No Surprise Checkups at Germ Research Labs ; CDC Mulls Changing Inspection Policy

Oct 05, 01:19 PM

Current Headlines: By LARRY MARGASAK, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON The U.S. government does not conduct surprise inspections of laboratories handling the world's most dangerous organisms and poisons, but regulators said Thursday that they might change their tactics.

Officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they are reviewing the policy, after the failure of inspectors to learn of worker infections last year at Texas A&M University.

"As a rule, we do not do surprise inspections," said Dr. Robbin Weyant, director of Select Agents and Toxins at the CDC. "The issue of unannounced inspections is something we need to consider."

The CDC inspects high-security research laboratories only once every three years, although there are additional inspections when an accident is reported or a lab changes its research.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee, said CDC inspectors who visited the Texas A&M lab last year shortly after a worker was exposed to Brucella bacteria, the agent that causes Q Fever didn't catch the problem. The lab was required to report the problem to the government immediately, but did not do so until this year.

"Without a surprise inspection, how are you going to know?" Stupak said.

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Accidents happen

* The U.S. government does not conduct surprise inspections of laboratories handling the world's most dangerous organisms and poisons.

* Officials of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that they are reviewing the policy.

* The concerns follow the failure of inspectors to learn of worker infections last year at Texas A&M University.

The Associated Press

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