Posted on 09/13/2005 6:52:58 PM PDT by SmithL
As rising floodwaters swamped New Orleans, Louisiana's chief epidemiologist enlisted state police on a mission to break into a high-security government lab and destroy any dangerous germs before they could escape or fall into the wrong hands.
Armed with bolt cutters and bleach, Dr. Raoult Ratard's team entered the state's so-called "hot lab," and killed all the living samples.
"This is what had to be done," said Ratard, who matter-of-factly put a sudden end to his lab's work on dangerous germs, which he wouldn't name.
At least Ratard's team was able to retrieve laptop computers containing vital scientific data. Many other scientists in the region weren't so fortunate, losing years of research, either through storm damage or voluntary destruction.
Not since the torrential floods from Tropical Storm Allison, which badly damaged the Texas Medical Center in 2001, has scientific research been disrupted on such a large scale. Doctors and researchers in the Crescent City became exiles overnight, indefinitely locked out of their labs and unable to see patients.
Thousands of laboratory animals — many genetically engineered with human diseases like cancer and painstakingly bred and cared for — perished along with vital tissue samples thawed in abandoned labs.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Let's hope they were successful.
Yes, it's good they remmebered.
However ...
When chose the location to build this lab in the first place, I sure wish they remembered that New Olrleans is a city below sea level sitting between the Mississippi River, a large lake, and the Gulf of Mexico smack dab in the middle of Hurricane Country. What were they thinking?
Good question. I was wondering the same thing.
People like Nagin can get elected to lead a city of 500,000 but would never (ever!) get a job with real responsibility. You don't want the lab manager deciding that the President of the US ought to go kill your germ samples for you.
Thank God the extensive research on Gay/Lesbian/Queer Studies and Feminism was saved!
Was this really the best place they could find for such a lab?
That was my first thought. This is the sort of thing that responsible adults do in an emergency. You do what has to be done and don't spend days whining about how someone else should take care of it.
What the H#!! is a high security government lab full of very dangerous pathogens doing in this disaster-waiting-to-happen location??? I want the NAMES of the congressmorons responsible for authorizing and funding this insanity!
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