Houghton Grange - January to March 2016

[krela]

We don't concern ourselves with the details of security on this forum, thanks.

 

[Seven]

I lived about 15minutes from this place for 8years and never did go take a look, I've read about a lot of people being caught here and it really put me off,(also I'm kind of a chicken about these kind of places and didn't want to go alone), I really regret not taking the opportunity to now tho, maybe I'll get round to it one day

 

[J_a_t_33]

Very enjoyable read, thanks man

 

[The Wombat]

We visited early last year; but you've seen loads more than we could
Top work mate

 

[Dirus_Strictus]

Great report of an unpleasant place. Thanks.

Sadly a very necessary evil at the time. If this work had not been done, in a world that was becoming more and more dependant on factory/production line rearing of animals and fowl for the food chain, then human kind could have been in a dire situation today from cross over illnesses. Pathogens that appear quite normally in farm animals and fowl (domestic and wild) have the ability to decimate mankind and because they can easily mutate, are still a serious concern today with containment so difficult - due to air travel etc. In those early days laboratory workers and scientist were literally in the dark about how these pathogens moved from one species to another - containment, by having negative pressure, individual air conditioning to each lab, showering on entry and exit and even incineration of lab wear after single use, all appeared on the containment method lists. The spread of a mutating avian flu out Asia is probably one of the most serious health issues we have today. If we, as a species are going to consume meat farmed on a production line basis, the health and well being of these animals is paramount. Sadly we are always in a catch up race with Mother Nature, hence the need for properly regulated scientific research - However; having a science based education and working in and around the environment for most of my working life, I have no doubt that Mother Nature is going to give Mankind a hefty boot up the backside one day. How we fend off the boot could have interesting implications!

The lab and pathogen security set up remind me of the unit I started work in in the early 60's - we were involved in looking at potential airborne fumigants. These by their very nature were not only very toxic to the pests involved, but also to the operatives applying them. A fairly common sight back then, but because of the pace of scientific 'discovery' many facilities were modified/altered to meet the demands of ongoing research and more importantly the advances in the science of containing dangerous pathogens.

Thanks for the interesting report and the memory recall!

 

[BikinGlynn]

Nice report, my one attempt at a visit here ended swiftly resulting in no pics, lets just say contrary to some reports the cameras are still monitored!

 

[Lone Wanderer]

Yer I got collared here pretty quickly to, never did go back again, sure I will eventually

 

[OctopusExplores]

thx for this