Allan,
What did you think of the FBI’s claim that Ivins was the culprit and his co-worker’s report that he had a Speed Vac rather than a lyophilizer?
She said a Speed Vac could fit under the safety hood and a lyophilizer could not. But she says that he would not have had time to use a Speed Vac.
Why do you think a Speed Vac under a safety hood was not sufficient? And what expert opinions are you relying on? Isn’t his co-worker’s comments a tacit admission that with time, a Speed Vac would suffice? I am sincerely interested in any evidence you have a Speed Vac under a safety hood would not suffice and any expert opinion to the effect it would not be sufficient. But your repeated restatement of your assertion does not advance things. Either provide expert opinion or let’s drop it and wait to hear from the relevant experts (which will be forthcoming this week in news reports).
Here is the report that is relevant. Relatedly, when in October did Dr. Ivins first use a BL-4 suite?
August 8, 2008
Ex-colleague questions government’s case against anthrax suspect
By ANDREW SCHOTZ (andrews@herald-mail.com
http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=200518&format=html
Ivins’ alleged use of a lyophilizer to make powdered anthrax. Ulrich said Ivins signed out a SpeedVac, but not a lyophilizer, which is too large to fit in a containment hood, or secure protective area.
She said it would take about an hour to dry one milliliter of wet anthrax spores in one vial in a SpeedVac. It would have been impossible for Ivins to have dried more than a liter, which would have been required for the amount of anthrax sent in the letters, in the time frame they were mailed, Ulrich said.
Ulrich was a principal investigator in the diagnostic systems division at USAMRIID.
I am not denying anything anything your experts
or others
have been saying
though they really haven’t said anything.
I just am waiting for precise information
as to how the anthrax was aerosolized
and inserted into the envelopes.
So far experts and FBI have provided zero information on this.
The fact that the FBI seems to be making up their story
and changing it
on the fly
doesn’t inspire confidence.
Saying it was put in solvent doesn’t do it for me.
I want precise details.
I know nothing about Speed Vacs or lyophilzers.
Sufficient for what?
My little bit of reading indicates
that lypholizers and Speed Vacs are used for drying samples.
Speed Vacs are slower than lypholizers
and generally used for very small samples of DNA, protein, etc.
(about 1 milliliter or so)
So far as I can see neither of these plays any role in aerosolizing the anthrax.
It seems nobody, including your experts, has a clue how it was aerosolized.
Or maybe the people who saw the smoke had lying eyes.