Senators question security at USDA's Plum Island facility

Labor unrest may be affecting security at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center off Long Island, N.Y., which conducts research on infectious animal pathogens, according to Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Clinton sent a letter to the U.S. Agriculture Department this week charging that the Bush administration's labor policies were taking precedence over the security of the materials on the island, according to The New York Times.

More than 75 members of the International Union of Operating Engineers have been on strike at the center since August, according to the Times. The striking workers, employed by LB&B Associates, a U.S. subcontractor, occupy a number of technical, maintenance and service positions at the center, including safety technicians and operators of decontamination equipment.

Even though officials and scientists have said there is little chance of a dangerous leak occurring, there has been criticism that the workers brought into replace the striking employees have not been adequately screened and do not have the necessary training to respond to an emergency.

Staff members from the offices of several New York and Connecticut lawmakers, including Clinton and Schumer, were allowed to tour the center Tuesday. Several of those present during the tour said it only increased their security and safety concerns.

"It looked a little bit like a ghost town," said one person on the tour. "They have these air filtration systems and they told us that the person that was the manager, performing quality control, was now doing a job they had four people doing all by himself."

Agriculture spokeswoman Alisa Harrison, however, dismissed the senators' criticisms.

"That is completely irresponsible for them to say," she said. "What we are most concerned about is the result. Is the lab safe and secure and our employees protected? We feel that it is operating in a safe and operational way."