The Bush administration has warned that field tests used to detect anthrax when suspicious materials are discovered are too unreliable, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, May 28).

“This equipment does not pass acceptable standards for effectiveness,” said John Marburger, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a memo to be issued today to local officials, emergency responders and more than 250 federal agencies.  “Field testing ... is not recommended and should not be used.”

Anthrax field tests often issue false positive results or fail to detect trace amounts of anthrax, according to a study conducted jointly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI.  The White House memo advises officials to stop purchasing the tests and to cancel any outstanding contracts, AP reported (Laura Meckler, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, July 20)

As a “stopgap” measure, the memo advises officials to take samples to a CDC-approved laboratory for testing, said an administration official.  Initial results can be determined within six hours, the official said.

President George W. Bush has noted that the United States is seeking to work with private companies to develop more capable field tests, the official said, adding that one flaw in the currently available field tests is a lack of performance standards.  The National Institute for Standards and Technology is working to develop a set of uniform performance standards for anthrax field tests, the official said (Mike Nartker, GSN, July 22).

The Office of Science and Technology Policy memo also includes guidelines for handling suspicious mail and recommends that U.S. agencies stop testing mailrooms for anthrax, since most mail is now irradiated (Meckler, Associated Press).

FBI Continues Broad Search

Meanwhile, the FBI is continuing to conduct a broad investigation into last fall’s anthrax attacks and has not yet ruled out a foreign source, Time magazine reported in its July 29 issue (see GSN, July 8).

While the FBI has focused its “Amerithrax” investigation on 50 U.S. biological weapons experts, the bureau still maintains a large pool of potential suspects, according to Time.  Investigators are continuing to consider several other biological scientists as well as businesses that could have profited from the attacks, Time reported.  They also have looked for evidence of anthrax in the remains of the hijackers onboard the Sept. 11 aircraft, which crashed in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon.  None was found.

“Remember, it doesn’t have to be a top scientist,” said a U.S. investigator.  “It could just be a good bench technician” (Cooper/Shannon, Time, July 29).

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