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Homeland Security 5 Year Anniversary 2003 - 2008, One Team, One Mission Securing the Homeland

Fact Sheet: Plum Island Animal Disease Center Transition

Release Date: 06/06/03 00:00:00

The Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) became part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as mandated by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (PL 107-296, Section 310), on June 1, 2003.

PIADC will remain an important national asset in which scientists conduct basic and applied research and diagnostic activities to protect the health of livestock on farms across America from foreign disease agents.  

DHS has the mission to protect America from terrorist threats including those directed against agriculture.  The transfer of PIADC operations facilitates the Department's ability to lead a focused research and development program to prevent, respond to and recover from the intentional introduction of animal diseases.  

Facts about the Plum Island Animal Disease Center

  • PIADC is located on Plum Island, 840 acres that lie 1.5 miles from Orient Point, New York and 9 miles from Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
  • PIADC has 180 employees, of whom 92 are research scientists with the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Agricultural Research Service.  
  • Plum Island derives its name from the profusion of native plum trees on its beaches. The Island has a storied place in America's colonial, Revolutionary, and military history.  Plum Island buttressed the nation's coastal and harbor defenses during the Spanish-American War through World War II.
  • Plum Island's contribution to animal disease research dates to 1951, under auspices of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps.  By mid-decade, the U.S. Congress appropriated funds for a new laboratory in response to outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Mexico (1946) and Canada (1952); the facilities were transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and a new Plum Island Animal Disease Laboratory was dedicated at the site.  

DHS and USDA Have Initiated Joint Management Steps

  • USDA will continue its research and development and diagnostics programs at PIADC.  Research staff will remain employees of the USDA while contributing to PIADC's expanded agro-terrorism mission.
  • DHS has named Marc Hollander Acting Center Director.  Mr. Hollander is Deputy Director for Facilities and Infrastructure in the Office of Research and Development, DHS Science and Technology Directorate.
  • DHS has assumed administration and management responsibilities for PIADC, encompassing utilities, transportation, facilities and grounds, biocontainment needs, facility security, fire protection and emergency medical services, environmental management, warehousing, and operations and maintenance.  DHS will work closely with USDA to modernize the facilities to support both Departments' missions.
  • Between now and October 1, DHS will conclude a detailed facilities, environmental, and operations assessment as part of an overall PIADC modernization plan.  
  • DHS considers public outreach a critical element of its management, and will work in partnership with USDA to enhance communications with the local community. DHS intends to create an external advisory committee process for PIADC operations.

PIADC Will Support Biological Countermeasures Programs at DHS

  • PIADC will contribute to DHS's biological countermeasures program in the Department's Science and Technology Directorate.  The biological countermeasures program seeks to reduce the probability and potential consequences of a biological attack on the nation's civilian population and its agricultural system.  
  • The biological countermeasures program places its greatest emphasis on high-consequence biological threats, including agricultural diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and high-volume contamination of food supplies.

PIADC Will Continue Its Veterinary Sciences and Animal Health Research

  • PIADC conducts research on foreign animal diseases that are not present in the United States.  DHS has no plans to change PIADC's current research agenda on foreign animal diseases, which focuses primarily on foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever.
  • International scientific collaboration and commercialization of vaccines and diagnostic tools will remain salient features of PIADC's research agenda.
  • Work on zoonotic agents - disease-causing organisms that can infect both animals and humans - is not a part of PIADC's research agenda.
  • The island setting and biocontainment facilities of PIADC permit safe and secure research.  PIADC biocontainment facilities operate at a Biosafety Level 3.  DHS has no plans in the near or long term for a Biosafety Level 4 facility.

June 6, 2003

This page was last modified on 06/06/03 00:00:00