House lawmakers want the federal government to fork over key documents that could explain how live anthrax was shipped to 69 labs in 19 states and five foreign countries.
Bipartisan leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to federal agencies Friday seeking paperwork on biosafety inspections of the Utah Dugway Proving Ground. The army facility, which tested anthrax samples for research, was responsible for the inadvertent shipment.
“We understand that Dugway was inspected a number of times in the past decade,” reads the letter from the four House members.
The plant was inspected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the lawmakers hope the documents will shed light on the safety lapses that led to the shipments.
So far no one has been infected with anthrax, but more than 30 people are being monitored. Health officials stress that the public is in no immediate danger.
The letters sent to CDC and to a watchdog of the Department of Health and Human Services dovetails on a request last month for briefings on the shipments.
Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Diana Degette, D-Colo., and Tim Murphy, R-Pa., wrote the letter. Upton is the chairman of the committee and Pallone serves as ranking member.
