Lab lapses spark safety fears - October 03, 2007
You can say “public was never at risk” till the cows come home, but if labs handling “the world’s deadliest germs and toxins” have suffered over 100 accidents and losses since 2003 people are going to worry. An investigation by the AP has found mishaps involving anthrax, bird flu, monkey pox and other unpleasant things at 44 labs in 24 US states. “It may be only a matter of time before our nation has a public health incident with potentially catastrophic results,” said Bart Stupak, who is heading up a forthcoming hearing into the issue for the House of Representatives (hearing pdf).
A new report from a congressional watchdog warns that little is known of goings on at research centres that don’t receive federal funds or don’t work with the 72 most dangerous substances that the government keeps a close eye on. The report – from the Government Accountability Office – isn’t yet released but AP seems to have seen a copy. It says it will state: “No single federal agency ... has the mission to track the overall number of these labs in the United States. Consequently, no agency is responsible for determining the risks associated with the proliferation of these labs.”
The report and hearing come on the heals of high profile problems at Texas A&M University earlier this year (see Nature). Biodefence work at the university was halted after workers were twice been exposed to pathogens. Subscribers to Science can read a major investigation into biosafety problems in this week’s issue. This raises the point that money has been pouring into biodefence work since the 2001 Anthrax attacks and asks “Are the nation’s ... labs safe enough?”
The LA Times has a similar story to AP and Science, leading on the Texas A&M problems. Nature covered some of the same ground in August when problems at a UK lab caused an outbreak of Foot and Mouth.
