<http://dels.nas.edu/Report/Evaluation-Site-Specific-Risk/13031> http://dels.nas.edu/Report/Evaluation-Site-Specific-Risk/13031 Findings
http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/repor ts-in-brief/Bio-Agro-Defense-ReportBrief-Final.pdf Report in Brief <http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/21833?c=cbrne_detection> http://www.gsnmagazine.com/node/21833?c=cbrne_detection Review finds proposed bio-defense facility could threaten livestock industry Tue, 2010-11-16 08:23 AM By: Mark Rockwell <http://www.gsnmagazine.com/author/21449/mark_rockwell> http://www.gsnmagazine.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/fullsize/kansasweb .jpg A review of a proposed biological defense laboratory in Kansas that would study dangerous animal and plant diseases found significant problems with the facility that could pose a multi-billion dollar threat to the livestock industry. The review, released Nov. 15, was issued by the National Research Council and requested by Congress. It found "several major shortcomings" in a Department of Homeland Security assessment of biohazard risks associated with operating the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS. It said a big concern was accidental release of livestock-born pathogens from the facility that could cause billions of dollars of damage to the livestock industry that is heavily concentrated in the area. Congressional supporters noted the study was based on hypothetical scenarios and more study is required. "While many of the recommendations in this report are important and will undoubtedly be taken into account when the NBAF is constructed, it is impossible to predict a biological hazard breach of a facility that has not even been built yet. As the process moves forward I will continue to work with the Departments of Homeland Security and Agriculture in assessing these findings," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, (D-MS) in a statement issued the same day as the review. If constructed, the laboratory would study dangerous foreign animal diseases, including the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and other diseases deadly to humans that can be transmitted between animals and people. The review, based on a DHS risk assessment, performed by NRC's Research Council committee, said there is nearly a 70 percent chance over the 50-year lifetime of the facility that a release of FMD could result in an infection outside the laboratory, with an estimated economic impact $9 billion to $50 billion. According to the Research Council Committee, roughly 9.5 percent of the U.S. cattle inventory lies within a 200-mile radius of the facility. "Given that the disease is highly contagious and that the chance of its escape is not zero, rigorous and robust regional and national mitigation strategies that address an extensive outbreak of FMD are needed before the facility opens," the committee urged in a statement. The risks and costs of a pathogen being accidentally released from the facility could be significantly higher than indicated by the assessment, the Committee said. Although the DHS committee that wrote the report recognizes the need for a bio-containment facility to be built in the United States like the one proposed in Kansas, it was not asked to provide judgment about whether the location is appropriate for the proposed facility, said the committee. "Building a facility that is capable of large animal work on a scale greater than other high-containment laboratories presents new and unknown risks that could not be accounted for in the DHS risk assessment because of a lack of data and experience," said Ronald Atlas, chair of the committee, a professor of biology and public health, and co-director of the Center for Health Preparedness at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. "The risk assessment should be viewed as a starting point, and given more time, it could have progressed further. As more information emerges, an updated analysis could be appropriate." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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