United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2007-12-17 monographic deposited born digital 15 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-306R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-306R P0b002ee18039d36f f:d08306r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-306R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-306R GAO-08-306R Animal diseases Animals Biocontainment laboratories Bioterrorism Disease control Diseases Emerging infectious diseases Facility security Federal regulations Homeland security Laboratory animals Security threats Strategic planning Sustainable agriculture Zoonotic diseases ARS Plum Island Animal Disease Center Correspondence A79030 For many years, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) owned and operated the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, located on an island in the Long Island Sound off the coast of New York. Scientists at Plum Island, often with the assistance of scientists from other countries, diagnose the pathogens that cause foreign animal diseases and then conduct research to, among other things, develop vaccines to protect against them. Some of the pathogens maintained at Plum Island, such as foot-and-mouth disease, are highly contagious to livestock and could cause catastrophic economic losses in the agricultural sector if they are released outside the facility. Other pathogens known to have been maintained at Plum Island could also cause illness and death in humans. For these reasons, USDA conducts its work on Plum Island within a sealed biocontainment area that has special safety features designed to contain the pathogens. After the terrorist attacks on the United States, new laws and regulations required officials at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center to further restrict access to the pathogens in order to protect animal health and, thereby, also help reduce the possibility of bioterrorism. In addition, Plum Island and its assets and liabilities were transferred from USDA to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Today, USDA continues to conduct its diagnostic and research work on Plum Island, but it now does so in coordination with DHS as part of a broader joint strategy to protect against the intentional or accidental introduction of foreign animal diseases. In 2005, we reported that, as part of that strategy, DHS had started to develop plans to replace the Plum Island Animal Disease Center with a new, modernized facility. Since then, DHS has selected six possible sites for this new facility, including Plum Island. This planned higher-level biosecurity facility will enable the department to expand the research currently conducted on the island to include work on higher-consequence biological threats posed by zoonotic (i.e., transmittable from animals to humans) and foreign animal diseases. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-306R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-306R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-306R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-306R.pdf GAO-08-306R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-306R Correspondence GAO-08-306R; Plum Island Animal Disease Center: DHS Has Made Significant Progress Implementing Security Recommendations, but Several Recommendations Remain Open; Animal diseases Animals Biocontainment laboratories Bioterrorism Disease control Diseases Emerging infectious diseases Facility security Federal regulations Homeland security Laboratory animals Security threats Strategic planning Sustainable agriculture Zoonotic diseases ARS Plum Island Animal Disease Center Volume 116 Page 647 Volume 116 Page 2135 116 Stat. 647 116 Stat. 2135 Public Law 107-188 Public Law 107-296