Download or read book Evaluation of a Site Specific Risk Assessment for the Department of Homeland Security s Planned National Bio and Agro Defense Facility in Manhattan Kansas written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-01-02 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Congress requested that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) produce a site-specific biosafety and biosecurity risk assessment (SSRA) of the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas. The laboratory would study dangerous foreign animal diseases-including the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which affects cattle, pigs, deer, and other cloven-hoofed animals-and diseases deadly to humans that can be transmitted between animals and people. Congress also asked the Research Council to review the validity and adequacy of the document. Until these studies are complete, Congress has withheld funds to build the NBAF. Upon review of the DHS assessment, the National Research Council found "several major shortcomings." Based on the DHS risk assessment, 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, impacting the economy by estimates of $9 billion to $50 billion. The present Research Council report says the risks and costs of a pathogen being accidently released from the facility could be significantly higher. The committee found that the SSRA has many legitimate conclusions, but it was concerned that the assessment does not fully account for how a Biosafety-Level 3 Agriculture and Biosafety-Level 4 Pathogen facility would operate or how pathogens might be accidently released. In particular, the SSRA does not include important operation risks and mitigation issues, such as the risk associated with the daily cleaning of large animal rooms. It also fails to address risks that would likely increase the chances of an FMD leak or of the disease's spread after a leak, including the NBAF's close proximity to the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine clinics and KSU football stadium or personnel moving among KSU facilities.
Download or read book Pandora s Gamble written by Alison Young and published by Center Street. This book was released on 2023-04-25 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2023 A ‘remarkable book.’ – The New York Times This fearless, deeply reported book about laboratory accidents asks the haunting question some elite scientists don’t want the public to entertain: Did the COVID-19 pandemic start with a lab leak in Wuhan, China? This is an obvious question. Yet there’s been an extraordinary effort by government officials in China, as well as leading scientific experts in the United States and around the world, to shut down any investigation or discussion of the lab leak theory. In private, however, some of the world’s elite scientists have seen a lab accident as a very real and horrifying possibility. They know what the public doesn’t. Lab accidents happen with shocking frequency. Even at the world’s best-run labs. That’s among the revelations from Alison Young, the award-winning investigative reporter who has spent nearly 15 years uncovering shocking safety breaches at prestigious U.S. laboratories for USA Today and other respected news outlets. In Pandora’s Gamble, Young goes deep into the troubling history -- and enormous risks -- of leaks and accidents at scientific labs. She takes readers on a riveting journey around the world to some of the worst lab mishaps in history, including the largely unknown stories of the lab workers at the U.S. Army’s Camp Detrick who suffered devastating infections at alarming rates during World War II. And her groundbreaking reporting exposes for the first time disturbing new details about recent accidents at prestigious laboratories – and the alarming gaps in government oversight that put all of us at risk. Sourced through meticulous reporting and exclusive interviews with key players including Dr. Anthony Fauci, former CDC Director Tom Frieden and others, Young’s examination reveals that the only thing rare about lab accidents is the public rarely finds out about them. Because when accidents happen, powerful people and institutions often work hard to keep the information secret.
Download or read book Evaluation of the Updated Site Specific Risk Assessment for the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility in Manhattan Kansas written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-08-24 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Safeguarding U.S. agriculture from foreign animal diseases and protecting our food system require cutting-edge research and diagnostic capabilities. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have embarked on an important mission to replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) with a new facility, the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF). When operational, this new facility would be the world's fourth biosafety level-4 laboratory capable of large animal research. It would serve as a critical world reference laboratory for identifying emerging and unknown disease threats, and would thus be a critical asset in securing the future health, wealth, and security of the nation. DHS selected Manhattan, Kansas, as the site for the new NBAF after an extensive site-selection process that involved an environmental impact statement. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) raised concerns about DHS's analysis of the potential spread of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDv), one of the most serious foreign animal disease threats. Congress directed DHS to conduct a site-specific risk assessment (SSRA) for the NBAF, instructed the National Research Council (NRC) to independently evaluate the SSRA, and prohibited obligation of NBAF construction funds until the NRC review was complete. Congress mandated that DHS revise its SSRA to address shortcomings of the 2010 SSRA, directed the NRC to evaluate the updated SSRA (uSSRA), and again prohibited obligation of construction funds until the completion of the second review. The scope for both of these SSRA reports addressed accidental release of pathogens from the NBAF in Manhattan, Kansas and excluded terrorist acts and malicious threats from its risk assessments. Evaluation of the Updated Site-Specific Risk Assessment for the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas is the evaluation of the final uSSRA.
Download or read book Department of Homeland Security Appropriations for 2013 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Homeland Security and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Congressional Record written by United States. Congress and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 1618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)
Download or read book National Bio and Agro Defense Facility written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 1178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High Containment Biological Laboratories written by Committee on Anticipating Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-Containment Biological Laboratories and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-03-16 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During July 10-13, 2011, 68 participants from 32 countries gathered in Istanbul, Turkey for a workshop organized by the United States National Research Council on Anticipating Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-containment Biological Laboratories. The United States Department of State's Biosecurity Engagement Program sponsored the workshop, which was held in partnership with the Turkish Academy of Sciences. The international workshop examined biosafety and biosecurity issues related to the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of high-containment biological laboratories- equivalent to United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention biological safety level 3 or 4 labs. Although these laboratories are needed to characterize highly dangerous human and animal pathogens, assist in disease surveillance, and produce vaccines, they are complex systems with inherent risks. Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-Containment Biological Laboratories summarizes the workshop discussion, which included the following topics: Technological options to meet diagnostic, research, and other goals; Laboratory construction and commissioning; Operational maintenance to provide sustainable capabilities, safety, and security; and Measures for encouraging a culture of responsible conduct. Workshop attendees described the history and current challenges they face in their individual laboratories. Speakers recounted steps they were taking to improve safety and security, from running training programs to implementing a variety of personnel reliability measures. Many also spoke about physical security, access controls, and monitoring pathogen inventories. Workshop participants also identified tensions in the field and suggested possible areas for action.
Download or read book Toward Precision Medicine written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-01-16 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Motivated by the explosion of molecular data on humans-particularly data associated with individual patients-and the sense that there are large, as-yet-untapped opportunities to use this data to improve health outcomes, Toward Precision Medicine explores the feasibility and need for "a new taxonomy of human disease based on molecular biology" and develops a potential framework for creating one. The book says that a new data network that integrates emerging research on the molecular makeup of diseases with clinical data on individual patients could drive the development of a more accurate classification of diseases and ultimately enhance diagnosis and treatment. The "new taxonomy" that emerges would define diseases by their underlying molecular causes and other factors in addition to their traditional physical signs and symptoms. The book adds that the new data network could also improve biomedical research by enabling scientists to access patients' information during treatment while still protecting their rights. This would allow the marriage of molecular research and clinical data at the point of care, as opposed to research information continuing to reside primarily in academia. Toward Precision Medicine notes that moving toward individualized medicine requires that researchers and health care providers have access to very large sets of health- and disease-related data linked to individual patients. These data are also critical for developing the information commons, the knowledge network of disease, and ultimately the new taxonomy.
Download or read book Workforce Needs in Veterinary Medicine written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-11-17 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. veterinary medical profession contributes to society in diverse ways, from developing drugs and protecting the food supply to treating companion animals and investigating animal diseases in the wild. In a study of the issues related to the veterinary medical workforce, including demographics, workforce supply, trends affecting job availability, and capacity of the educational system to fill future demands, a National Research Council committee found that the profession faces important challenges in maintaining the economic sustainability of veterinary practice and education, building its scholarly foundations, and evolving veterinary service to meet changing societal needs. Many concerns about the profession came into focus following the outbreak of West Nile fever in 1999, and the subsequent outbreaks of SARS, monkeypox, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, highly pathogenic avian influenza, H1N1 influenza, and a variety of food safety and environmental issues heightened public concerns. They also raised further questions about the directions of veterinary medicine and the capacity of public health service the profession provides both in the United States and abroad. To address some of the problems facing the veterinary profession, greater public and private support for education and research in veterinary medicine is needed. The public, policymakers, and even medical professionals are frequently unaware of how veterinary medicine fundamentally supports both animal and human health and well-being. This report seeks to broaden the public's understanding and attempts to anticipate some of the needs and measures that are essential for the profession to fulfill given its changing roles in the 21st century.
Download or read book International Science in the National Interest at the U S Geological Survey written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-07-18 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is intrinsically global, and from early in its history, the USGS has successfully carried out international projects that serve U.S. national interests and benefit the USGS domestic mission. Opportunities abound for the USGS to strategically pursue international science in the next 5-10 years that bears on growing worldwide problems having direct impact on the United States-climate and ecosystem changes, natural disasters, the spread of invasive species, and diminishing natural resources, to name a few. Taking a more coherent, proactive agency approach to international science-and building support for international projects currently in progress-would help the USGS participate in international science activities more effectively.
Download or read book National Bio and Agro Defense Facility written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 1010 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Budget of the United States Government written by United States and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 1424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Appendix Budget of the United States Government Fiscal Year 2011 written by Office of Management and Budget (U S and published by Office of Management and Budget. This book was released on 2010 with total page 1422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "[C]ontains the Budget Message of the President, information on the President's priorities, budget overviews organized by agency, and summary tables"--V. 1.
Download or read book Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States written by United States. Congress. House and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 1772 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some vols. include supplemental journals of "such proceedings of the sessions, as, during the time they were depending, were ordered to be kept secret, and respecting which the injunction of secrecy was afterwards taken off by the order of the House."
Download or read book Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act 2010 written by United States. Congress and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book National Bio and Agro Defense Facility NBAF written by Dana A. Shea and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011-04 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To safeguard the U.S. against animal disease, research has been conducted at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC), off the coast of N.Y., on animal diseases not native to the U.S. PIADC is outdated and too limited to continue as the primary facility for this research. A plan to provide safe, secure, and state-of-the-art agriculture bio-containment labs for R&D of diagnostic capabilities and medical counter-measures for foreign animal and zoonotic diseases has been approved. A new facility will be constructed which would house high-containment labs able to handle the pathogens currently under investigation at PIADC, as well as others. Community concerns about safety and security are being voiced about NBAF. This is a print on demand report.
Download or read book Department of Homeland Security Appropriations for 2010 Part 2 2009 111 1 Hearings written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 676 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
