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White House orders labs to inventory infectious agents, toxins
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The White House has ordered all federal departments and agencies involved in life sciences research, as well as extramural facilities that receive federal funding, to inventory their infectious agents and toxins to identify “biological select agents and toxins,” according to a statement by the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
These inventories are expected to be conducted immediately and completed by Oct. 1. Written documentation that the activities have taken place are expected to be submitted to the interagency policy committee on biological select agents and toxins (BSAT) by Oct. 15.
The purpose is to ensure that the agents are properly registered and stored safely and securely. The order is in response to the incidents earlier this year when viable smallpox vials were found on the NIH campus and viable anthrax and influenza A(H5N1) samples were transferred unwittingly between high-security and low-security laboratories at the CDC.
The National Security Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a memo to the agencies and departments involved in research to urge them to take this immediate step and other longer-term steps to address the causes of these incidents and to strengthen biosafety and biosecurity in federal facilities.
In the immediate “safety stand-down” 30-day period, senior leaders of these agencies are expected to devote significant time to review laboratory biosafety and biosecurity best practices, and develop and implement plans for continued inventory monitoring.
“The administration takes seriously any issue that has the potential to place scientists, health care workers or the American public at risk of accidental exposure to infectious pathogens,” Lisa Monaco, White House homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, and John Holdren, PhD, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a statement. “Therefore, in addition to this guidance, we strongly encourage non-federal scientists who work with infectious diseases to participate voluntarily alongside their federal colleagues in implementing the steps outlined in our memo.”
Longer-term efforts outlined in the memo include a coordinated federal review through an existing interagency committee to identify needs and gaps in control of BSAT and determine the necessary actions and regulatory actions needed. In addition, the National Science and Technology Council will review the effect of the select agent regulations on science, technology and national security.