The Army said Monday it has suspended much of the research at its flagship biological weapons defense laboratory at Fort Detrick while it makes sure it has accounted for all of its dangerous germs and poisons.
The decision follows a review of inventory controls prompted by the FBI’s conclusion that Fort Detrick scientist Bruce Ivins was responsible for the anthrax mailings that killed five people and sickened 17 others in 2001. Ivins killed himself in July after learning he would be charged in the attacks. His attorney maintains he was innocent.
In a memo obtained by the Associated Press, Col. John Skvorak orders workers to check all refrigerators and freezers at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Frederick for dangerous materials not listed in the lab’s database. The memo, sent Wednesday, refers to “BSAT” materials, which are biological select agents and toxins.
“I believe that the probability that there are additional vials of BSAT not captured in our … database is high,” Skvorak wrote.
The suspension started Friday, and the tedious process of counting thousands of vials could take up to three months, institute spokeswoman Caree Vander Linden said. She said it applies to all research on dangerous pathogens and toxins except critical ongoing animal research and animal care.
Fort Detrick lab workers conduct research on the world’s deadliest pathogens, including the Ebola virus.
The strain of anthrax used in the 2001 attacks — RMR-1029 — was documented but the FBI says Ivins kept a flask of it in a refrigerated storage room that only he used.
Michael Brady, special assistant to Army Secretary Pete Geren, said Skvorak’s order reflects tightened security at Army biological research centers nationwide in the wake of Ivins’ suicide. In December, an Army task force announced additional security training for workers at Fort Detrick and four other labs.
“We have made it incredibly more difficult for another Bruce Ivins to happen,” Brady said.
He said he didn’t know whether the other Army labs also have suspended research while they check inventory against their records.
Brady said Skvorak’s order is part of a cultural change at Fort Detrick, where, in the past, workers who found undocumented vials “might have just added it to the database or destroyed it without any notification at all.”
Skvorak’s memo attributed undocumented pathogens to accounting errors, transcription errors or materials left behind by former employees.
Some lab workers have complained that the Army is trying to impose on biological research an inventory-control scheme developed for nuclear and chemical labs. They contend it’s a poor fit since a small amount of living material can be grown into a larger supply, making inventory reporting difficult and time-consuming.
Brady acknowledged the challenge but said, “We have to do something. At the end of the day, we have to figure out the best way forward.”
Beth Willis, leader of the local watchdog group Frederick Citizens for Bio-lab Safety, said the suspension underscores the need for a thorough review of the risks of a planned Fort Detrick lab expansion.
“A stand-down of operations is appropriate, but it needs to continue until all of these fundamental safety issues are addressed,” she said.
