A non-partisan, independent report
issued on Monday by the United States General Accounting Office cited
risky security problems at Plum Island. Senator Hillary Clinton said the
report confirmed her worst fears, and Congressman Tim Bishop called it a
“blaring alarm.”
“After reading the GAO report, I am grateful that our
community has been safe despite serious errors in Plum Island’s security,”
said Bishop in a press release. “This report is not just a wake-up call;
it’s a blaring alarm.”
The GAO found that “the facility remains
vulnerable to security breaches.” It found the island’s security
arrangements to be “incomplete and limited.” Officials have assumed
unnecessary risks by not adequately controlling access to areas with
pathogens, and the possibilities of a terrorist attack on the island or of
someone stealing pathogens isn’t considered in the island’s incident
response plan.
Theft of computers from the
island twice in the last year illustrated lapses in security on the
island.
Questions about the security of Plum Island
arose after the 2001 terrorist attacks, and when employees of the
contractor hired to operate and maintain the Plum Island facilities went
on strike in August 2002, the report said.
A whistleblower concerned about security lapses at the
facility, who went public in June of this year, was fired the next day. He
said he was fired for exposing security lapses. The Department of Homeland
Security said he was fired for abandoning his post. Clinton and Bishop
defended the whistleblower and said firing him sent the wrong message to
employees about voicing concerns. The whistleblower was among those
interviewed for the GAO report.
Also interviewed were
officials from the DHS, United States Department of Agriculture, National
Institutes of Health, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious
Diseases, CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, and USDA’s Office of
Inspector General; the security consultant to the lab Sandia National
Laboratories; and government officials of localities near Plum
Island.
Sluggish Response
Clinton said upheaval at the animal
disease research facility on the island, including the union strike and
the transfer of authority to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from
the Department of Agriculture in June 2003, has led to a sluggish response
time to security threats.
This summer DHS decided to discontinue its
contract with North Fork Services in favor of a better suited company, and
it has begun to implement changes in security on the island. The GAO
report acknowledged that DHS and USDA agree with its recommendations and
are proceeding with changes.
Still, Clinton said, there’s still a lot
of work to be done. She and Bishop called for residents to join them in
demanding better security on the island.
Foot-and-mouth disease is
studied on the island. An outbreak of this most feared foreign animal
disease in the United Kingdom in 2001 took eight months to eradicate and
resulted in the slaughter of over four million animals and sustained
losses of over $5 billion in the food and agricultural industries, as well
as comparable losses in tourism.
Many other types of animal diseases
are studied at Plum Island, including classical swine fever, rinderpest,
and a variety of pox viruses. Some of the pathogens there are “zoonotic,”
which means they can infect and possibly kill animals and humans. These
include West Nile Virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Rift Valley
fever, and vesicular stomatitis.
Bill Smith
of Fish Unlimited wrote in a recent letter to the editor that he suspects
that the West Nile epidemic, which originated on eastern Long Island, may
be the result of a leak at the Plum Island
laboratory.
While DHS is now formally responsible for
security, USDA scientists and support staff continue to conduct the
center’s research and diagnostic mission.
Breach
The report
revealed that in July 2003, eight scientists from other countries were
working in the biocontainment area without completed background
investigations. “According to FBI officials, allowing anyone who does not
have a completed background investigation access to the biocontainment
area -- in particular, a scientist from another country --represents a
significant security risk.”
Regarding the performance of the private
management contractor, the GAO found that the performance of North Fork
Services declined during the rating period in which the union strike
occurred, but USDA rated their performance as superior. As a result of the
strike, North Fork Services exceeded its estimated budget by about
$511,000, or approximately 5%, for fiscal year 2002 and the first quarter
of fiscal year 2003. USDA was aware of and approved the cost
increases.
“LB&B’s inept management cost the government over half a
million dollars, far more than the cost of Local 30’s demands,” said
Bishop. “But instead of using these funds to retain experienced workers
and improve security at Plum Island, it was used to finance union-busting
at the expense of our community’s safety.”
Bishop and Clinton said they
would continue to work with DHS and its exiting and new management
contractors on island security. The GAO report recommended “DHS consult
with USDA to correct physical security deficiencies; further limit access
to pathogens; consult with other laboratories to identify ways to mitigate
the inherent difficulty of securing pathogens; enhance response
capabilities; reconsider risks and threats; and revise security and
incident response plans as needed.”
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