Thursday, November 1, 2001

Senator Plans to Call for Tighter Controls on University Labs That Use Anthrax, Other Biotoxins By JEFFREY BRAINARD and BEN GOSE Washington Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, says she plans to introduce legislation that would put much tighter controls on university laboratories that use anthrax and other biological agents for research purposes. Her proposal, which may be attached to antiterrorism legislation moving through Congress, would require academic labs and other research facilities to register with the government any people who handle such materials. Institutions would also have to perform background checks on those persons, and set up security safeguards to protect the materials from terrorists and criminals. Laboratories that violated these rules would face large fines, and supervisors would be subject to jail time and fines. The proposal, unveiled Tuesday, came amid published reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had issued subpoenas to dozens of university labs to obtain information about the use of biological agents and the names of recent visitors. Investigators want to identify all possible sources of anthrax spores that have been sent through the mail in recent days. Some university researchers said Wednesday that they feared that the investigation of labs and the new legislation could hinder research. Martin E. Hugh-Jones, a professor at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge who oversees a large research collection of anthrax strains, said LSU administrators became "jumpy" last week when the university received a subpoena. Senator Feinstein's proposal -- which would put strict limits on universities handling any of more than 30 separate pathogens and toxins -- would make the tension even worse, Mr. Hugh-Jones said. "Research will stop in all of these areas -- areas in which a lot of work needs to be done. They won't just limit it to anthrax. They'll look at the whole range of other diseases. A lot of research will just grind to a halt." Researchers work with the materials to develop better treatments for the diseases they cause. In Washington, lobbyists for university research were far more circumspect, given the public's anxiety about anthrax. The death toll from the disease reached four on Wednesday after a woman died in New York. One lobbyist, who asked that his name not be used, said the proposal would lead to concerns about red tape impeding research. So far, investigators have not reported tracing anthrax spores to any particular source. However, Ms. Feinstein's proposal is motivated by her sense that "there's too much leeway on who could get access to these materials" under current government rules, said a spokesman, Howard Gantman. By requiring entire laboratories to inform the government about their activities, Ms. Feinstein's proposal would go beyond a restriction contained in an antiterrorism bill signed into law last week by President Bush. That law prohibits individuals from possessing pathogens unless they can demonstrate that they are using the material for research or another approved purpose. The measure also barred possession by convicted felons and illegal aliens. The senator's proposal would also expand on an existing regulation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that took effect in 1997. The measure requires suppliers, research institutes, and government labs that ship or receive hazardous biological agents to register with the government and obtain a unique site registration number. The registration process requires that a facility official certify that the lab meets the agency's safety standards for working with such materials. The materials, known as "select agents," include viruses, bacteria, and fungi that cause diseases such as smallpox, Ebola infection, and yellow fever. Violators face fines and jail time. Barbara Govert, a spokeswoman for the agency, told Newsday that more than 100 laboratories throughout the United States are now registered under the program. Every state has at least one registered laboratory, Ms. Govert said. She told the newspaper that the agency keeps confidential the identities of the registrants and the types of hazardous materials they possess, to avoid making them targets of theft or attacks. She did not say how many of the 100 laboratories were affiliated with universities. The regulation covers only shipments of biological agents that occurred after it took effect in 1997. Institutions have not had to supply full lists of biological agents that they bought or shipped before that year. University officials have wondered in recent days whether the government would require them to disclose all of their biological agents in stock, even those they obtained prior to that year. Ms. Feinstein now wants to close that loophole, calling the current federal regulations inadequate. "We are a nation at risk, and strict new safeguards are needed," she said. Under her proposal, labs that improperly permitted individuals to handle dangerous materials would face fines of up to $500,000. In addition, supervisors could get one year in jail, and be personally fined up to $250,000. Another, related legislative effort is also pending in Congress: The House of Representatives approved a bill last week that would prohibit any foreign national from having access to biotoxins, unless a special waiver is granted. The measure, sponsored by Rep. W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, a Louisiana Republican, passed by a vote of 419-0. -- Ron Southwick contributed to this article. Background articles from The Chronicle: Anthrax Halts Mail at Princeton; Some Colleges Adopt 'Flexible' Application Deadlines (10/31/2001) One More Frightening Possibility: Terrorism in the Croplands (10/26/2001) Terrorist Attacks Prompt Professional Schools to Add New Training (10/26/2001) Confronting the Threat of Bioterrorism (2/26/1999) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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