We don't really know. But the draft of a GAO risk assessment says the decision was based on "unrepresentative accident scenarios," "outdated modeling" and "inadequate" information about the sites. Gee, I'm not feeling real good about that:
The Department of Homeland Security relied on a rushed, flawed study to justify its decision to locate a $700 million research facility for highly infectious pathogens in a tornado-prone section of Kansas, according to a government report.
The department's analysis was not "scientifically defensible" in concluding that it could safely handle dangerous animal diseases in Kansas -- or any other location on the U.S. mainland, according to a Government Accountability Office draft report obtained by The Washington Post. The GAO said DHS greatly underestimated the chance of accidental release and major contamination from such research, which has been conducted only on a remote island off the United States.
DHS staff members tried quietly last week to fend off a public airing of the facility's risks, agency correspondence shows. Department officials met privately with staff members of a congressional oversight subcommittee to try to convince them that the GAO report was unfair, and to urge them to forgo or postpone a hearing. But the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), decided otherwise. It plans to hold a hearing Thursday on the risk analysis, according to two sources briefed on the plans.
The criticism of DHS's site selection comes as the proposed research lab, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), was expected to win construction funding in the congressional appropriations process.
"Drawing conclusions about relocating research with highly infectious exotic animal pathogens from questionable methodology could result in regrettable consequences," the GAO warned in its draft report. DHS's review was too "limited" and "inadequate" to decide that any mainland labs were safe, the report found. GAO officials declined to comment on the findings.
The new developments started another round of accusations that politics steered DHS's decision in January to build the proposed lab in Manhattan, Kan. Critics of the choice argue that a Kansas contingent of Republican Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts and then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, aggressively lobbied DHS to pick their state. Records show that a DHS undersecretary and his site selection committee met frequently with the senators, one of whom is a member of an appropriations subcommittee that helps set DHS funding.
well-considered decisions for us is
shamefulbeyond shameful.me-oww!
"The GAO said DHS greatly underestimated the chance of accidental release and major contamination from such research, which has been conducted only on a remote island off the United States" This "remote island" is between the tip of Long Island and Connecticut. I assure you, it is NOT remote.
Go here:
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Plum+Island+New+York...
maximum dispersal capability for the toxins.
Some stuff you can't make up!
If you even slow down a boat there, a security team would come out to investigate. That was BEFORE Homeland Security took over. They probably torpedo your sailboat now.
But the island is clearly marked and everyone in the area knows enough to test the fates: They will prosecute you for trespassing! I worked on Plum Island briefly which is why I couldn't read that stupid mystery, Plum Island by DeMille which had no basis in reality. I was there when they cracked the RNA sequence of the Hoof and Mouth virus and was able to produce 30,000 Hoof and Mouth vaccine inoculations overnight in a five gallon carboy. Plum Island Animal Disease Laboratory was established by an Act of Congress in the early 1950's to protect the American Livestock industry from FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASES. Actually, I think they used the word "Exotic" but that's semantics. I never believed that Plum Island was an evil place and most of the people I've met who did think that way were uneducated or loony or both. Some great work was done there and its a shame that most people don't realize that or realize how much better their lives are because of research done there. It was more than just Hoof & Mouth; there was Newcastle Disease and there was African Swine Flu.
There are no two-headed cows and no biological weapons on the island.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
"There are no two-headed cows and no biological weapons on the island."
Well that's not what their brochure says pal! };)>
How long ago did you work there? What is a "carboy?" I have been looking for an insider for years, as I am fascinated by the place. DeMille's book? Pffftt! Read Daniel Silva, if you haven't already.
these people are dangerously stupid.
Is the Pope Catholic?
Starve the WAR Beast...
... Save the World.
a moran?
Some stuff you can't make up!
not unless he was created by glaciers
... the next time their anthrax gets out.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
the deaths of everything in a 12-mile radius.
Some stuff you can't make up!
... who benefited most from the terror induced including those who got the massive bio-weapons contracts.
But why bother when you can just hound a scientist into suicide then blame it all on him.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
just like they blame him for calling something stupid "stupid".
Some stuff you can't make up!
And just who own the land where they intend to build..
Our elected officials are using their powers for their and their friends benefit , power and wealth...
Whatever happen to the conflict of interest and letting the American citizens decide on most issues..
We need to cut the jobs of our?? representatives and find a way for the voters to vote on most issue through the internet..
Of Course we will need to make sure there are safety protection and procedures to stop voting fraud.... Something it seems as if our?? representative wish not to do...
None
...insecurity
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
..has the DHS been anything but a politcial tool?
The better question is: Why hasn't it been dismantled along with the House Un-American Activities Committee?
dems have the same masters as repuglyKKKans.
Some stuff you can't make up!
Maybe this was thought up by one of those "End Timey" folks?
betcha!
Some stuff you can't make up!
Brownback has been a member of the "Family",the Christian Dominionist sect that owns the C Street mansion.
Check out "Christian Mafia",by Wayne Madsen.
It gives an entirely new meaning to taking the Lord's name in vain. Read mine, I'll read yours. Thanks.
that state is wacko central.
everyone is vying to be the next resurrection of john brown.
is this facility supposed to be "flypaper"?
Does anyone here recall Hurrican Ike that devastated Galveston,Texas not too long ago?"
Texas A&M built one of these labs right there on the coastline. They tried to say that the lab was not compromised,but whose to say>
BUILT RIGHT IN A HURRICANE PRONE COASTAL AREA.
One must ask why Homeland security had to take over security for Plum Island in 2003 if all they're doing is research into livestock diseases. Try to get near it on a boat. It's best not to even look at it when you sail by.
..I've had the opportunity to wander around it. I worked there. I fish off there, dive off there. But, I can't land there and that's okay too. In a way, I was hoping that once the Dept. of Agriculture left there, they'd turn it into a park so everyone could enjoy the place.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
"Members of Congress had asked the auditors to review cooperation between the Agriculture and Homeland Security departments on Plum Island, which lies off the eastern tip of Long Island, N.Y. Homeland Security took over the facility from Agriculture in 2003, but two Agriculture agencies - the Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - continue to conduct research at Plum Island.
The auditing office said Agriculture-Homeland Security cooperation at the site had been "largely successful" since the takeover, with Homeland Security augmenting Agricultural Research Service studies by, for example, "advancing efficacy testing and development of vaccines to enhance the nation's ability to respond to a bioterrorism attack."
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
need to be purged from government.
Some stuff you can't make up!
I live in Kansas and lived in Manhattan over thirty years ago. They had a tornado and/or straight line winds that hit the campus last year and tore up some buildings. The hope (as in cross your fingers) is that whatever building they are using for this has has the nasty stuff confined to a tornado secure basement or sub basement or room or something. Maybe that event will make people more cautious.
Is the decision by DHS politically motivated? Or is this revelation from the GAO politically motivated?
Seems to me that DHS scientists working on a site search for several years probably have more insight than some guys reading the report over at GAO.
I think the DHS should plan to build the new research facility right on the coast in Kal-E-fornia.
They need the economic stimulus out there and that way, if some weather anomaly hits/destroys the building,
there is a good chance the prevailing weather systems can transport the pathogens equally across the entire US...not just the Eastern half.!!!
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
Floor wax, or a dessert topping?
most of the time I agree with many of the articles on this site but this one left me going "Really?". Take off your tin foil. Strategically Kansas makes the most sense. 10th lowest population density and farthest from borders out of the top 10 states with lowest population density. That's why STRATCOM is in Nebraska. Safest spot is in the middle.
...$700 million research facility for highly infectious pathogens
on you."
is hardened against the strongest tornadoes. Which is possible if ya got enough cash.
Hey, that looks like a mesocyclone cloud to me.
Of course they did this because of poltics. "God will protect Kansas we need the money" said the politicians.
What kind of a money-hungry idiot do you have to be to have a hard-on for a potentially dangerous facility with highly infectious pathogens in your own state, even without tornadoes?
Whatever happened to: “not in my back yard”?
turned into
"Please, in my right front pocket!"
Some stuff you can't make up!
When it's a democrat in charge. GOPs get to ignore such a statement and go right ahead and make dangerious under the table deals.
I feel there is a lot of misinformation being repeated.
Please let me share what I know.
I actually live in Manhattan, KS & attend Kansas State University, the proposed site for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) facility. The northeast Kansas area currently holds 2 bio labs:
MRI (Midwest Research Institute, biodefense aerosol facility founded in 1944, houses a large collection of airborne pathogens, anthrax testing.)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-10-1...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwest_Research...
K-State's Biosecurity Research Institute ($54 million comprehensive biosafety level 3 facility, opened in 2007, adjacent to the proposed site of the NBAF facility.)
http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/dec...
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl... (google maps street level view, rotate the camera east to see it)
Notice how the current biosafety level 3 facility on campus isn't even submerged under the ground? Manhattan, Kansas has been hit twice by EF2+ tornadoes in the last 40 years, in 2008 and in the 1960s. The new NBAF facility will have a below-ground section and isolation rings.
For more information on the damage caused by the June 2008 EF4 Tornado in Manhattan, KS look here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2008_tornad...
There shouldn't be a lot of excessive fearmongering over "Tornado Alley". It's a real danger, yet I've lived in northeast Kansas over 20 years and haven't experienced a tornado until last year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_Alley
The center of tornado activity in general (EF0-EF5) is in Oklahoma and Northern Texas.
Alternative sites for the NBAF facility are listed here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Bio_and...
Utter crap! There is no threat of tornadoes in the area. The area was chosen due to it's location to universities and place in the nation. Texas has been complaining because they wanted the facility, that's all this is about, they are the only ones playing politics.
Ms. Madrak,
The photo you used in this blog is from Hurricane Katrina after the storm had moved inland in Mississippi, about a hundred miles or so from the coast
No, the photo is one of Mike Hollingshead's shots of a June 2004 supercell near Alvo, Nebraska. See http://www.extremeinstability.com/notkatrina.htm.
I'm sure the folks in Atlanta went through similar stuff when they got the CDC.
Come on folks...is this REALLY a story?
I have a hard time thinking the tornado threat should have been a significant factor in the decision, assuming they plan on building a hardened structure. On average, any particular point in the Manhattan region should expect to get hit by an F2 or greater tornado less often than about once every 5000 years. For F4, it's closer to 20,000 years. Add in the size of the building and you might drop it down some, but I'd be much more worried general structural integrity and security than the tornado threat. The map in the WaPo article is taken from a map I created.
that government agencies do not care if you live or die as a result of thier corrupt decisions.
...considering that the Galveston National Laboratory (a similar research facility for the study of highly infectious disease) likewise shows what would appear on the surface to be poor judgment with regard to its location -- on what is essentially a barrier island in the same region of southern Texas devastated by Hurricane Ike last year -- it's hard not to think from time to time that perhaps some of the people involved in the planning were actually hoping that severe weather would result in the convenient release of a virulent pathogen.
Think about it...it's no secret that Bush was sympathetic with evangelical Christians, many of whom seriously believe that the events described in the Book of Revelation will take place within their lifetimes. Some of them, such the Apostolic Congress, are deliberately attempting to influence events which they believe will help bring about the Apocalypse. It's also no secret that Bush believed himself to be on a mission from God -- and even taking the War In Iraq out of the equation, there were a few times when it seemed that Bush was deliberately attempting to provoke some sort of international incident which potentially could escalate into an all-out last-man-standing global conflict. The US was already dealing with War (one of the proverbial Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) and rising energy prices suggested that we potentially might have to deal with Famine (another one of the Four Horsemen) as well since much of the nation's food supply travels a considerable distance before it reaches our tables. Suppose that someone in the Bush administration was thinking -- even if only unconsciously -- that building disease-research facilities in these locations could be a means of releasing the Third Horseman of Pestilence and conveniently blame it upon it an Act Of God? Personally, I don't think it's quite as far-fetched as it might seem...
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
it is far-fetched at all. That so many people in power have so much invested in this fundamentalism gives me this extremely creepy feeling.
Hebrooks87,
I'll take my medicine,I stand corrected!I wondered how many other folks got suckered in like I did!
Mike's a great photographer and he had a bunch of photographs that got grabbed back a few years ago and get sent around for any storm anywhere in the world. One of his 2002 shots was used by a Russian or Greek newspaper a few weeks ago as a "picture of yesterday's tornado." Getting fooled by something stolen from Mike is pretty common.
does anyone really think that we still need this stupid waste of money do nothing agency?
does anyone else find it curious that in light of the government doing stuff in the past like the Tuskegee experiment that the place they'd choose to plunk down this facility would just happen to be kansas which is one of those pesky regressive red states that could disappear off the electoral map with nary a tear?
i mean, they're obviously not like us, they're, flat and young earthers, anti-choicers, birthers, foxnews watchers, tea-baggers, 28%ers, climate warming deniers, dittoheads, chickenhawks, anti-evolutionists, homophobes....ew....creationists....ew....yellow mustard eaters.....ew...ew...republicans they foul their own nests. you know it's true.
i think it's swell that they're so gosh darn patriotic to help out the DHS in this important experiment.
Bundling criticism this person made up with an actual tragedy is poor taste. If he can't back up his assertions he shouldn't use someone else's misery as a substitute.
I'm a Kansas Democrat currently attending Kansas State University and while I can suffer through Wizard of Oz jokes and "You're all creationists/Republicans" trolls, I found this comment to be extremely bad.
The diarrhea this person blindly vomits on everybody makes me question their analytical ability.
I enjoy well-researched political commentary & I hoped to read insightful posts that challenge my worldview. This is not one of them.
save your inappropriate flags for the government which precipitates such atrocities that hide under the guise of so called "legitimate" experiments or infectious disease facilities (read:DHS bio weapons reseaarch facility) that are built in dangerously improper geographical/civilian areas.
the republicans hatched this monumentally ignorant plan, from the creation of the misguided DHS itself to the facility's not being under the proper jurisdiction of the CDC. cynical, biting political parody/satire that offends is proper given the circumstances.
I, too, live in Kansas. While I wasn't a big fan of the whole NBAF deal I do think the scaremongers are pulling the tornado threat out of their, pardon me, OZ-holes. Kansas does not get as many tornadoes as the Wizard of Oz would have you believe. Texas gets more and they want the NBAF as much as Kansas. Florida gets more tornadoes than Kansas, but that never comes to mind, does it? And sassafra, we're not all like that. It depends where you live.
From the quoted text:
And I'm with you and calpal above. I've seen my lifelong home, Michigan, go from a wacky red to a solid blue over the last 20 years...Yet I live amongst the unreconstructed west Michigan Republicans who are just as wacky as they've ever been. Libs and progressives in Kansas have won a lot of the battles over the last few years, sassafra. You need to get up to speed on the politics of that state before you take shots like that.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
kansas u.s. senators
sam brownback (R)
pat roberts (R).
that's a 100% sweep of the senate for the gop
Kansas u.s. reps.
Moran, Jerry (R) ; Kansas, 1st
Jenkins, Lynn (R) ; Kansas, 2nd
Moore, Dennis (D) ; Kansas, 3rd (blue dog)
Tiahrt, Todd (R) ; Kansas, 4th (loony bin)
75% of house reps. for GOP and a blue dog co chair.
that's pretty red.
i do feel for you, you're not knuckle dragging republicans like tiahrt, but numbers don't lie.
I can smell it already: a new conspiracy for the tin hat crowd. It can go up there along with the birthers, the truthers, the Vince Foster was murdered and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and the adherents can all gather on the grassy knoll to sort everything out.
Governor (now HHS Sec) Kathleen Sebelius(D). We do have some sorta moderate repubs. What happens is the nutjob minority all go to the primaries and vote for very conservative candidates. The moderates won't vote for them in the general election so we get Dem Governors.
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