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That’s the Dept. of Homeland Security’s term for any anticipated release of Foot & Mouth Disease @ the DHS/USDA National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas. That “Cull Zone” is estimated to be within a 250 mile radius of Kansas State University.
Perhaps you’re unaware that DHS’ initial estimate of a FMD “accidental” release from NBAF was 70% over the lab’s 50-year lifespan (2023-2073). The National Academy of Science was tasked by Congress to review DHS’s estimate. NAS showed the Site Specific Risk Aassessment to be seriously flawed; so DHS contracted for a 2nd SSRA, which whittled the risk down to < 1%!
The NAS study looked beyond 250 miles, to include seven states: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
I spoke before the NAS meeting @ KSU in September, 2012. I told them that my ancestors had brought the first steam-powered thresher West of the Mississippi to Sumner Co., KS,, in the 1880s. And, that I was afraid of what the NBAF would bring to Kansas should a “mad” researcher decide to spread a zoonotic disease pathogen . . . this is a reasonable question, based upon the Anthrax Mailer being a 19-year employee of USAMRIID (United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases) see:
It was particularly relevant because the former USAMRIID Commander, Col/DVM David R. Franz, and his subordinates Colonels Jerry & Nancy K. Jaax, had been working for KSU since 1999. Jerry Jaax was “University Veterinarian” & associate vice president for research compliance.
The Colonels had established only a SECRET level of security @ the USAMRIID. Dr. Bruce Ivins, the anthrax mailer, had so many ways to remove Anthrax from the lab that the FBI couldn’t begin to spell out how he’d done it.
NOTE: I live 1.6 miles, as the germs fly, from the NBAF. I taught HS science, so I initially had hopes the NBAF would provide employment opportunities. I worked from 1981 to 1985 @ the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center, St. Louis; where digital mapping of the Earth’s surface provded coordinates for cruise missiles. It was a Top Secret –Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (TS-SCIF). I envisioned the NBAF to be a TS-SCIF, but KSU touted it as a learning environment for students & faculty; DHS stated only one room would be classified as TS-SCI, for the purpose for the FBI interviewing employees; and the Colonels Jaax co-wrote a LTE of the Manhattan Mercury in June 2008 stating the NBAF would be safe, &how safe it was to work @ USAMRIID & live within walking distance.
Then the FBI would announce in August that the Anthrax Mailer, a USAMRIID researcher, had committed suicide.
Also in 2008, the National Institute of Health would coin a term for my NBAF concerns:
Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) is life sciences research that, based on current understanding, can be reasonably anticipated to provide knowledge, information, products, or technologies that could be directly misapplied to pose a significant threat with broad potential consequences to public health and safety, agricultural crops and other plants, animals, the environment, materiel, or national security. The United States Government’s oversight of DURC is aimed at preserving the benefits of life sciences research while minimizing the risk of misuse of the knowledge, information, products, or technologies provided by such research.
How is it that KSU's Colonels Jerry & Nancy K. Jaax could assure Kansans in June 2008, before KSU was selected for the NBAF, how safe it would be, without mentioning DURC?
I should add that the Army's Table of Distribution & Allowances authorizes only SEVEN veterinarians @ the rank of Colonel. How is it that THREE retired veterinary Colonels were working @ KSU to bring the NBAF to Kansas?
Vice President and Chief Biological Scientist MRIGlobal, Frederick, MD
Dr. Franz served in the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command for 23 of 27 years on active duty and retired as Colonel. He served as Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and as Deputy Commander of the Medical Research and Materiel Command. Prior to joining the Command, he served as Group Veterinarian for the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne).
Dr. Franz was Technical Editor for the Textbook of Military Medicine on Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare released in 1997. He serves on numerous national committees and boards.*
Dr. Franz holds an adjunct appointment as Professor for the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University. The current focus of his activities relates to the role of international engagement in the life sciences as a component of national security policy.
Dr. Franz holds a D.V.M. from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in Physiology from Baylor College of Medicine.
KSU's President Jon Wefald named Dr. Franz as Director of Operations for the newly formed KSU National Agricultural Biosecurity Center. A Google search found a NABC email seeking assistance in disbursing $3million in grant money. For all intents & purposes, NABC was really a "house-of-cards" designed to give credibility to KSU's status as a center for "biosecurity." Early accomplishments included revamping a USAMRIID set of biological pathogens for terrorism flash cards to have a "civilian" appearance.
It wasn't long before Google found that Dr. Franz had been appointed by Pres. Bush to the Department of Homeland Security's Science Technology Advisory Committee (HSSTAC). He was the only biologist, and was never recognized as a Colonel in HSSTAC minutes, only as Dr. Franz.
The Homeland Security Science & Technology Advisory Committee (HSSTAC) met in a partially closed s ession on July15, 2008 in Arlington,VA. The determination to partially close the meeting was based on the consideration that the briefings and discussions during the meeting would involve classified information sensitive to homeland security. Disclosure of the information discussed could potentially increase the risk to our nation's security due to the identification of vulnerabilities and the potential areas of focus for future research to mitigate our vulnerabilities.
the ChemBio panel, is chaired by Dr. David Franz. Dr. Franz presented the timeline for the ChemBio Report, giving August lStas the deadline to have the draft completed. Before 1997, all ChemBio defense work was done in DoD. There was a $37 million budget until 911 1; afterwards, this number jumped into the billions.
Google also discovered that Dr. Franz had recently been hired by Midwest Research Institute (now MRIglobal) to start up a biological defense branch in Frederick, MD, hometown of USAMRIID.
Then Google reported that Dr. Franz had been appointed to the Executive Board of the Kansas Bioscience Authority, as the know-it-all biologist. KBA would go on to award > $450,000 to MRI; $200,000 for a study onhow to run the NBAF as a Government-Owned-Contractor-Operated laboratory. MRI was already managing TWO GOCOs: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, & SolarTAC (Solar Technology Acceleration Center) , Aurora, CO.
And then-KS Governor Sebelius appointed Dr. Franz in 2007 to serve on the “NBAF in Kansas Task Force."
Something's beginning to add up: Dr. Franz is working for KSU, sits on the Kansas Bioscience Authority Executive Committee, is VP of MRI; AND advising DHS to condemn Plum Island Animal Disease Center & the new site for NBAF? => conflict of interest @ DHS?
So I filed a comment re: Dr. Franz with the DHS Inspector General. The Texas group formed in support of getting the NBAF also was made aware of Dr. Franz, & filed a DHS IG complaint, as well.
Texas filed a bid protest against the USA before the Federal Court of Claims alleging that the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) failed to adequately analyze tornado risk, improperly rated the Kansas site higher than the Texas site and improperly rejected Texas’ cost share proposal. Plaintiffs also claimed that Kansas officials improperly influenced DHS and that DHS violated procurement rules by failing to properly evaluate sites per the site selection process.
The DHS Inspector General found that there was no conflict of interest; as the DHS site-selection official was not aware that Dr. Franz worked for entities destined to profit from locating the NBAF in Kansas.
I've referred to Dr. Franz as "a ringer;" others have labelled him as "the fixer."
NW Crow, I enjoy your posts on C-D Colorado. Appreciate your Questions:
My intention on starting this thread is perhaps, primarily for there to be a Google cached document of my "investigation" into why Kansas was picked for the NBAF. All of my comments on newspaper articles pertaining to the NBAF have been deleted when those newspapers revamped comments to require the poster's actual name. There are 2 or 3 which are still available via Google on ljworld.com, all the rest vanished, even though they were under my name.
elected officials => That is what I attempted 10 years ago. At a September 2008, Manhattan City Commission meeting held to approve the initial infrastructure commitments for NBAF. There was some applause when I'd turned around and asked the 2 KSU employees (Ron W. Trewyn, Ph.D. NBAF Liaison, Office of the President Kansas State University & Dr. Sue Peterson, Chief Government Relations Officer, Office of the President/Governmental Relations) seated behind me to stop talking while the mayor was speaking.
I then got up to speak & slipped off my Marmot Gortex raincoat to reveal a large fluorescent green Halloween skeleton wearing a sunflower yellow "NO NBAF IN KANSAS" t-shirt. I shared the information I've posted: that the KSU Colonels beind bringing the NBAF to KSU were the enablers of the Anthrax Mailer. That they had run USAMRIID @ a security level far below that necessary for conducting Dual Use Research of Concern . . .
Again, there was some audience applaluse. Then the Mayor of Manhattan, Bob Strawn, stated My KSU friends tell me the NBAF will be safe.
I next sent the members of the Manhattan City Commission an email detailing who was beind the NBAF @ KSU, prior to their 2nd meeting to approve the NBAF infrastructure commitments. It should be noted that other members of the City Commission were KS state Rep. Tom Phillips (my doctor's husband, & I shared this info with her); Dr. James E. Sherow, KSU University Distinguished Professor (wiki: James Sherow is an environmental and agricultural historian at Kansas State University and a regional Democratic politician in Kansas. He is most notable for serving as a city commissioner and mayor of the city of Manhattan, Kansas.); Bruce Snead (on city commission: 1995-2011); Mayor: 1997-1998, 2001-2002, 2006- 2007, 2010-2011), Director, KSU Engineering Extension; & Dr. Mark J Hatesohl DC - Chiropractic Family Health Center in Manhattan.
It should be noted that Dr. Sherow was absent from the meeting approving the NBAF infrastructure! It should also be noted that perennial city commissioner/mayor Snead, was a member of Gov. Sebelius' “NBAF in Kansas Task Force." The commission approved the infrastructure improvements (city water/sewer/road improvements). I also should note that when HSSTAC member Gen. Terry heard that the detailed drawings of those plans had been made widely available, in alarm stated such plans would be classified information @ any military installation. (NOTE: Prior to me commenting on NBAF anonymously (DevilsAdvocate) in The Topeka Capital Journal & The Manhattan Mercury, the HSSTAC minutes were available unredacted on the DHS website. Coincidentally, Pres. Bush's letter establishing the HSSTAC & naming its charter members (Dr. Franz) is no longer to be found on the Internet. The current HSSTAC members are primarily PhDs. Franz was one of 2 PhDs in the first committee. Another member was an Iowa county sheriff. There was no one to ever question Dr. Franz's HSSTAC input as valid.
In August, 2008, I attempted to get a LTE published in The Manhattan Mercury. I was told it was too long; I shortened it; & I was told they'd already printed anti-NBAF LTEs. NOTE: Bill Felber, editor of The Mercury, visited each of the other 4 possible NBAF sites & reported their "attributes" all failing to match Kansas'. Following his retirement, Felber was hired as Media/Public Relations Consultant @ KSU's Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD); a DHS-funded entity. The CEEZAD holds conferences attended by pathogen experts from around the world. When two local car dealerships provided loaners to attendees, I called their Business Mgrs. & told them who they were hosting. I have since purchased a new 2009 Nissan Xterra, & just traded it in on a 2019 Toyota Land Cruiser, both @ dealers in Olathe, KS. SMILE
When I'd asked Walt Braun, editorial page editor @ The Mercury, what were the names of the 2 KSU Colonels who had sent in the NBAF will be safe LTE; he didn't know. When I asked for his NBAF reading file (I worked in Public Relations for 5 years); he didn't have one. He suggested I call former Mercury reporter, Katie Mayes @ KSU. I then began to Google her. She was in Media Relations, & prepared all the NBAF articles being published as TRUTH in The Manhattan Mercury. IF a anti-NBAF LTE was received @ the newspaper, it was forwarded to Mayes, & I believe Col Jerry Jaax would prepare a "rebuttal" which would appear on the front page prior to the LTE. Taking a wild guess, I sent an email detailing the collusion between The Mercury & KSU; and sent it to Pres. Jon Wefald, Col. Jerry Jaax, Dr. Ron Trewyn, & Editor Bill Felber. Felber responded immediately, on Aug. 1, 2008 with Your illogical effort to imply a connection between a guy's suicide over th (sic) anthrax case in Maryland and the NBAF decision here, in my judgement, undermines your credibility.
Katie Mayes was promoted to Director of Marketing Services for Kansas State University’s Division of Communications and Marketing. she also received a master’s in strategic communications from Kansas State University. Her husband, David Mayes, formerly The Mercury's chief photographer, was appointed KSU University Photographer by President Wefald.
Interesting coincidences? Felber had written that Mississipians were too ignorant to know that they were incapable of supporting the NBAF. The man in charge of Mississippi's effort to bring the NBAF to their fine state was none other than Mississippi State's vice president for research and economic development, Dr. Kirk Schulz. Schulz became the 13th President of Kansas State! I suspect he may have been smarting from Felber's remarks on Mississippians, as Katie Mayes was removed from Media Relations; David Mayes lost his job as University Photographer; and Bill Felber retired from The Manhattan Mercury, taking his propaganda skills to CEEZAD.
I sent that same email to 134 newspapers, members of the Kansas Press Association, none of them printed it. I did get a call from a nearby weekly's editor stating she just gone to press . . . The only newspaper to ever publish an article linking the Anthrax Mailer investigation to the NBAF was The Lawrence Journal World, in an interview with an anti-NBAFer, describing her fear that the NBAF might be subject to an employee's deliberate release of a pathogen.
Politicians? LOL The No NBAF in KS group pleaded with Rep. Nancy Boyda that DHS was spending $$$ to put the NBAF in Kansas; that Franz was advising DHS to that end. Nothing came of it.
Here is a thread I started on C-D Kansas that is more detailed (!?!?). It connects the dots between Dr. Marty Vanier, daughter of KSU's largest donors, a KSU alum veterinarian who never practiced (rumor has it she couldn't pass the state exam); appointed by Wefald to head KSU's National Agricultural Biosecurity Center; married Wefald's friend Bob Krause (deceased. KSU VP for Institutional Advancement; Athletic Director who offered to sign a life insurance policy naming Coach Ron Prince's kids as beneficiaries); & became DHS's point-woman here in Manhattan.
Every business in Manhattan is counting on NBAF $$$ for 50 years (2023-2073).
You will see that some Kansans believe what they've been spoon-fed by Kansas State University. I came to see those types as "sheep," which I think is fitting (maybe you've seen THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS Note to Goats: the NBAF will have THREE "digesters" in the basement, each capable of swallowing an entire cow carcass; with room for TWO more digesters!
These sheep have swallowed every story on how the NBAF will bring JOBS/NBAF spew-offs (companies hoping to be subcontractors in the development of vaccines); there's a strong rumor that Manhattan will even get a Red Lobster!
Kansas has even "created" the Animal Health Corridor.
Ten years after its founding, just how firmly fixed in international awareness is the Kansas City-centered Animal Health Corridor?
Monday night, hundreds of people are gathering here, some from around the world, to celebrate the group’s 10th anniversary. On Tuesday, hundreds more will attend an investor showcase here of companies on the cutting edge of animal health.
No question about it. The 300-mile corridor between Manhattan, Kan., and Columbia, Mo., is firmly fixed as “the Silicon Valley for animal health research and development,” said Sam Al-Murrani, interim CEO of Prommune Inc., a startup working on swine and avian flu vaccines that is relocating to Overland Park from Omaha, Neb.
I share my cynical/satirical side in that thread on occasion. 64 people read my last post within 24 hrs of posting. I'm sure some of them are paid by the Dept. of Homeland Security (I used to work with language experts who read foreign language newspapers/magazines for Defense Mapping Agency; gleaning info on structures being built => update digital map coordinates for cruise missiles).
• The updated site-specific risk assessment is a substantial improvement over the original 2010 site-specific risk assessment, addressing many shortcomings identified in the previous National Research Council report. Despite these improvements, the report's authoring committee finds that the updated site-specific risk assessment underestimates the risks of pathogen release and infection and inadequately characterizes the uncertainties of these risks.
• The latest designs for the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility are 65 percent complete and appear sound, however, it was beyond the committee's task to formally review or pass judgment on the actual engineering or safety of the facility.
• The 2010 site-specific risk assessment showed that for the two greatest release scenarios, there is nearly a 70 percent probability that a release of foot-and-mouth disease virus could result in an infection outside the laboratory over the 50-year lifespan of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas. In contrast, the updated site-specific risk assessment concludes that for 142 possible release events, the cumulative probability of such a release is just 0.11 percent (or 1 in 46,000 chance per year).
the committee identified concerns about how the framework was implemented and found that methods were inconsistently applied across the various sections of the updated site-specific risk assessment and that probabilistic dependencies in calculating risk scenarios were ignored, resulting in underestimations of total risk and incorrect ranking of risk contributors.
• Questionable and inappropriate assumptions used throughout the updated site-specific risk assessment lead to artificially low estimates of the probabilities and amounts of pathogen that might be released. Because the updated site-specific risk assessment contains inconsistent information, it has been difficult to interpret data or to reconstruct risk scenarios in order to determine the degree to which risks were underestimated.
• The updated site-specific risk concludes that a release caused by a natural hazard, such as a tornado *or earthquake, is 20 times more likely than a release caused by an error or failure during normal facility operations. The committee questions this conclusion and finds that the updated site-specific risk assessment overestimates the likelihood of a release caused by a natural hazard.
• The updated site-specific risk assessment does not consider overall risk for biosafety level 4 work and presents a limited qualitative assessment of impact. It focused exclusively on the unique risks associated with handling large animals in biosafety level 4 containment and provides only a minimal risk estimate by considering other activities in the biosafety level 4 suites, such as the handling of Nipah virus and Hendra virus, suggesting these activities are risk-free. The updated site-specific risk assessment does not adequately consider the totality of risks, and likely underestimates the overall risk related to the biosafety level 4 suite.
The council’s analysts said NBAF plans lacked an early-release detection and response system, clinical isolation facilities and world-class infectious disease clinicians experienced in diagnosing and treating laboratory staff or communities exposed to dangerous pathogens that affect people.
Mercy Regional Health Center, the sole medical center close to the NBAF site in Manhattan, does not have such resources. If a pathogen escapes or a laboratory worker acquires an infection, the deficiency of the location would become immediately apparent, which will not only damage the credibility of the federal agencies involved but also potentially cost human lives, the committee said.
The closest BSL-4 disease treatment isolation facilities are @ Nebraska Medical Center's 10-bed biocontainment unit. in Omaha. The hospital is home to the largest of four high-level biocontainment patient care units in the U.S.
So what DHS contractor prepared the initial & updated NBAF Site-Specific Risk Assessments for DHS? Edward Snowden’s employer, Booz Allen Hamilton. Perhaps you’ll remember that Snowden spilled an endless number of classified details about the U.S. intelligence community's secret surveillance programs. At one time, Booz Allen Hamilton had a website touting its work on the NBAF SSRAs. I often cited that page as proof that DHS had no in-house expertise in assessing the risks of the NBAF; & that the hired gun was Snowden's employer, so perhaps all their NBAF TS-SCI data is also out there floating around on WikiLeaks?
*On June 11, 2008 an F-4 tornado ripped through Manhattan & KSU'a NBAF site. So sure, DHS has bet on a tornado striking the same spot twice, in order to get an estimate that another tornado is 20 times more likely than any lab mishap. Logic has never been a DHS NBAF strong point.
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Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC)
