"The Yellow Mountain"

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/anthrax-fail-government-inspectors-warned-lab-lapses-years-n157271

NBC NEWS


Anthrax Fail: Government Inspectors Warned of Lab Lapses for Years

By Maggie Fox


First published July 16th 2014, 6:55 am


Government inspectors have been warning for years that labs used to handle dangerous agents such as anthrax have been poorly regulated and that the lack of oversight has put the public at risk, yet little has been done to heed their warnings, an official said Wednesday.

And no one’s listened to repeated calls for research to be done so that a cohesive national policy can help agencies do a better job of keeping lab workers and the public safe, a Government Accountability Office expert testified at a hearing.

They document equipment failures so severe that in one incident, air from a biosafety cabinet that was supposed to be sucked away and filtered instead vented right back into the lab. And there was a freezer full of anthrax that was locked — but the key was left in the lock.

Yet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Tom Frieden said several startling incidents involving anthrax, smallpox and other dangerous pathogens came as a “wake-up call” to his agency.

He said CDC was working to correct the errors, and one expert cautioned Congress against punishing scientists who made unintentional errors. But some members said they were not in a forgiving mood.

"Our investigation has uncovered that this was not CDC’s first wake-up call," Pennsylvania Republican Tim Murphy, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee, said in opening the hearing. "I am not sure that 'wake-up call' is the right statement."

"I just don't understand why they didn't heed those warnings."

The subcommittee opened a hearing Wednesday into the lapses, in which CDC workers were exposed to potential live anthrax bacteria, a USDA lab was sent a batch of avian influenza virus contaminated with highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu, and a box full of glass vials full of live smallpox virus was discovered squirreled away in a lab on the National Institutes of Health campus.

Hours after the hearing ended, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that staffers found 327 vials in the same area as six glass vessels labeled as smallpox. "The investigation found 12 boxes containing a total of 327 carefully packaged vials labeled with names of various biological agents such as dengue, influenza, Q fever, and rickettsia," FDA said in a statement.

CDC says it's cracking down. "I am overseeing sweeping measures to improve that culture of safety," Frieden testified. "If had it to do over again, I wish I had recognized the pattern."

But the GAO says the agency should not have been surprised.

“GAO’s past work has found a continued lack of national standards for designing, constructing, commissioning, and operating high-containment laboratories,” the GAO’s Nancy Kingsbury told the hearing in written, prepared testimony. “This deficiency may be more critical today than five years ago when we first reported on this concern.”

Sooner or later its luck will run out ... and someone will die."

Kingsbury attached a list of previous GAO reports going back to 2002, all containing warnings about a lack of strategy and oversight. They show the anthrax scare was nothing unique — in 2004, lab workers at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California were accidentally exposed to live anthrax after staff did not follow procedure. The CDC said then that all research workers should operate on the assumption that anthrax samples are infectious unless confirmed otherwise.

“These recommendations are relevant to the June 2014 incident in Atlanta but were not followed,” she said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) also issued cautionary reports, including one done jointly with CDC. “The APHIS reports show that in the 18 months prior to the June Anthrax release, inspectors identified numerous safety problems in CDC laboratories,” the Oversight Committee said in a statement.

“Equipment failures included broken or nonfunctioning machinery, the failure to use filters or replace filters on a regular basis, the use of equipment that was not sufficient to contain the select agent or toxin (e.g., equipment used on a laboratory bench top instead of in a biosafety cabinet), and biosafety cabinet grilles obstructed with pens or other items,” the memo reads.

“During one inspection, APHIS inspectors smoke-tested the exhaust flow on the biosafety cabinets in laboratory rooms and discovered the exhaust flowing into the laboratory instead of being safely sucked away.”

Just since 2013, APHIS inspectors say they saw 27 lab fails ranging from a failure to wash hands — something that should be biosafety 101 — to allowing unauthorized access to labs.

"Despite the number of red flags, these incidents keep happening," Murphy said. "This is not sound science and it will not be tolerated. It is inexcusable."

Later he added: "CDC should not assume that its luck with these near-miss events will continue. Sooner or later its luck will run out ... and someone will die."

"I just don't understand why they didn't heed those warnings," Colorado Democrat Diana DeGette agreed.

Frieden said he has cracked down on biosafety level 3 and 4 labs, those designed to contain the most dangerous pathogens.

"They cannot have the authority to regulate themselves."

"I have implemented a moratorium on transfer of any biological material out of any BSL-3 or BSL-4 laboratory at CDC until processes are reviewed and improved, and this moratorium will be lifted on a lab-by-lab basis once corrective actions have been taken and confirmed," he said.

The National Institutes of Health also scrambled to resuscitate a biosafety advisory panel that hasn't met in nearly two years.

Several experts said the federal governments needs independent oversight of lab safety. "CDC and USDA regulate their own biosafety and security," said Richard Ebright, who heads microbiology labs at Rutgers University. "They perform the work. They fund the work...They cannot have the authority to regulate themselves."

Frieden said he was working to change the culture at CDC to one where people feel free to report even the smallest lapses. "We need to encourage reporting. We need to encourage all staff to take responsibility," he said.

Safety expert Sean Kaufman agreed and cautioned Congress against punishing CDC.

"It’s well known that punishment does three things. It builds resentment. It teaches no new behavior. And it hides true behavior," he said.

Murphy countered with a dramatic end to the hearing. "Are you making excuses for these scientists?" he demanded. "It sounds like you are saying they need more training. Boo-hoo." He help up a plastic bag containing what everyone in the room hoped were mock-ups of growing anthrax cultures.

"You don't need training to know this is dangerous," he said.










http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=103257

The American Presidency Project

Barack Obama

XLIV President of the United States: 2009 - present

105 - Statement on the Retirement of General John R. Allen

February 19, 2013

Today I met with General John Allen and accepted his request to retire from the military so that he can address health issues










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069834/quotes

IMDb


Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)

Quotes


J.D. Cahill: You call the tune and you pay the piper. Meaning... you don't like the treatment, don't rob the banks.










From 7/11/1973 ( premiere US film "Cahill U.S. Marshal" ) To 2/19/2013 is 14468 days

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official Deputy United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 6/13/2005 is 14468 days



From 12/20/1994 ( in Bosnia as Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps captain this day is my United States Navy Cross medal date of record ) To 2/19/2013 is 6636 days

6636 = 3318 + 3318

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official Deputy United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 12/3/1974 ( premiere US TV movie "The Red Badge of Courage" ) is 3318 days



From 11/16/1954 ( premiere US film "The Yellow Mountain" ) To 2/19/2013 is 21280 days

21280 = 10640 + 10640

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official Deputy United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 12/20/1994 ( in Bosnia as Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps captain this day is my United States Navy Cross medal date of record ) is 10640 days



From 8/26/1976 ( the first known human case of Ebola ) To 2/19/2013 is 13326 days

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official Deputy United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 4/28/2002 ( premiere US TV series episode "The Simpsons"::"I Am Furious Yellow" ) is 13326 days



From 4/16/1951 ( Harry Truman - Letter to Committee Chairmen on the Need for Assistance to Yugoslavia ) To 8/3/1998 ( Tom Clancy "Rainbow Six" ) is 17276 days

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official Deputy United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 2/19/2013 is 17276 days



[ See also: To Be Continued? ]


http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=103257

The American Presidency Project

Barack Obama

XLIV President of the United States: 2009 - present

105 - Statement on the Retirement of General John R. Allen

February 19, 2013

Today I met with General John Allen and accepted his request to retire from the military so that he can address health issues within his family. I told General Allen that he has my deep, personal appreciation for his extraordinary service over the last 19 months in Afghanistan, as well as his decades of service in the United States Marine Corps. General Allen presided over the significant growth in the size and capability of Afghan National Security Forces, the further degradation of Al Qaida and their extremist allies, and the ongoing transition to Afghan security responsibility across the country. He worked tirelessly to strengthen our coalition through his leadership of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and to improve our relations with the Afghan Government.

Above all, he cares deeply for the men and women in uniform who serve our Nation, as well as their families, and I am grateful for the sacrifices made by his family in supporting him during his service. John Allen is one of America's finest military leaders, a true patriot, and a man I have come to respect greatly. I wish him and his family the very best as they begin this new chapter, and we will carry forward the extraordinary work that General Allen led in Afghanistan.










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047685/releaseinfo

IMDb


The Yellow Mountain (1954)

Release Info

USA 16 November 1954










http://www.tv.com/shows/the-simpsons/i-am-furious-yellow-129706/trivia/

tv.com


The Simpsons Season 13 Episode 18

I Am Furious (Yellow)

Aired Sunday 8:00 PM Apr 28, 2002 on FOX

Quotes


Bart: Stan Lee came back?

Comic Book Guy: Stan Lee never left. I'm starting to think his mind is no longer in mint condition.










http://www.tv.com/shows/the-simpsons/i-am-furious-yellow-129706/trivia/

tv.com


The Simpsons Season 13 Episode 18

I Am Furious (Yellow)

Aired Sunday 8:00 PM Apr 28, 2002 on FOX

Quotes


Homer: Lousy minor setback! This world sucks!

Radio Announcer: Don't you hate carpet stores that charge extra for the under-padding?

Homer: I hate them so much!










http://www.tv.com/shows/the-simpsons/i-am-furious-yellow-129706/trivia/

tv.com


The Simpsons Season 13 Episode 18

I Am Furious (Yellow)

Aired Sunday 8:00 PM Apr 28, 2002 on FOX

Quotes


Lisa: The speakers are poor because we're letting just anybody do it. Groundskeeper Willie, Groundskeeper Willie's enemy, Shamus...

Principal Skinner: Aw, yeah, Shamus... twenty minutes of watching a man drink whiskey in the bathtub. Shamus, we won't need you to speak anymore.

Shamus: What? What! Oh, so this is your doin', Willie? I'll turn yer groin to puddin'!

Groundskeeper Willie: Aw, you speak like a poet, but you punch like one too!










http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=14063

The American Presidency Project

Harry S. Truman

XXXIII President of the United States: 1945 - 1953

81 - Letter to Committee Chairmen on the Need for Assistance to Yugoslavia.

April 16, 1951

My dear Mr. Chairman:

As you know, the United States has provided emergency food assistance to Yugoslavia during the past months to meet the threat to the security of that country caused by the recent drought: initially, under the provisions of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, the Economic Cooperation Act, and through loans made by the Export-Import Bank; and then under the provisions of the Yugoslav Emergency Relief Assistance Act.

The drought which gave rise to the need for assistance, however, not only caused a shortage in the availability of food for consumption in Yugoslavia, but also has made it impossible for Yugoslavia to export the agricultural products with which Yugoslavia normally obtains the resources to pay for imports of critically needed raw materials. The consequent shortage of raw materials, which includes those basic to the needs of the Yugoslav armed forces, is so acute as to jeopardize the combat effectiveness of the Yugoslav armed forces and to weaken the ability of Yugoslavia to defend itself against aggression. This development seriously affects the security of the North Atlantic area.

As I explained to you in my letter of November 24, 1950 and for the reasons stated therein, I have found that Yugoslavia is a nation whose strategic location makes it of direct importance to the defense of the North Atlantic area, and that an immediate increase in its ability to defend itself over that which exists if no assistance is supplied will contribute to the preservation of the peace and security of the North Atlantic area.

I have determined, therefore, after consultation with the Governments of the other consultations which are parties to the North Atlantic Treaty, that in order effectively to carry out the purposes of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949, as amended, it is essential as an immediate measure to use not to exceed $29 million of the funds appropriated for the purposes of Title I of that Act to provide raw materials and similar supplies for Yugoslavia in amounts and kinds equivalent to certain consumption

needs for supporting its armed forces. I am, under the authority of that Act, approving the procurement and shipment of such materials and supplies.

This letter constitutes the notification required by Section 408(c) of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, as amended.

Sincerely yours,

HARRY S. TRUMAN










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072069/releaseinfo

IMDb


The Red Badge of Courage (1974 TV Movie)

Release Info

USA 3 December 1974










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069834/releaseinfo

IMDb


Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)

Release Info

USA 11 July 1973



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069834/fullcredits

IMDb


Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)

Full Cast & Crew


John Wayne ... J.D. Cahill










JOURNAL ARCHIVE: Posted by H.V.O.M at 1:07 PM Monday, September 12, 2011


They know I know they know I know they only respond to me when I get something right about their criminal plans.


[JOURNAL ARCHIVE 12 September 2011 excerpt ends]



- posted by H.V.O.M - Kerry Wayne Burgess 12:10 PM Pacific Time Spokane Valley Washington USA Friday 24 October 2014