There is something amiss at the Biomedical and Physical Science Building, and it’s going to take a lot of sleuthing and tighter security to prevent what could become a major problem for campus health and safety.
For the second time this month, MSU police are investigating missing property from the new building.
Eight 4-liter bottles of acetic acid were stolen from a locked stock room in the building’s chemistry department between July 1 and Sept. 10. An MSU employee on Friday reported the acid stolen. The acid, which is a common organic acid found in vinegar, poses no danger to humans.
About two days after the acetic acid was discovered missing - between the mornings of Sept. 12 and Sept. 13 - pig vaccine research materials also were stolen from the building.
Among the research items taken were an undisclosed amount of actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, a bacteria that causes pneumonia in young pigs.
The bacteria is being experimented with to create a vaccine to protect the pig industry. MSU police, Michigan State police and the FBI were called to investigate the theft.
These events do not reflect highly on the about $93 million state-of-the-art facility that only has been open since April.
The Biomedical and Physical Science Building only has been open for classes for four weeks. Any thefts in that amount of time are almost unthinkable.
The events also lead a lay person to believe a lack of security contributed to the suspected thief’s access to the items in the building.
The loss of important research materials from a highly reputable university research facility poses danger not only to the campus and the community health, but to the country as well.
These materials were being used to advance important research in different fields - their absence can set back the substantial research and work of many students and faculty members several months or even years.
There should be tighter security at the Biomedical and Physical Science Building to prevent any future thefts. There should be security at all stock rooms or wherever anything of value is stored, checking to make sure each area is properly and securely locked or guarded.
Although nothing harmful was stolen in the two thefts, another theft could prove deadly.
Should anything toxic or hazardous be taken during another “security lapse,” it will pose a major health risk to the general public, not only at MSU but throughout the state and possibly the nation.
In a post-Sept. 11 America we cannot allow security at our nation’s most advanced scientific research centers to be lacking. The problem needs to be cleaned up soon or more significant materials could be cleaned out from research facilities.
