The laboratory science world was aghast this
week on the news from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), [Emphasis is on CONTROL] where researchers were
exposed to Anthrax due to procedures not being followed. “Shortcuts may have
been taken” and “untrained staff may have…” were phrases that peppered news
accounts of the incident. In the coming
weeks and months we will hear the extent of their exposure. At this writing the number of researchers
exposed was raised from 75 to 84. The
CDC has been the global standard to protect (and advise) humankind in regards
to health and safety threats. With an annual
budget of $11.3B they seem to be well funded to achieve their mission.
However that organization, along with all others, is only as
strong as their weakest link. Please pardon the cliché’. It seems in this case the weak link is not
following procedures. A few televised
news reports placed blame on untrained staff.
I would like to assure you that there is also a procedure in place to
train staff. So rather than a training
issue, it is actually a not following
procedure issue. Supervisor did not
follow up on the employees? Also a not following procedure issue. I feel confident in saying that a Federal
Investigation will ensue and blame will be officially placed.
The take home opportunity for those many of us who work in
laboratory settings is to use this unfortunate story to reinforce with our
staff the necessities for following Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s). While many SOP’s do not deal with such acute life
and death scenarios they do speak directly to adherence to regulations and good
scientific practices.
