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U.S. Response: Plum Island Facility Considering Controversial Upgrade By David Ruppe The decision could pit the department’s desire for constructing such a facility, which it currently lacks, against safety concerns of local residents on or near some of the nation’s most expensive real estate. The decision could be ultimately bumped up to the White House. Previous attempts to fund an upgrade by Congress and the Clinton administration were resisted by New York legislators responding to local pressure and there are signs the Bush administration would face similar pressures. The Plum Island Animal Disease Center currently has a Biosafety Level 3 standard, enabling the laboratory to research and diagnose some of the most dangerous animal diseases in the world, such as foot-and-mouth disease, Rinderpest, and African swine fever. A Biosafety Level 4 facility would enable the department to work with diseases posing the highest risk to humans such as anthrax, screwworm, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as “mad cow disease.” Jesse Garcia, chief of staff for Republican Representative Felix Grucci, who has Plum Island in his district, said the White House has assured his boss the center “will not be upgraded to a Biosafety 4 facility. That has been advised to us. Its mission will stay the same.” “The White House has been very receptive throughout the past 18 months about his concerns for that facility,” he said, noting that the Bush administration called for no changes to Plum Island in its recent proposal for creating a homeland security department. The administration has made assurances “that no matter what appropriations level or what department Plum Island facilities will finally end up in, Agriculture or homeland defense, it will stay as a Biosafety 3 facility,” he said. David Huxsoll, interim director of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, however, said in a phone interview Friday the upgrade remains a consideration. “As you probably know, that’s something that has been discussed. At this point in time, no decision has been made. That’s about all I can say at this point in time,” Huxsoll said. “We don’t have authority at that point in time to pursue that.” Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman alluded to the possibility during April Senate testimony, saying the department was prepared to spend $23 million for Plum Island “pending the outcome of a broad independent review of the needs and options for this work, including the needs for Biosecurity Level 4 facilities.” The department has contracted with Science Applications International Corp. for a report, which will address whether the department needs such a facility, for which a panel of experts from around the country met last week for two days. The consensus was that one is needed, according to a participant. The panel did not address whether Plum Island is the most suitable location, the person said. The department has otherwise refused to comment on the matter, including on whether it is considering upgrading the facility, or has ruled that out. “These all are questions that are in reference to security matters and we can’t give you any comment at this time,” an Agriculture representative on homeland security matters said. Previous Resistance During the Clinton administration, the department had sought to obtain $24 million in funding specifically to begin upgrading the facility from Biosafety Level 3 to Level 4, the highest security classification. The Plum Island facility is two miles offshore and the only U.S. facility designated to study certain highly infectious foreign animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease. The Clinton administration abandoned the idea in 2000, however, responding to protests from New York legislators. Local residents had expressed concern about possible terrorist attacks and road accidents while hazardous materials are transported to the laboratory on the main highway along the north side of the island. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, New York Democratic Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton reportedly beat back another attempt to approve money for a biosafety upgrade, contained in legislation proposed by Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Representative Earl Pomeroy (D-N.C.), by successfully encouraging Roberts to remove the language. In addition, Schumer and Clinton last November called for a full and immediate security review of the island. “When you have a facility just off the coast of Long Island that handles lethal and rare animal diseases, you just can’t take chances,” Schumer said. This month, President George W. Bush signed a major bioterrorism defense bill past by Congress in May that provides $100 million, reportedly added by Clinton, specifically for “renovation, updating, and expansion of the Biosafety Level 3” Plum Island facility (see GSN, June 12). Senator Clinton applauded the measure, saying it would “keep Plum Island, off the coast of New York, at its current biosecurity level and to modernize and improve the security of the facilities.” The $23 million referred to by Veneman was approved this year as part of the Defense Department Appropriations Act for 2002 for “planning and design” at Plum Island. A Quieter Approach Since Sept. 11, the department has been undergoing a nationwide lab security review intended to produce recommendations on improving security at the country’s five Biosafety Level 3 laboratories. At Plum Island’s current Level 3 facility, lab workers can be exposed to animals being studied, but must strip down and shower before returning to street clothes. Air leaving the lab is filtered and all materials and sewage leaving the lab are decontaminated to remove any viruses. For a Level 4 facility, employees entering special areas must wear one-piece, pressurized suits ventilated with life-support systems to avoid exposure to potentially fatal diseases. In addition, specially engineered, sealed facilities and elaborate safety equipment are required to prevent dangerous germs from escaping the facility. There are now only four Level 4 labs in the country, located at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., a small facility at Georgia State University in Atlanta and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md. In a series of meetings with local communities 1999, Agriculture officials encountered some anger and skepticism as they sought to assure residents about the security precautions associated with the upgrade. The Clinton administration’s approach to considering an upgrade “just didn’t happen right, didn’t move down the pike the way it was supposed to have,” a department source said.
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