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Oak Ridge Faulted for Handling of Anthrax Spores
Federal investigators this week criticized the handling of dead anthrax spores at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 28). “While not a safety hazard, dead anthrax spores can cause false positive results in biological detectors,” says a report released Monday by the Energy Department’s inspector general. “A false positive could cause public panic and unnecessary deployment of emergency response resources.” A former Oak Ridge employee who returned as a “guest researcher” in 2003 used a laboratory and equipment “without authorization to conduct research on the anthrax spores,” the report states. Laboratory officials also violated security protocols by failing to keep careful track of 20 vials of dead anthrax spores and to advise senior officials of the guest researcher’s project, according to AP. Oak Ridge Manager Gerald Boyd said contractors Battelle Memorial Institute and the University of Tennessee would work to “strengthen the program ... to assure that only authorized researchers are conducting work” (Duncan Mansfield, Associated Press, March 29).
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