***BIOLOGICAL WMD LAB IN GALVESTON*** - Democratic Underground

cui bono

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Wed Sep-17-08 07:04 PM
Original message

***BIOLOGICAL WMD LAB IN GALVESTON***

Edited on Wed Sep-17-08 07:31 PM by cui bono

Just learned about this from a friend on a gaming site who is a Houston resident. He posted the bio lab info but also mentioned many bodies washing up on shore...

He posted:

This is NOT good my friends. I talked to a coworker and she told me a friend of hers talked to a doctor from the area. Doctor told her that there is a media black out and that bodies are washing onshore that could surpass Katrina. I think I'm going to be sick. There's more. Seems the black out is not just for the bodies, but also because there was some kind of Bio Lab there. See the link.
http://blessingsblessings.newsvine.com/_news/2008/09/17/1875291-galveston-coverup-you-decide

I'm going home...I'm feeling ill right about now.
I'm hearing about entire families getting wiped out.
(emphasis added)

From bio lab link (the whole article is worth a read):

Amidst the tragedy arises a new concern.

We now know of a facility euphemistically called the "University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston" (UTMB), whose website proclaims, "An academic health center dedicated to educating science professionals and researchers....solving biomedical puzzles through research...", that contains a Level-IV Bio Lab, one of only five in the United States. Level 4 is the highest bio-hazard level, and the most dangerous. Even the prestigious National Research Council criticized a federal government analysis that concluded that these labs pose no health threat to heavily populated communities, like Boston's South End and Galveston. One cannot but wonder what sort of demented individual or group would advocate such a facility anywhere near a heavily populated area, much less one on a barrier island in a flood plane and hurricane-prone region.

A Level 4 Bio-hazard Lab routinely handles agents comprising biological weapons of mass destruction. The NRC report states the U.S. government "... failed to adequately consider the dangers of working with the world's deadliest germs, including Ebola and plague, in the middle of a congested urban neighborhood." Such a facility is in an area of residential structures that suffered water seven feet deep in the first floor, not to mention the high winds and towering waves. The official response to inquiry is that only "minor" damage was sustained, but the entire complex has been taken over by the military, and no reporters have been allowed near the labs.

To put this in perspective, consider the lab announcement from the University website:

"The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is the site of the $167 million facility. Of the total 83,000-square-foot building, 12,362 square feet will be devoted to biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) research.

BSL-4 space is secure for work with "dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high individual risk of aerosol-transmitted laboratory infections and life-threatening disease," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among BSL-4 safeguards are special air seals and air ducts to and from the lab, individual air supplies for researchers, required personal protection suits for workers, and numerous levels of security for entry. Such labs study diseases including anthrax, Ebola, SARS, and others."

http://blessingsblessings.newsvine.com/_news/2008/09/17/1875291-galveston-coverup-you-decide