http://www.boston.com/dailynews/347/nation/Report_U_S_Army_has_weaponized:.shtml

Report: U.S. Army has weaponized same anthrax strain linked to five recent deaths

By Associated Press, 12/13/2001 03:28

For years, U.S. Army scientists in Utah have been developing a powdered form of anthrax that matches the strain used in the deadly letters that have killed five people since September, according to a published report.

Officials at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah confirmed that they have produced dry anthrax powder in recent years, according to reports in The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Baltimore Sun. The statement from Dugway did not specify which strain of anthrax was produced there, but the Post, citing government officials and shipping records, reported that the finely ground weapons-grade anthrax spores belong to the Ames strain.

The anthrax found in recent months in New York, Connecticut, Washington, New Jersey and Florida has been linked to that same strain. The strain is relatively common and is used in numerous American labs, and there is no evidence Dugway material was used in the attacks.

Anthrax can be produced in various forms, but the most dangerous is a powder form that can float freely and be easily inhaled into the lungs. The Dugway statement is the first admission that the U.S. government has produced a dry version of the lethal bacterium since the United States renounced biological weapons in 1969, the Sun reported.

The Dugway statement said researchers there have worked with anthrax since 1992, turning small amounts of wet anthrax into powder to test ways to defend against biowarfare.

Until the latest anthrax threat, Dugway scientists sent anthrax samples by FedEx to the Army's biodefense center at Fort Detrick, Md., where the bacteria was rendered harmless through radiation before being returned to Dugway for experiments. Those samples were shipped in a wet paste form to minimize the danger of a spill or accident, the Dugway statement said.

Army officials told the Post such mailings are in compliance with federal law. The Dugway statement said that all the anthrax its scientists have developed is accounted for and the researchers are cooperating with the FBI in its investigation.

Army Lt. Col. Dave Ecker declined comment Thursday to The Associated Press.

Though the United States has signed an international treaty banning the use of biological weapons, small quantities may be tested for research. Army scientists have previously acknowledged making wet anthrax.

Five fatal inhalation anthrax cases have been reported since tainted letters first appeared earlier this fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 18 cases of exposure 11 inhalation and 7 through the skin.

On the Net: https://www.dugway.army.mil/default.htm

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2001