Biodefense Laboratories

The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC)
A selection of documents about NBACC research and construction plans

The Leading Edge of Biodefense: The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center
Department of Homeland Security / USAMRIID
Source: Internet (www.afpmb.org, since removed), 2004
PDF, 34 powerpoint slides, 8.5 mb

The NBACC was established in 2002 and publicly unveiled in detail in a 28 April 2004 press conference with HHS Secretary Thompson, DHS Secretary Ridge, and DOD Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz. This description of the NBACC and its controversial proposed activities was briefly placed on the website of the US Armed Forces Pest Management Board, following a presentation about NBACC to a military entomology conference in February2004. The file was removed from the military website on or about 23 April 2004, when it came to the attention of arms control organizations. Notes in the original Powerpoint file indicate that this version of the presentation, made by Lt. Col George Korch, was originally prepared for Major General Lawlor, Commander, Joint Task Force Civil Support, U.S. Joint Forces Command. The notes, which are not reproduced in the PDF file, read:

Briefing to MG Lawlor Sir, thanking for giving us the opportunity to brief our proposal, or working concept to you this new research initiative, counteringbiological terrorism research program. Purpose: The purpose of the brief is to present to you our working concept for developing a new applied research initiative and to seek your buy-in and approval for the proposed concept.

NBACC Planning and Feasibility Study 
CUH2A, Smith Carter, Hemisphere (contractors), for DHS
Source: Department of Homeland Security, 2004
PDF, 160 pages, 6.9 mb

This study, dated April 2004, provides a detailed physical description of the planned NBACC, including its BSL-2, 3, "3E", and 4 space, aerosol, and animal facilities. The document also (briefly) discusses relationships between the labs planned for Ft. Detrick, Mayland and other element of the NBACC program, including those at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Plum Island, NY. The study makes reference to an NBACC Phase II. According to other DHS documents, the status of Phase II plans is presently unclear.

Attendance Record of Pre-Submittal Conference / Site Visit
Department of Homeland Security
Source: Department of Homeland Security, 2004
PDF, 19 pages, 1 mb

The attendance record of the 1 December 2004 conference and site visit for potential bidders on the design services contract for the NBACC at Fort Detrick.

Pre-submittal Conference & Site Visit: Minutes
Department of Homeland Security
Source: Department of Homeland Security, 2004
PDF, 3 pages, 28 kb

Minutes of the pre-submittal conference on 1 December 2004.

NBACC Design Services Contract: Questions and Answers
Department of Homeland Security
Source: Department of Homeland Security, 2004
PDF, 7 pages, 28 kb

A document providing DHS answers to design questions from potential bidders. No date indicated; but probably early December 2004.

AR15-6 Investigation Into Anthrax Contamination at USAMRIID
US Army
Source: FOIA, 2002
PDF, 15 pages, 1.3mb

This 15 page document contains a memorandum and associated paperwork of a May, 2002 US Army investigation into anthrax contamination at ths US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Disease (USARMIID) in Frederick, MD. The investigation found multiple instances of accidental release of virulent anthrax at the Army's premiere biodefense facility. Two major newspaper stories have focused on this report, Anthrax Slip-Ups Raise Fears About Planned Biolabs (USA Today, 14 October 2004) and Anthrax Leaks Blamed on Lax Safety Habits (Los Angeles Times, 20 August 2004).

University of Texas National Biocontainment Laboratory Application (Extract)
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, February 2003
(proposal to the NIAID biodefense program)
Source: Texas Public Information Act, Texas Attorney General's Ruling OR2003-3219
PDF, 46 pages, 1.9 megabytes, redactions

This document contains the introductory pages and the research section of UTMB's application for a National Biocontainment Laboratory, plus additional pages of interest. In the research section, information deemed to be intellectual property has been redacted. Areas where redactions have been made appear as blank (white) spaces in the document.

Proposal for the Region VI Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infections (Extracts)
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, January 2003
(proposal to the NIAID biodefense program)
Source: Texas Public Information Act, Texas Attorney General's Ruling OR2003-6103

Introductory Materials (PDF, 17 pages, 600kb)
This extract provides the list of institutions, investigators, and projects of the UTMB-led Region VI biodefense research effort. It includes basic budgetary information and a table of contents of this 1000+ page document. Specific page ranges may be requested by sending an e-mail that cites the Texas Public Information Act to Richard Moore, UTMB Vice President for Business Affairs (rmoore@utmb.edu). Fees may apply.

Letter of Commitment from Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (PDF, 1 page, 44kb)
This letter from Southwest Foundation's President Frank Ledford includes the statement that "Many of the staff possess security clearances and have considerable experience in classified research and collaborations with national defense agencies."

Core Facilities Descriptions (PDF, 69 pages, 2.9 mb, redactions)
This section of the proposal describes core facilities for non-human primates (i.e. monkeys), proteomics, small animal models (rodents, etc.), BSL-4 facilities, drug/vaccine development, pathogenesis expression, laboratory practices, and computational biology.

Cost-Reimbursable Consortium Agreement #UTA03-545 Between The University of Texas at Austin And Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research
University of Texas at Austin, April 2003, plus addendum dated April 2004
(subcontract under NIAID biodefense grant)
Source: Texas Public Information Act
PDF (searchable), 14 pages, 2.3 megabytes, redactions

This document indicates that Southwest Foundation is conducting aerosol challenge of guinea pigs with anthrax spores at BSL-4. (See final four pages.) Anthrax usually requires BSL-3 containment. The contract does not provide information about why these experiments are being conducted at BSL-4. Possible reasons for increasing the biosafety level of work with anthrax may be that the researchers are uncertain of their ability to contain the spore preparation at BSL-3 (see AR15-6 Investigation Into Anthrax Contamination at USAMRIID above) or that the anthrax is genetically engineered.

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Biosafety / Biosecurity

  NEW   List of US Institutional Biosafety Committees
US National Institutes of Health, Office of Biotechnology Activities, June 2005
Source: Freedom of Information Act
Excel spreadsheet (.xls), 232 kb

This list of US Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs) was released by the NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities (OBA) under FOIA. The name, postal address, telephone and fax numbers are indicated for 583 IBCs. A second worksheet provides the name of the Biological Safety Officer (BSO) for each institution. The number of committees indicated is a substantial increase over the 439 IBCs indicated by OBA in its response to a similar FOIA request in October 2003, however, it is not clear if all listed IBC are considered "active" and "registered" by OBA or the institution itself.

This information will be integrated into CRISPER, the extended version of the NIH CRISP database available at this site (link). This spreadsheet can be searched and sorted to develop lists of IBCs and contacts, for example, in a given geographic area.

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US Policy

DOE Exercise to Determine the Potential Impact of a Legally Binding BTWC Regime on DOE Sites
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, June 1998
Source: Released informally by DOE
PDF, 53 pages, 1 megabyte, redactions

This document is the report of a US Department of Energy mock inspection exercise held during the negotiation of the Verificaiton Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The distribution list (at end) and a portion of one of the appendices has been redacted.

Assessment Report: US/UK Non-Lethal Weapons (NLW)/Urban Operations Executive Seminar
Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, November 2000
Source: National Academies of Science Public Access Records File, Project NSBX-L-00-05-A (FACA)
PDF, 38 pages, 840kb

This document is the report of November 2000 meeting between senior US Marine Corps officials and Britishcounterparts. In the report, there is discussion of potential use of biochemical weapons by US forces in urban warfare. Differences between the US and UK with respect to the legality of such weapons are apparent. The Marine Corps representatives mention how agreements with the Departments of Energy or Justice may be used to faciliate development of biochemical weapons.

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Research

  NEW  Combinative Toxicity of Biotoxin Mixtures (and related documents)
Texas Tech University, June 2002 (+)
(proposal, contract, etc. with US Army RDECOM)
Source: Texas Public Information Act
PDF (partially searchable), 16 pages, 2.1 megabytes, redactions

These records are from the "Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. National Program for Countermeasures to Biological and Chemical Threats" at Texas Technological University. The program, funded by the US Army RDECOM is primarily conducted at the labs of Texas Tech's Institute for Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), located at the former Reese Air Force Base. The Admiral Zumwalt Program, funded by the US Army since at least 2001, was composed of 12 different projects as of 2004. These range from work with plague, to BW detection, to a project to mix different biological toxins. This latter project, titled "Combinative Toxicity of Biotoxin Mixtures", is profiled in the documents here. The project focuses on mycotoxins and other toxins, including aflatoxin, botulinum toxin, and saxitoxin. The project paperwork alleges that a threat is posed to the US by attacks with toxin mixtures, stating "The great challenge currently faced in the field of anti-BWT is how to deal with the attack(s) of biotoxin mixtures(s)." (sic). The project also states that "T-2 toxin and its mixture ... were used as BW agents in Laos, Cambodia, and Afghanistan." The Texas Tech scientists are formulating toxin combinations and observing the effects of the mixtures on rats and fish. The final two pages provide a list of Admiral Zumwalt Program projects in 2003 and 2004.

Population Genetics of SNPs for Forensic Purposes
Yale University proposal to the US Department of Justice, 2004
Source: Freedom of Information Act
PDF (searchable), 86 pages, 16.7 megabytes, minor redactions

This document explains a project at the Kidd Lab at Yale University to develop a system to analyze single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a DNA sample and, allegedly, thereby determine the geographic origin of an individual. The Lab has a large and diverse collection of human cell lines. The system is being developed for law enforcement. For more information about the potential biowarfare relevance of this area of research, please see Sunshine Project Backgrounder #13: Emerging Technologies: Genetic Engineering and Biological Weapons.

Dugway Proving Ground D049 Program, List of Projects and Sponsors
US Army
Source: FOIA, 2003/04
PDF, 3 pages, 72kb

Dugway is in the midst of a major expansion of its biological and chemical weapons research programs, including increased outdoor testing and expanded laboratory facilities. Between 1998 and 2003, Dugway conducted 32 wholly or partially classified bio/chem projects in the “D049” program. The FOI Fund has requested declassification of the projects Chemical Warfare Agent Toxicity for Both Genders from Different Age and Ethnic Groups, Diffusion Climatology for the Eastern Mediterranean, Technical Assessment of Reaerosolization Hazard from Dugway Biological Field Trials, and Technical Assessment of Antimaterial Chemical and Biological Agents.

The following four documents are each a list (log) of inquiries received by Chemical and Biological Defense Information Analysis Center (CBIAC) database managers in the final months of 2001 and early 2002.

Air Force Inquiry Requests, 1st and 2nd Quarter, FY 02
Chemical and Biological Defense Information Analysis Center (CBIAC)
Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), April 2002
Source: CBIAC - Aberdeen Proving Ground
PDF, 5 pages, 32kb

Army Inquiry Requests, 1st and 2nd Quarter, FY 02
Chemical and Biological Defense Information Analysis Center (CBIAC)
Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), April 2002
Source: CBIAC - Aberdeen Proving Ground
PDF, 23 pages, 140kb

Department of Defense Inquiry Requests, 1st and 2nd Quarter, FY 02
Chemical and Biological Defense Information Analysis Center (CBIAC)
Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), April 2002
Source: CBIAC - Aberdeen Proving Ground
PDF, 13 pages, 32kb

Navy Inquiry Requests, 1st and 2nd Quarter, FY 02
Chemical and Biological Defense Information Analysis Center (CBIAC)
Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), April 2002
Source: CBIAC - Aberdeen Proving Ground
PDF, 5 pages, 36kb

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Incapacitants / "Non-Lethal" Weapons