DHS Picks Biodefense Lab Site

The Department of Homeland Security released the final Environmental Impact Statement for its proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility on Dec. 5. Out of six proposed sites, the department chose Manhattan, Kan., as the preferred site for its new high-security laboratory. “This facility, once built, will help us protect our livestock industry, food supply, and public health from the accidental or intentional introduction of a foreign animal or zoonotic disease in the U.S.,” says Jay M. Cohen, DHS’s undersecretary for science and technology. The new facility will replace the 54-year-old Plum Island Animal Disease Center, in New York. Classified at the highest biosafety level, the facility will be equipped to study diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and anthrax. It is slated to open in 2015.