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Home > Community > Editor's Corner
Storms Brew for Lab Relocation
Ashley Glowinski
e-Editor
| August 7, 2009
Dorothy may no longer be in Kansas, but according to The Washington Post, a $700 million research facility for infectious pathogens may be.
The Department of Homeland Security hopes to break ground on the new laboratory next year to replace the aging research facility in Plum Island, N.Y. Now the heart of tornado alley has to worry not only about twisters (of which they experienced nearly 200 in 2008 alone) but also the exposure of harmful disease.
Living in such close proximity to frequent twisters and the H1N1 “swine” flu virus sounds more like a bad horror movie than a reality, but concern does not lie with Kansas locals alone. Viruses being examined, such as foot-and-mouth disease, could have a severe effect on livestock and, consequently, food supply.
In fact, in a recent report the Government Accountability Office claims an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Kansas could have an estimated $1 billion impact.
No wonder the GAO claims the DHS made a hasty decision to relocate and believes it could lead to “regrettable consequences.” While the DHS considered multiple locations, the GAO says there is not enough evidence that making the move is safe anywhere.
From a researcher’s standpoint, wanting to explore disease further is understandable--to risk harm now to prevent harm later. But if a project can jeopardize the general public in any way, expect major backfire. No one wants a reoccurrence of the 1950’s Nevada Testing Site, where nuclear experiments reportedly resulted in excess amounts of cancer-related deaths.
So, as the DHS scrambles to submit another study to the Senate for approving the pathogen lab relocation, hopefully they will carefully consider the worst-case scenario. If exposure to disease leads to epidemic, it won’t matter if we are in Kansas or not. We will all struggle to weather the storm.
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