© ReutersMishaps and coverups, the public at risk
The CDC's facilities are among a small group of biolab operators that have the worst regulatory histories in the country, receiving repeated sanctions under federal regulations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has faced congressional hearings and secret government sanctions over its
sloppy lab safety practices, is keeping secret large swaths of information about
dozens of recent incidents involving some of the world's most dangerous bacteria and viruses.
CDC scientists apparently
lost a box of deadly and highly-regulated influenza specimens and
experienced multiple potential exposures involving viruses and bacteria, according to heavily-redacted laboratory incident reports obtained by
USA TODAY. Several reports involve
failures of safety equipment. In one, a scientist wearing full-body spacesuit-like gear to protect against lethal, often untreatable viruses like Ebola, had their
purified air hose suddenly disconnect — "again" — in one the world's most advanced biosafety level 4 labs.
After taking nearly two years to release laboratory incident reports requested by
USA TODAY under the Freedom of Information Act, the CDC
blacked out many details including the types of viruses and bacteria involved in the mishaps and often the entire descriptions of what happened. In several cases, clues about the seriousness of incidents is revealed because CDC staff failed to consistently black out the same words repeated throughout a string of emails.
The CDC would not answer
USA TODAY's questions about specific incidents, which occurred at the agency's laboratory facilities in Atlanta and Fort Collins, Colo
., during 2013 through early 2015. "None of the incidents described in these documents resulted in reported illness among CDC staff or the public," the CDC said in a brief emailed statement. Where incidents involved
"inventory discrepancies," the agency said generally the problems were addressed without posing a risk to anybody. The CDC said incident reports cover a time period before the Atlanta-based agency
created a new lab-safety office in the wake of three high-profile incidents during 2014 with anthrax, Ebola and a deadly strain of bird flu.USA TODAY's "Biolabs in Your Backyard" investigation has revealed
hundreds of safety incidents at public and private research facilities
nationwide and highlighted how many
university, government and private labs have fought to keep records secret about incidents and regulatory sanctions. The
USA TODAY investigation also exposed that
more than 100 labs working with potential bioterror pathogens have faced secret federal sanctions for safety violations,
yet regulators allowed them to keep experimenting while failing inspections, sometimes for years.
USA TODAY also revealed details about the operations and safety records
of more than 200 high-containment labs across the nation, facilities whose identities have eluded even the Government Accountability Office.
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