Laboratories operated by the CDC have surreptitiously faced federal referrals and permit suspension in recent years for safety violations while handling potential bioterror pathogens, according to USA Today.
USA Today obtained documents confirming the safety violations after winning a Freedom of Information Act appeal. According to the USA Today, the CDC admitted on Tuesday for the first time that its labs had been sanctioned for additional secret federal enforcement actions six times because of violations in the handling of certain pathogens that are stringently regulated due of their potential use as bioweapons. The Federal Select Agent Program is responsible for regulating the possession use and transfer of these agents and toxins.
In a statement supplied to media outlets, including USA Today and CBS News, the CDC confirmed the six sanctions, stating that none of the federal reviews resulted in the suspension of lab activities. According to the statement, three of the federal referrals involved improper distribution of inactivated select agents to entities not permitted to receive them, two involved the detection of select agents in unregistered areas in CDC facilities and one involved inventory and oversight issues.
"In five of the cases, HHS-OIG [Office of Inspector General] investigated the matter, including performing audits at CDC campuses, and closed its investigations after CDC demonstrated enhanced procedures to prevent future occurrence, which is the protocol for such violations...one case remains open," said the CDC, according to CBS News.
The statement did not elaborate on the circumstances of the open case.
"The CDC has made great progress in advancing a culture of safety at our laboratories across the country and is committed to doing all we can to protect laboratory workers and the communities around them, while supporting scientific advancement to combat evolving threats," said the agency.
The CDC has had safety problems in some of its labs in the past, including in late 2014 when a lab technician was accidently exposed to live Ebola virus. The agency has also named lab safety as a public health threat in 2014 and 2016.
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