Personally, I'm 100 percent comfortable with the proposition that the government will be able to protect me from the activities that will take place on the proposed facility. But Rep. Forbes was skeptical about job possibilities for Long Islanders. I suspect that if the mayor of Greenport knew that all of those jobs would necessarily be housed in Connecticut instead of Greenport or the North Fork, he might have a different view. Nelson DeMille's recent novel Plum Island , about the mysterious killing of two scientists rumored to be involved in germ warfare on the island, provoked further winks and nods. Documents reportedly suggest some of the early work there may have been on bio-weapons that could be used to target the livestock of the Soviet Union.
Locals say they know of only one major accident occurring on Plum Island.
In the late 1970s, pathogens leaked from the facility. To contain them, the island was evacuated and sprayed with a strong dose of toxic chemicals, according to a scientist who worked for the lab. It is not believed anyone was hurt. Y A Clinton administration proposal to build a research facility near Long Island for countering biological terrorism is drawing opposition from local leaders. ABC News Internet Ventures.