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Plum Island
By Islomaniac | December 16, 2007
Islands are often seen as escapes from the everyday world offering privacy and paradise. However, the remoteness of many islands, as well as the added security associated with their distance from the mainland means that many islands are utilized by the government as research facilities.
Plum Island is one of the more well known islands utilized for research. The island is home to the Animal Disease Center which conducts research on animal pathogens in order to protect farmers, ranchers, and the national food supply. Due to the nature of the research, access to the island and the research facility is restricted.
In addition to being used as a research facility the island also is home to a historic lighthouse which was constructed under the order of George Washington in 1789. From 1899 to 1954 the island acted as a miltiary installation and during the second world war it acted as an anti-submarine base. In 1954 the Plum Island Animal Disease Center was formed.
I was reading in the January 2008 issue of Popular Science that the facility has become out of date and will need to be rebuilt and modernized. Although the island is a candidate for the new facility, rumor has it there are six other candidates are in the running to be the site of the new research facility.
BRADEN
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