Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
September 13, 2008
Pg. 4
By Associated Press
Scientists accustomed to working alone with deadly pathogens could be forced to buddy up in the laboratory as military officials and civilian contractors review security measures in the wake of the FBI's conclusions about the 2001 anthrax mailings.
Some scientists object to expanding the "two-person" rule. They say besides the practical issues of having to work with someone else, placing a second person in the lab wouldn't prevent a scientist from sneaking out material -- under their fingernail, for example.
Currently, rules already prohibit people from working alone in many of the most dangerous labs, reserved for biological agents such as the Ebola virus that lack vaccines or other treatments. Now, Army officials and civilian contractors are considering expanding the rule to labs with pathogens that aren't quite as dangerous, but can still be deadly, such as anthrax, West Nile virus and tuberculosis.
The security review stems from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's announcement in July that U.S. Army anthrax researcher Bruce E. Ivins was behind the anthrax mailings in 2001 that killed five people.
September 13, 2008
Pg. 4
By Associated Press
Scientists accustomed to working alone with deadly pathogens could be forced to buddy up in the laboratory as military officials and civilian contractors review security measures in the wake of the FBI's conclusions about the 2001 anthrax mailings.
Some scientists object to expanding the "two-person" rule. They say besides the practical issues of having to work with someone else, placing a second person in the lab wouldn't prevent a scientist from sneaking out material -- under their fingernail, for example.
Currently, rules already prohibit people from working alone in many of the most dangerous labs, reserved for biological agents such as the Ebola virus that lack vaccines or other treatments. Now, Army officials and civilian contractors are considering expanding the rule to labs with pathogens that aren't quite as dangerous, but can still be deadly, such as anthrax, West Nile virus and tuberculosis.
The security review stems from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's announcement in July that U.S. Army anthrax researcher Bruce E. Ivins was behind the anthrax mailings in 2001 that killed five people.