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Congress investigating safety fears at CDC lab

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    Government documents show recent air leak at federal disease lab

  • Duration 2:59
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Where congress is now looking at a reported safety problems at a federal lab to study some of the deadliest diseases in the world.

It's called the bio safety level three lab it's at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Government documents show the lab experienced serious problems -- air flow system.

Happened in a room where officials work with well substances like anthrax.

It happened in February were not told what we're just learning the details according to the reporting of USA today newspaper.

Air from a potentially contaminated lab.

Blew into a whole way where a group of visitors was not wearing any protective gear.

CDC officials say nobody was hurt.

And the lab was -- at the time so nobody got infected but the newspaper reports some CDC employees have been expressing safety concerns for many years.

One agency scientists reportedly wrote an email claiming to CDC quote will do any thing to hide the fact.

That we have serious problems with air flow and contaminant in this whole building.

Lab officials insist the labs have several layers of security to keep the public and the workers safe.

With the -- is doctor William chapter he's the chair of the of the department of preventative medicine.

At the at Vanderbilt University department of for a preventative medicine -- also it's co investigator on the CDC's emerging infections program how serious is this.

Well shepherd it's potentially serious and I'm sure that the CDC is paying serious attention to it as you say.

Every laboratory of this sort the CDC in particular has redundant levels of safety there's not just one there -- several levels of safety.

And the CDC has a fabulous safety record that goes back.

What must be 7080 years now did the safety record there is is quite good we've we've checked it this does this email from the one employed.

The one from which are a -- of excerpt there'd does that concern you.

Well what catches my attention and you know the CDC has a very open process they have a website where any employee they can -- themselves or not.

Can express their concern.

And that being folks who run the CDC including the director.

Read that and pay close attention so I'm sure this is getting lots of attention -- you know part of the reason it's getting attention now is that.

This happened in February and the world is learning about in June.

Well what can I tell you sometimes it takes awhile for information to get out and you know we had a big -- a water -- here.

It at -- at Vanderbilt about a week and a half ago doesn't make the papers.

It's because probably because that's water.

That's true.

But this is a serious matter and you want to control air flow in secure laboratories that's for sure so I'm.

I'll bet those CDC engineers were all over that.

Very very quickly all right -- it's good to -- thank you have a great weekend.

Always good -- thank you another day.

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