CASE STUDY: The Plum Island Mystery

Image via WikipediaBy Joseph Parish

Since the turn of the century the federal government has been aggressively eradicating extensive amounts of contaminants and waste from a small Island in New York commonly identified as Plum Island. The name may ring a bell in your mind, as it is the previous Top Secret Army Germ Warfare Research Laboratory. For several decades this lab with its 840 acres and 70 buildings was the vista of America's most hazardous and deadliest research dealing with dangerous animal associated diseases.

Plum Island is positioned off the northeast coast of Long Island. It has an extensive and remarkable history dating back to the Spanish-American War where the government acquired the island to construct the Fort Terry military reservation. Fort Terry was ultimately deactivated abruptly after World War II had ended although the location was again reactivated in 1952.

In response to the recurrent epidemics of diseases originating from Canada and Mexico, the island was consigned under control of the Agriculture Department for use as a research center. Its original target, in 1954 was a noble cause, as a research center established to concoct some sort of protection for America's livestock. During that time frame there was considerable lose of domestic animals from various diseases. As the Cold War approached, the center transformed into a unit with more sinister purposes as it assumed a secret biological weapons profile. This federal program has been the focus of many intense controversies which eventually caused the facility to reap a sort of cult status.

The choice for Plum Island was likely selected for the fact that it was a secluded island, however after 911, our government concluded that the location of the island presented somewhat of a vulnerability and an invitation for terrorists.

Those inhabitants residing in Connecticut are more then familiar with the countless rumors that populate conversations regarding the existence of several monsters within the region of the island. One of the foremost of these tales is that which recounts the dreaded Lyme disease. It is suspected that this ailment had its beginning on the island and rapidly spread to the mainland of Connecticut in particular the city of Lyme Connecticut.

One person from the city of Lyme who is suffering from MS, asserts that her condition was caused by exposure to the Lyme disease virus. We would do well to keep in mind that the town of Lyme is the closest municipality to the island. The lady argues that she does not know if the release of the virus was deliberate or by human error but she leaves no doubt in her mind that it originated from Plum Island. For those who may not be aware of it, Lyme disease is an insidious disease which has yet to be properly addressed by the media. It runs unbridled throughout the southern portion of New England.

Another tale of horror revolves around the Montauk monster which is reputed to originate from the island as well. Encouraging this theory is the fact that Plum Island personnel will kill any wild mammal on sight when they see one on the island. For a good many years our government denied accusations that any sort of underground experimentation was taking place on the island and the population was lead to believe that the vicinity was merely a testing facility for resolutions resulting in animal diseases such as hoof-and-mouth disease.

For the masses that feel this island would provide the perfect backdrop for imaginative horror stories, you are absolutely correct. There has been a vast number of horror tales that use Plum Island as the locality in the tales. These narratives range from Zombie related genera to the appearance of strange creature sightings. George Romero's "Survival of the Dead" used Plum Island as a background however; they inaccurately stated the state as Delaware. Other video's which make reference to the island include the movie "Silence of the Lambs" where it was referred to as "Anthrax Island."

Michael Carroll wrote a book entitled "Lab 257" where he alleges that investigations conducted at Plum Island have resulted in outbreaks of three major infectious diseases. They are the Dutch Duck Plague, West Nile virus and Lyme disease. Carroll asserts in his book many accusations which are counter to the official government's position. Several other literary manuscripts which freely borrow from the Plum Island mystic include Les Roberts novel entitled "The Poison Plum" and one by Nelson DeMille entitled "Plum Island."

The actual facts of Plum Island read like a horror novel within itself. In the years when it functioned as an animal research lab, it had provided a home for the study of over 40 different animal diseases including African swine fever and hog cholera. This was not just any sort of "think tank environment" for it conducted over 30,000 diagnostic tests yearly.

There have been several situations that have contributed to the impression that Plum Island facilities could potentially be a source of danger. Since Plum Island's freezers contained a vast number of disease samples including polio the risks of accidental release was great. During 1991 these freezers were in jeopardy as the consequence of a vast power outage resulting from a hurricane being active in the area. It's motivating to realize that the law stipulates that no live foot and mouth virus can be studied on the American mainland so the research center became our only location capable of analyzing this disease. There were several episodes which occurred in 2004 where the foot and mouth disease was unfortunately released within the center itself. In response to those incidents Senator Hillary Clinton appealed to the Homeland Security officials expressing her apprehension for the safety of the center:

Although the biological weapons research was cancelled by President Richard Nixon in 1969 there is still an ample number of mystery and unknown factors surrounding this perplexing and eerie island. Perhaps in time we will know just what the facts are and what the fiction begins.

The Plum Island Mystery
By Joseph Parish

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