NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

Energy and Commerce Committee to Expand Investigation of Biosafety Labs to Include Fort Detrick

Lawmakers Call on Bush to Suspend Construction of New Labs

Washington, DC - Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak (D-MI), Chairman of its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, announced today that the Committee is expanding its investigation into the risks associated with biosafety level 3 and 4 labs to include an examination of personnel security at these labs. Among others, the Committee will specifically review personnel security at Fort Detrick, the government’s biodefense lab in Maryland, which employed scientist Bruce Ivans, the main suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The lawmakers are also calling on President Bush to immediately initiate his own investigation into allegations about personnel security at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases as well as all other biosafety level 3 and 4 labs operated or funded by the federal government. They specifically urged the President to issue a government wide moratorium on the construction of any new level 3 and 4 labs until such a review is completed and its results provided to the appropriate congressional committees.

“I’m deeply troubled by the allegations raised about security at one of our nation’s premier labs handling some of the deadliest germs in the world,” said Dingell. “Our nation is at serious risk if one of our government’s most prominent scientists could have a decade long battle with mental illness without anyone noticing. The Committee will continue working on identifying security shortcomings at these facilities and determining how best to rectify the problems. We encourage concerned individuals, community groups and local governments around the country who have specific allegations of security breaches and safety problems to contact our staff.”

Biosafety level 3 and 4 (BSL 3 & 4) labs are facilities where research is conducted on highly infectious viruses and other biological agents that can cause serious injury or death. Some of the world’s most exotic and dangerous diseases are handled at such facilities, including anthrax, foot and mouth disease, and the Ebola virus. The Committee launched an inquiry into the risks associated with these labs because of their rampant proliferation in the last few years.

“We have already held two hearings on the risk associated with the proliferation of high containment (Level 3 and 4) labs including the physical and personnel security issues related to their operations,” said Stupak. “What we have learned so far is troubling. We have found poor training, lax security and very little oversight and coordination by our government agencies. Perhaps most frightening is the fact that no single government agency is in charge of approving and monitoring Level 3 and 4 labs and their personnel. Nobody can tell us how many labs there are, who is working in the labs, what agents or pathogens are being worked on in the labs, and whether adequate background checks have been done on employees of the labs.”

To date, the Committee has held two hearings on October 4, 2007 and May 22, 2008 (For more information about the Committee investigation or the hearings visit (http://energycommerce.house.gov/Investigations/BSLLabs.shtml). The Committee has also requested a study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the safety risks associated with biosafety level 3 and 4 labs.

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