CDC Kept Anthrax in Ziploc Bags

Workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention apparently weren’t that careful about handling one of the most lethal substances on earth. Federal inspectors found that the CDC had a number of security violations when it came to anthrax, including transferring the substance to areas without proper biosafety equipment and then failing to properly decontaminate areas because workers "could not remember if they used expired blech." The Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) also found that CDC workers accidentally left keys in supposedly locked refrigerators containing anthrax and transported dangerous microbes in Ziploc plastic bags rather than approved “durable” containers. The overly lax security makes it unfortunately clear how more than 80 CDC workers were accidentally exposed to anthrax last month.