There are several points I would like to make in response to Henry Joseph’s letter (“Community must be made aware of bio lab safety effects,” Oct. 21, pg. 7):
1. Plum Island is not a Level 4 Biosafety Lab it is operated by Department of Agriculture. The debate over the lab BU is considering building would conform to National Institutes of Health (under the Department of Health and Human Services) Biosafety Level 4 specifications. Also, as should be obvious, the facility would be much newer and even less susceptible to a containment failure.
2. As to the claims that the anthrax used in the attacks on Congress and the media was from the Level 4 lab at Fort Detrick, Md., this may or may not be so. However, even if it is true, this is not because of a failure of the facility itself, but rather a breach in security.
3. And finally, in response to the following: “Biosafety Level 4 labs deal solely with the most infectious and incurable pathogens in the world. Anthrax, ebola and the plague are some of the least dangerous diseases this facility will be working on. If these diseases don’t fall under Ms. Berlin’s definition of bioweapons, I’d like to know what does.”
A pathogen is not by its very nature a weapon. In order to be used as such, it needs to be weaponized. That is, the pathogen needs to be engineered to be incredibly robust and resilient, which is an extremely long and specialized process.
The truth is that these viruses will die in an incredibly short amount of time if they should be exposed to an uncontrolled environment, such as if they were accidentally released into the atmosphere. By a short amount of time, I mean anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes. This is not enough time for the specimens to get beyond the walls of the facility, much less into the city and population. Couple this with the fact that these microbes will be dispersed into the air by air currents, making it virtually impossible for anyone outside to be exposed to anything approaching a lethal dose. The elaborate containment systems of these labs actually serve more to protect those who work inside where a release will not be quickly dissipated harmlessly into the atmosphere than to protect the community.
The study of these diseases is not something to be undertaken carelessly. However, it is incorrect to assert that the facility being considered will be unsafe. These laboratories are necessary to support the continued research that will ultimately lead to a cure and the lessening of suffering worldwide.
Peter D. Jorgensen CAS ’07