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Pentagon puts anthrax in the post

[ June 4, 2015   //   ]

Red-faced Pentagon officials have been forced to admit that they have been sending live samples of anthrax to laboratories across the US and to Australia, Canada and South Korea in standard
According to a BBC report, the samples were sent by mistake as part of a training programme, but the Pentagon insisted that there was no threat to public health
The US Government agency staged a demonstration of its safety precautions, which would probably be familiar to anyone who has attended an IATA dangerous goods course. A vial containing 1mm is placed inside a sealable plastic bag, which is then wrapped in sufficient absobent material to capture all the liquid should it escape. This is then placed in a plastic container which in turn is placed inside another cardboard box. “One millimetre of liquid is going to have a hard time getting out of this container,” said the spokeswoman.
In a statement, FedEx said: “We can confirm that FedEx transported shipments for the Department of Defense (DOD) from the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. All shipments have been safely delivered to their destinations without incident, and we’re confident that none of the shipments compromised the health or safety of our employees or customers. We are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure appropriate shipping protocols, policies and regulations are followed by the DOD on future shipments.”

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