|
 Despite warning signs, the lab, at the Dugway Proving Ground,
persisted with the same process for inactivating anthrax samples for
researchers, resulting in the unintentional shipment of live spores
of the deadly bacteria to 192 labs in the United States and abroad,
officials said.
"This hearing is astounding, honestly," Representative Larry Bucshon,
a heart surgeon, told witnesses during testimony on an investigation
into the shipments. "This is anthrax. We should have had policies
for decades. It's ridiculous."
A Pentagon probe of the shipments found that scientific information
on inactivating the bacteria was inadequate to formulate effective
protocols to carry out the task. In the end, each defense lab
followed its own procedures. All the samples with live anthrax came
from Dugway.
Anthrax spores, which are difficult to kill, are neutralized with
doses of radiation. Samples are then taken and cultured to see if
they continue growing. If not, they are considered dead.
Neutralized anthrax is sent to researchers who work on cures and
defenses against biological attacks. The effort was stepped up after
a spate of incidents in 2001 in which anthrax-laced letters were
mailed to senators and news media offices, killing five people and
sickening 17.
Dan Sosin, a public health official at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, said it should have been clear the process
used at Dugway was inadequate to neutralize anthrax.
[to top of second column] |
"The failure of inactivation was evident because growth was being
detected on multiple production runs," he told the congressional
hearing.
"These runs were routinely sent back for additional radiation. It
should have been seen for what it was: an indication that the margin
of safety with the method was not sufficient," he said.
Gregory Demske, chief counsel to the inspector general of the
Department of Health and Human Services, said Dugway had been urged
to re-evaluate its procedures in 2007 after it had been found to
have shipped anthrax with live spores to a research facility.
(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by David Storey and Steve
Orlofsky)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
