- Hello Jeff: "Two officers have been assigned to
the island."
-
- Well, we can all rest easy now with TWO officers from
DHS added!
-
- Patty
-
- http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-applumisland0708.
artjul08,1,6243461.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
-
- Plum Island Security Boosted
- July 8, 2004
- Associated Press
-
- NEW YORK -- The Department
of Homeland Security has deployed agents from the Federal Protective Service
to supplement private security patrols at the Plum Island Animal Disease
Center off eastern Long Island, U.S. Rep. Timothy Bishop, D-N.Y., said
Wednesday.
-
- The officers, who have legal authority to make arrests
and receive specialized information about terrorist threats, began guarding
the island on a part-time basis three weeks ago. Two officers have been
assigned to the island.
-
- Officers with the agency had been temporarily assigned
to guard the facility off the coast of Long Island for periods in the past
few years, but none were permanently stationed there.
-
- Researchers at the facility study highly infectious animal
diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease.
-
- Bishop, in a statement, called the addition of the federal
security officers "a good step on the part of Homeland Security to
make Plum Island more secure." But the congressman, whose district
includes the island, added that "because the threat to the island
is constant, I believe we need around-the-clock security."
-
- Thomas Sheridan, the laboratory's director of operations,
said in a telephone interview that the federal officers will serve as liaisons
with local law enforcement agencies on the north fork of Long Island.
-
- _____
-
-
- Jeff - This article dated Oct. 18, 2003 does demonstrate
the desperate conditions at Plum Island. Although it is an 'animal facility'
and veterinary pathogens are studied there, we must remember that some
of the world's most deadly diseases are veterinary zoonotic diseases, like
Ebola, Nipah etc.
-
- Plum Island does have a BSL 5 designation which enables
it to work on foreign diseases and "bioweapons." Of course,
according to the government, bioweapons research is all "defensive."
-
- Patty
-
-
- Feds Blast Plum Island Security
- GAO Report Calls Security 'Incomplete And Limited'
-
- Oct 18, 2003
-
- NEW YORK (AP) Security at the Plum Island Animal Disease
Center " the nation's only diagnostic facility for dangerous animal
diseases " is "incomplete and limited," according to a federal
study.
-
- The report by the General Accounting Office is scheduled
to be released Monday, but sections of it were provided to Newsday, which
reported on it in Saturday's editions.
-
- "Plum Island officials have not adequately controlled
access to the pathogens," the report says, noting that the U.S. Department
of Agriculture "permitted eight scientists from other countries access
to the biocontainment area without being escorted despite incomplete background
checks."
-
- It also found that a scientist could steal pathogens
and it would never be detected.
-
- Located off the eastern tip of Long Island's North Fork,
Plum Island is the only place where foot-and-mouth disease can be diagnosed.
It is also the only facility in the country that has vaccines, making it
a target for terrorists intent on attacking the agricultural economy, the
report said.
-
- The report found that alarms and door sensors that had
been recommended by other security reviews for the lab's biocontainment
area "are not fully operational." It also found inadequate lighting
outside the complex for security cameras.
-
- It said Plum Island officials "need an incident
response plan that clearly lays out the actions to be taken if events occur
that exceed the capability of the facility's security system."
-
- The GAO report reviewed operations between January and
September. The lab, which is located on an the 850-acre island that once
served as a U.S. Army base, off eastern Long Island was run by the Department
of Agriculture until June, when the Department of Homeland Security took
over.
-
- The USDA continues to run the laboratories.
-
- Homeland Security spokeswoman Michelle Petrovich said
"it is premature for us to comment on the report before we have had
an opportunity to review it in detail."
-
- Last month it was revealed that for the second time in
a year, a laptop computer was reported missing from the center.
-
- The computer disappeared from the center's biocontainment
building, but officials said there was no danger to the public because
chances were remote that it was contaminated with any viruses.
-
- Also, officials insisted there was no sensitive material
contained on the computer.
-
-
- (© 2003 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
)
-
-
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?
Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
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