Building 257

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Building 257, also known as Lab 257, was a United States biological warfare research laboratory located at Fort Terry on Plum Island, New York. Originally intended for munitions storage, the facility researched anti-animal biological agents beginning in 1952 under the United States Army. Biological warfare research continued in the building under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) until a new laboratory was completed.

History[]

Building No. 257 at Fort Terry, on Plum Island near Long Island, New York, was completed around 1911.[1] The original purpose of the building was to store weapons, such as mines, and the structure was designated the Combined Torpedo Storehouse and Cable Tanks building.[1] Fort Terry went through a period of activations and deactivations through World War II until the U.S. Army Chemical Corps took over the facility in 1952 for use in anti-animal biological warfare (BW) research.[2] The Chemical Corps planned a laboratory for the fort, to be housed in Building 257.[1] The conversion of Fort Terry to a BW facility required the remodeling of Building 257 and other structures.[2]

As work neared completion on the lab and other facilities in the spring of 1954 the mission of Fort Terry changed.[3] Construction was completed on the facilities on May 26, 1954, but the post was transferred to the USDA before the military could utilize the new laboratory facilities.[1] Fort Terry was officially transferred to the USDA on July 1, 1954, at the time scientists from the Bureau of Animal Industry were already working in Building 257.[1] Construction on a new lab facility, known as Building 101, also began about this time but was not completed until September 1956.[1]

A modernization program in 1977 aimed to update both Building 257 and Building 101, but the program was canceled in 1979 because of construction contract irregularities.[1] Plum Island facilities were essentially unchanged until a new modernization began in 1990.[1] Two-thirds of the laboratory facilities inside Building 101 were renovated and operations in Building 257 were consolidated into Building 101.[1] According to a United States Department of Homeland Security spokesperson in 2004, Building 257 was closed in 1995 and poses no health hazard.[4]

Research[]

The original anti-animal BW mission was "to establish and pursue a program of research and development of certain anti-animal (BW) agents".[5] By August 1954 animals occupied holding areas at Plum Island and research was ongoing within Building 257.[3] Scientists worked with "hot viruses" in the building, known simply as Lab 257 at this point, on animals and in petri dishes.[3] Work was conducted through gloveboxes: steel, windowed boxes outfitted with glove inserts for experiments inside the contained box.[3] The USDA facility, known as the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, continued work on biological warfare research until the U.S. program was ended by Richard Nixon in 1969.[2]

The bio-weapons research at Building 257 and Fort Terry was shrouded in aura of mystery and secrecy.[4][6] The existence of biological warfare experiments on Plum Island was denied for several decades by the U.S. government. In 1993 Newsday unearthed documents proving otherwise.[6]

Discredited conspiracy theories[]

Conspiracy theories have spread that falsely allege Lyme disease, first documented in nearby Lyme, CT, was a bioweapon that originated at Plum Island laboratory.[7] A discredited 2004 book entitled Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory fueled the conspiracy theories.[4][8] Archived specimens show that Lyme disease was endemic well before the establishment of Plum Island laboratory.[7] Additionally, Lyme disease was never a topic of research at Plum Island, according to the US Department of Homeland Security and Department of Agriculture. [9][4]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "1669–2003: A Partial History of Plum Island Archived 2009-03-09 at the Wayback Machine", United States Animal Health Association Newsletter, Vol. 30, No. 4, October 2003, pp. 5, 26, accessed January 10, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Cella, Alexandra. "An Overview of Plum Island: History, Research and Effects on Long Island", Long Island Historical Journal, Fall 2003/Spring 2004, Vol. 16, Nos. 1 and 2, pp. 176–181 (194–199 in PDF), accessed January 10, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d Carroll, Michael C. Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory, (Google Books), HarperCollins, 2004, pp. 45–48, (ISBN 0060011416).
  4. ^ a b c d Dunn, Adam. "The mysterious lab off New York's shore", CNN.com, April 2, 2004, accessed January 10, 2009.
  5. ^ Wheelis, Mark, et al. Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945, (Google Books), Harvard University Press, 2006 p. 225-228, (ISBN 0674016998).
  6. ^ a b Lambert, Bruce. "Closely Guarded Secrets: Some Islands You Can't Get to Visit", The New York Times, May 17, 1998, accessed January 10, 2009.
  7. ^ a b Telford, Sam (11 August 2019). "No, Lyme disease is not an escaped military bioweapon, despite what conspiracy theorists say". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  8. ^ Kirby, Reid. "Book Reviews Archived 2009-03-09 at the Wayback Machine", Army Chemical Review, January–June 2005, accessed January 10, 2009.
  9. ^ "Plum Island Animal Disease Center". Department of Homeland Security. 6 July 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2020.

External links[]

Coordinates: 41°10′19″N 72°11′43″W / 41.17194°N 72.19528°W / 41.17194; -72.19528

Retrieved from ""