Updated:
Tuesday December 30, 2008
Updated:
Tuesday December 30, 2008
GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDS KANSAS FOR NBAF
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ATHENS GROUP GLAD BIOLAB NOT COMING TO TOWN
"WE WILL ACCEPT THE BLAME, BUT WE CAN'T TAKE CREDIT" Click Here
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DRAINS OVERFLOW AT LAB - UGA FACILITY CONTAMINATED
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VET SCHOOL LEAK KEPT QUIET
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LAB'S 'MINOR INCIDENTS' STIR MAJOR DOUBTS
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ANTHRAX CASE RENEWS QUESTIONS ON BIOTERROR EFFORT
From The New York Times:
With so many people involved, there is insufficient federal oversight of biodefense facilities to make sure the laboratories follow security rules and report accidents that might threaten lab workers or, in an extreme case, lead to a release that might endanger the public, Mr. Rhodes testified.
Mr. Stupak, the congressman from Michigan, remains concerned.
“You have all these universities tripping over each other trying to be high-level biosecurity labs,” he said. “What the nation gets is a very expensive bill, less security and a greater risk to the surrounding communities.” Click here for full story
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FOOT-AND-MOUTH PLAN USED FLAWED STUDY
"The Bush administration has no evidence to support its contention that it would be safe to move research on highly infectious foot-and-mouth disease to the U.S. mainland near livestock, congressional investigators said Thursday....Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said plans by the Department of Homeland Security were not only "baffling, but dangerous." Click Here
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HOMELAND SECURITY WINS CONTROL OVER FOOT-AND-MOUTH RESEARCH
(5/7/08) - "Lawmakers on Wednesday tentatively agreed that national security officials should fully control the expected transfer of research of highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease from an offshore laboratory to the U.S. mainland near livestock...The numbers of livestock in the counties and surrounding areas of the finalists range from 542,507 in Kansas to 132,900 in Georgia, according to an internal Homeland Security study." Click Here
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SCIENTIST'S ATTORNEY SAYS UGA SPREAD FALSE DATA TO WIN GRANTS
(4/18/08)“I can fully appreciate the ramifications it would have on the University of Georgia’s bid to become a national center for agro-bioterrorism research if President Adams were to truthfully acknowledge the role his office has played in the fabrication of scientific data..." Click Here
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CHECK OUR NEWS PAGE FOR THE LATEST COVERAGE.....
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$25M PLUS IN INCENTIVES FOR NBAF
"Georgia officials have offered more than $25 million in incentives to draw a federal research laboratory to Athens....The state of Georgia will provide about $15 million, the UGA Research Foundation $5 million and Athens-Clarke County about $1 million in incentives if Homeland Security picks 66 acres off South Milledge Avenue to build the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility. That doesn't include free land valued at about $5.3 million." Click here
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ACCIDENTS AT DISEASE LAB ACKNOWLEDGED
"The only U.S. facility allowed to research the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease experienced several accidents with the feared virus, the Bush administration acknowledged Friday." (04/11/08) Click here
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BIOLAB PITCH A SECRET
"A University of Georgia-led group is considering spending more money to draw a federal bioresearch laboratory to Athens, but taxpayers might never know."
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FEDS WANT POWER PLANT FOR NBAF
"The federal government has asked Kansas and other states vying for a new Department of Homeland Security laboratory to commit to building a power plant for the facility, officials confirmed Friday."
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"Georgia officials, including spokesmen for the University of Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue and U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, said Homeland Security hasn't asked Georgia to build a power plant as far as they know...." Click here
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DHS RELEASES EIS SCOPING REPORT
FROM THE DHS WEBSITE "The NBAF environmental impact statement (EIS) scoping period occurred from July 31 through September 28, 2007. During that time, the Department conducted eight public meetings in the vicinity of the proposed NBAF sites and in one regional location. The results of this process are documented in the NBAF EIS Scoping Report"
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Against Opposition: Homeland Security Defends NBAF - Oconee Leader ....Click here to read
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Raleigh, N.C. — The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to oppose a federal bio-defense laboratory proposed for Granville County....click here to read
From The Flagpole:"Davison reiterated that the NBAF proposal will not be debated by ACC Commissioners “on the floor,” and that they will not be expected to take formal action on the matter..." click here to read
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REPORT FROM NORTH CAROLINA'S DHS 2/21 MEETING "Frank allowed and facilitated a format of questions that pressed the DHS for answers to all questions. Having been present at both meetings, I only wish the same format would have been afforded to the concerned residents of Athens. In Athens if the DHS didn’t completely answer a question they were not pressed further and no follow-up questions were allowed...." Click here
WHY WERE NO FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS ALLOWED AT THE ATHENS MEETING? According to a 2/14/08 UGA Press Release "Each person approaching the microphone will be allowed one initial question and one follow-up question."
Click here
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Plum Island: Deadly Diseases on the Move?
AP Video
Edward Hammond of The Sunshine Project
talks about The Myths of NBAF
Click here for Videos
Download a Flyer!
Download and print this informational flyer to spread the word about why we don't want NBAF. Click Here to Download a Flyer.
Download Edward Hammond's Slide Presentation The Myths of NBAF here (.pdf document)
DO YOU HAVE A LETTER, COMMENTARY OR FORUM THAT WAS NOT PUBLISHED IN THE LOCAL PRESS? Please send it to director@athensfaq.org, and we will post it here.
A final recommendation on siting of the National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility is likely within two weeks, a top project aide said Thursday.
John Verrico, the press officer for the science and technology directorate of the Department of Homeland Security, described publication of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, the document that will contain the study team's site recommendation, as "close, very close." That document will identify the directorate's choice for the NBAF from among six sites, including Manhattan, that have been under study for two years.
At the same time, Verrico suggested such an announcement would not be forthcoming in the next few days, indicating that time had to be allowed for printing of the final document along with briefings for key members of Congress.
Verrico said a likely release date was some time during "the first week of December."
The site near the Biosecurity Research Institute on Denison Avenue is one of six formally under consideration by DHS to host the $451 million level 4 research facility, which would study the control of viruses capable of spreading from the animal to human populations. Whichever site is recommended would have to be formally ratified by DHS Undersecretary Jay Cohen, who by law cannot issue his decision until 30 days have elapsed from publication of the final EIS. DHS officials have consistently said they expect Cohen to ratify whatever decision is recommended in the final EIS.
In addition to Manhattan, the six sites under consideration are San Antonio; Flora, Miss.; Athens, Ga.; Butner, N.C.; and Plum Island, N.Y. Of those, Manhattan, San Antonio and Flora are generally considered to be the front-runners, with Athens an outside possibility and Butner and Plum Island viewed as unlikely.
DHS officials originally expected the final EIS to be released in October, and subsequently pushed that back to November. The early December date represents another rollback, but probably a final one because of the 30-day federally mandated wait period, which leaves little maneuvering room for the outgoing Bush administration.
"The secretary really wants to make this decision," Verrico said, referring to Cohen.
The swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama Jan. 20 establishes Dec. 21 as the absolute latest possible release date for the final EIS if Cohen is to make the formal selection.
A team led by science and technology director James Johnson visited all six sites this summer to receive public feedback regarding each of the potential locations, and has been working through the estimated 2,000 comment documents it received over the intervening months. Beyond recommending a site, the final EIS is also expected to provide interesting reading, because it will contain those public comments, both pro and con.
The tone of discussion in the six communities varied greatly, with San Antonio and Flora the most receptive and Butner the most hostile. There was both strong support and strong opposition expressed in Athens, while in Manhattan the level of support clearly outweighed the level of opposition, although the latter intensified in the weeks following the hearing. Plum Island, where community feeling was also predominantly negative, is considered a long shot in part due to the expense of constructing the facility in such a remote location.
The NBAF is designed to replace an aging level 3 research facility at Plum Island, a strip of land about four miles off the eastern shore of Long Island.
Although Verrico indicated he did not expect a formal announcement next week, other sources involved in the process have suggested the decision could leak out once members of Congress are briefed on it. Their sense was that Cohen and DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff received the study group's recommendation earlier this week, and that congressional briefings could begin as soon as the final report is returned from the printer.
