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Report Finds Soviet “Antiplague” Labs Pose Threat
A draft report by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies found that the Soviet military used civilian research institutes to build its biological weapons program, the Washington Post reported Saturday (see GSN, March 1). Each of the “antiplague” laboratories contains information and materials that could be useful to bioterrorists, according to the Post. The Post reported that when the Iron Curtain fell, the Soviets employed 14,000 people at 88 facilities, including six antiplague centers, 26 regional stations and 53 field stations. Today, the laboratories are meeting the medical needs of underserved populations in Russia. However, concerns remain on securing biological samples and knowledge housed at the facilities, the Post reported. “They often have culture collections of pathogens that lack biosecurity, and they employ people who are well-versed in investigating and handling deadly pathogens,” said report co-author Raymond Zilinskas. “Some are located at sites accessible to terrorist groups and criminal groups. The potential is that terrorists and criminals would have little problem acquiring the resources that reside in these facilities.” The report found that managers know the laboratories are vulnerable, but lack the resources to make needed changes. Laboratory budgets have shrunk since the fall of the Soviet Union, making even minor security enhancements unaffordable. The Post reported one laboratory could not afford a telephone. Researchers also found that because the laboratories were not officially part of the Soviet bioweapons program, they have not yet been eligible for nonproliferation aid from the United States and other Western governments. These nations were not aware that the Soviet Union were using these laboratories for biological weapons purposes until Soviet scientist Vladimir Pasechnik defected to the United Kingdom in 1989. Zilinskas said the laboratories provided “ready-to-use information, biomaterial and expertise.” Russia has refused to officially acknowledge the existence of its former biological weapons program and will not allow the release of any classified information from before 1992. However, scientists outside of Russia have told researchers that many of the laboratories were under military control. These laboratories were also used to conduct research of especially lethal pathogens, including plague, anthrax and tularemia, according to the report. “There was a secret law that enjoined all antiplague institutes to send the government any kind of virulent strain that might be used for defensive purposes,” Zilinskas said. (Joby Warrick, Washington Post, Aug. 20).
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