are still hopeful that Plum Island will remain as is. The federal government recently funneled about $50 million into upgrading the facilities. Congressman Tim Bishop said in a statement that he "questioned the wisdom of spending nearly half a billion dollars to create a massive new research facility that would duplicate many of the functions currently served by Plum Island."

"It's unlikely they would invest that much money in something with a life expectancy of seven to 10 years," Russell said.

Also, there's no telling what the priorities of president-elect Barack Obama will be once he is sworn in January. Bishop said that while the BSL-4 laboratory was a priority of the Bush administration, it's unclear whether or not it will remain a priority for Obama. "I will be urging the Obama administration to allow Plum Island to continue to serve our nation in its current capacity as a Bio-Safety Level 3 facility, and I will further urge the new administration to utilize existing facilities to meet other research needs," he said. "Plum Island's critically important mission of protecting the nation's livestock from foreign disease agents and its highly skilled and dedicated employees are instrumental in maintaining the health and security of the United States."

"There's a new day in Washington," said Russell, who is hopeful the new administration will decide to keep the lab on Plum open. "There are changes all over Washington."

Bishop said he will meet with the new secretary of the DHS early next year to aid in the fight to keep business as usual at Plum Island and to help find "more cost-effective methods of meeting additional national defense research needs."

Because of legislation passed by congress earlier this year, the DHS can't use any funds to begin construction of the new facility in Kansas until it, as well as the Government Accountability Office, has conducted more studies.