23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Important and Disturbing, June 13, 2006
This review is from: Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Germ Laboratory (Paperback)
Ever wonder about the origins of Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus? Lab 257 begins by presenting an interesting circumstantial case that the outbreak of these strange maladies in the U.S. may be traced to the secret government facility at Plum Island. The author then proceeds to explain how, thanks to inadequate funding, managerial complacency, and insufficient governmental oversight, this once state-of-the-art animal disease laboratory has degenerated into an environmental hazard of startling proportions, making future outbreaks of other frightening biological agents all too possible. The book concludes with some useful suggestions regarding alternatives to the current situation at Plum Island, acknowledging the heightened importance of its charter in the post-9/11 world. While some may find the details a bit dense in parts, it's a fine piece of investigative journalism that cries out for concerned citizens and politicians to take notice.
-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A glimpse into a "biological Three Mile Island", July 15, 2006
This review is from: Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Germ Laboratory (Paperback)
Like THE RIVER, author Michael C. Carroll has a lot of evidence some of it circumstantial and some of it solid that suggests the spread of Lyme Disease and even West Nile Virus could be the work of the US Government's research on Plum Island. Nestled in Long Island Sound off the coast of Connecticut and not far from New York City this "biological Three Mile Island" was established to do research on bio warfare using techniques that were developed by the Nazi's and Japanese during World War II. Using Project Paperclip to offer refuge to German scientists (and Japense as well) after the war U.S. scientists benefited from the knowledge that was developed on POW's and concentration camp victims to develop new and better ways to kill and disable our enemies.
Lab 257 was the focal point of much of this research. The lab had consistent failures in isolating many of the viruses and bacteria that they studied. In fact the negative pressure environment where the animal bodies were to be destroyed was wired incorrectly blowing potential viruses and bacteria everywhere prior to their disposal. Using information from people who worked there (some anonymously), declassified files and other credible sources of information Carroll makes a compelling case for the carelessness of our government in research that may have helped spread Lyme disease infected ticks and other viruses into the environment.
While it certainly is important to understand how many of these viruses and bacteria work, it's even more important to protect the public from contamination. The sloppy methods used at the lab put many people that live in the surrounding area at risk. Since takne over by the Department of Homeland Security, Americans are in the dark as to the plans for this biological waste disposal site. Whatever is studied on the island is supposed to stay there (including trash) unfortunately many things that were supposed to stay there did not including workers who were inadvertantly infected with a virus that behaves quite similarly to AIDS but is found in swine.
With the turmoil in the world it is important to understand what terrorists might plan to damage the security and destroy lives in the U.S. but the question of what the cost to the public safety has never been adequately answered.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riveting and Terrifying: Because of this book I'll never live in New York, February 18, 2009
This review is from: Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Germ Laboratory (Paperback)
Reading an official press release from Plum Island is fairly benign. What's not easy is to read, however, is the litany of diseases handled incompetently there: Ebola, Marburg hemorrhagic fever, foot-and-mouth disease, Rift Valley fever virus, anthrax, plague, Entebbe, Zagazig 501, typhoid, diphtheria, E. coli, AIDS, polio, Japanese encephalitis, swine flu, mad cow disease, virulent influenza, Coxsackie B-5 virus, louping ill, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Newcastle disease, vesicular stomatitis virus, contagious ecthyma, Nairobi sheep disease, and anthrax. Not all of these viruses have been contained. And that doesn't even take into account the various other test tube concoctions that cause encephalatic brain seizures, massive hemorrhaging, blindness, and death. Scary stuff, right?
Indeed, it's easy to make connections between Plum Island and three major disease outbreaks (West Nile virus - 1999, Lyme disease - 1975, Dutch duck plague - 1967). When looking at a map that displays the number of Lyme disease cases in the US, the results are staggering. There is a heavier concentration of Lyme disease within a small radius of Plum Island than anywhere else in the U.S., which doesn't come as much of a surprise when considering they bred and infected deer ticks and Lone Star ticks by the thousands.
Multiple outbreaks and deficiencies have been noted, but management has admitted only six employees contractions of exotic animal diseases: 3 - Newcastle, 2 - vesicular stomatitis, 1 - foot-and-mouth disease. On the verge of an environmental catastrophe for decades, it's hard to believe their miniscule estimates. Considering the consistently ineffective biological security measures and decontamination systems on the island, it's staggering that their official stance is one of denial and hubris. Disregard candor, civic responsibility, or public recognition. Lies, misdirection, and outright suppression are the name of the game.
When something DOES go wrong, the USDA and Plum Island management conspire together to find scapegoats, engage in duplicitous cover-ups, and smear campaigns. Nobody is a likely whistle blower, made clear by a non-FDA approved vaccination forced upon over one hundred employees without employee objection - with significant influence from management, of course. And it's not like the EPA or OSHA - organizations that have cited Plum Island with countless violations - can levee any pressure; after all, Plum Island is backed by the USDA.
Author Michael Christopher Carroll does a superb and comprehensive job of investigative reporting, uncovering all the dirty secrets and history of the island. Faulty generators and ventilation, negligent upkeep on maintenance, and outside testing during peak mosquito season, he's also chronicled numerous other areas in which the facilities on Plum Island are dangerous and faulty, where hazardous biological packages are transported from mainland (picture your average UPS driver with a box of Anthrax), where vaccinations against foot-and-mouth disease were performed outside without safeguards, where DDT insecticide was used four years after it was banned by the federal government, and where tons of toxic effluent dumped into the Long Island Sound and Gardiner's Bay at levels that were over 100 times the legal limit for swimming. By the way, none of that went through a functional incinerator - which has gone years at a time without being tested. Effluent for the affluent, at least it has a nice ring to it.
A pretty scary track record for a facility situated a short way from millions. What's frightening is the fact that Plum Island works on zoonotic diseases - capable of infecting humans and animals. They brazenly flout rules by which others must abide, and risk at best an epizootic catastrophe, at worst a human epidemic. The possibility almost came true when Hurricane Bob caused mechanical breakdowns and biological meltdowns.
I view them less as an American asset against bioterrorism and agroterrorism, and more as a USDA-funded cabal of home-grown mad scientists who care more about their research than they do about the American well being. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some work on the island led to Jonas Salk's development of the polio vaccine, and other research has been on the forefront of recombinant DNA (i.e. gene splicing) research. Speaking of American interests, or lack thereof, it's important to note that one of the initial scientists involved in founding Plum Island was Erich Traub, a Nazi germ-warfare specialist.
Overall, Lab 257 is well researched, impeccably documented, and absolutely terrifying. To think that there has been no substantial government intervention into the on-island travesties is unfathomable. Because of this book, I'll never live in New York or the surrounding area.
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