A report completed in January by the Laboratory Safety Workgroup, an advisory board created by the CDC, called the agency's safety practices "inconsistent and insufficient" and wrote that "clearly articulated CDC safety mission, vision or direction is lacking."
The panel also observed: "Safety is not integrated into strategic planning and is not currently part of the CDC culture, enterprise-wide. Interviews and surveys demonstrated that many employees neither understand the agency's response to accidents nor how that information is communicated to the larger agency community outside immediately affected labs."
An external group of 11 experts in biosafety, laboratory science and research wrote that they are "very concerned that the CDC is on the way to losing credibility," after recent incidents called the CDC's practices into question.
In May 2014, avian influenza samples were mixed with the deadly H5N1 influenza virus and shipped to a USDA lab, according to a report on cross contamination.
In June 2014, dozens of employee in a bioterrorism lab were at risk of infection by the anthrax virus because proper sterilization techniques were not followed, according to a report from the CDC. This incident resulted in the head of that lab resigning.
The advisory group was convened in August 2014, but in December, the CDC's lab had another big slip-up. Employees working in the Ebola lab were at risk of exposure when the wrong specimens were mistakenly transported from a high-level lab to a lower-level lab, according to a CDC press statement.
Among the many recommendations put forth by the committee: funding for lab safety programs and standardized training; implementing risk assessments; establishing a system of responsible science and accountability; attaining lab safety accreditation; rewarding researchers who run safe labs; and hiring a director to oversee lab safety.
According to CNN, CDC Chief Operating Officer Sherri Berger said in a statement: "It's critical that we continue to solicit feedback on how we can improve our operations, especially functions as critical as lab safety. We brought this group of external experts together over the summer to assist us with identifying and implementing solutions, of which many are already underway."
