Key points from article :
Bio research labs handle deadly pathogens, some with the potential to cause a pandemic.
Many different points of failure - machinery malfunctions, insufficient regulations, human error.
Rate of mistakes is quite low - but accident could kill millions of people.
66 select agents and toxins that pose a serious threat are regulated in US.
300 labs approved to work with them.
In 2014, FDA found 6 undocumented vials of smallpox in a cardboard box.
Other incidents include:
- lab accidentally prepared live anthrax instead of inactivated samples
- vial of bird flu contaminated with a far deadlier strain
- decontamination showers failure
1,059 release reports between 2005 and 2012.
