Posted on 10/16/2008 7:19:00 PM PDT by neverdem
Associated Press
Another frightening new government report is heightening fears about the safety of U.S. biodefense laboratories that study some of the world's deadliest germs. The latest worry: Intruders could easily break into two of the labs due to lax security.
Now some lawmakers and members of a new citizen coalition are asking whether it's time for a timeout in the expansion of the Bush administration's biowarfare defense program.
The Bush administration decided after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that the nation needed to develop cures, drug treatments, vaccines and diagnostic tests to combat germs that could be used in a terrorist attack or accidentally released.
And, while U.S. officials say there are no known incidents where outsiders attacked anyone with germs from a U.S. lab, the FBI concluded last summer that a microbiologist at the Army's lab in Ft. Detrick, Md. was responsible for anthrax attacks in 2001.
Two House lawmakers and members of a new citizen coalition _ people "living in the shadow" of these labs _ say the defensive biowarfare program has expanded too fast since Sept. 11, 2001. Security measures have not caught up, they said.
The latest government study, initially obtained by The Associated Press and released publicly Thursday, found that intruders could easily break into two laboratories handling organisms that could cause illnesses with no cure.
The AP identified the vulnerable lab locations as Atlanta and San Antonio. The Government Accountability Office did not identify the labs except to say they were classified as Biosafety Level 4 facilities _ requiring the highest level of security. But the report included enough details for the AP _ and others knowledgeable about such labs _ to determine their locations.
In Texas, the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research features an outside window that looks directly into the room...
(Excerpt) Read more at lasvegassun.com ...
micro ping
...and the weaknesses.
Why didn't they just give them a map, a floor plan, and the keys to the cooler?
Is this where they keep the Zombie virus? Maybe the Bush administration should release that just before W’s term ends—just to, y’know, be consistent.
Loose lips and all....
You find interesting health type articles.
Thanks.
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