ATLANTA – A $214 million bioterror germ lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has experienced repeated problems with airflow systems, government documents and internal emails show.
The airflow systems are designed to help prevent the release of infectious agents, USA Today reported.
The part of the building where the airflow problems have occurred includes labs that can be used for experiments involving anthrax, dangerous strains of influenza, the SARS coronavirus, monkeypox and other microbes that have the potential to be used as bioweapons.
In one instance in February, air from inside a potentially contaminated lab briefly blew outward into a “clean” corridor where a group of visitors weren’t wearing any protective gear, according to emails obtained by the newspaper.
The federal agency says there have been no releases of germs and no one has been hurt.