Bioterror laws have little effect on research

The anthrax scares of last year have led to new legislation for the prevention of bioterrorism, and Penn researchers who deal with toxic materials are working to ensure that they are in compliance.

This summer, the U.S. government enacted the "Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002." University officials are working with Penn's Environmental Health and Radiation Safety agency to comply with the act.

"We have made a major effort. Many hours and many people have gone into it," said Vice Provost for Research Neal Nathanson.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent forms to institutes throughout the country in August asking individuals using "select agents" to identify themselves. Penn researchers received their share of the 200,000 forms.

The "select agents" are part of a national database which includes toxins and viable biological agents -- organisms that have the potential for biological warfare when multiplied. Such agents include the ebola virus, yellow fever and anthrax. The database will be updated twice a year.

Environmental Health and Radiation Safety Director Matthew Finucane said that only about two dozen faculty members will be affected by the new legislation. None of the faculty work with the more harmful biological agents, but all filled out forms for toxin use.

Finucane noted that often, the toxins used at Penn are not suitable for disease research. Penn researchers use the select toxins primarily in examining biochemical pathways.

Chemical biomolecular engineering researcher and Engineering Professor Dennis Discher, for example, said he has not noticed any effects of the legislation and does not know of any effects on his fellow researchers.

The forms sent out in August are meant to ensure that the University is not allowing certain "restricted persons" to use the specified agents. According to Finucane, Penn does not have any such individuals in its employment.

"Restricted Persons" include non-U.S. citizens from Cuba, Libya, Syria, North Korea, Iraq, Iran and Sudan. Illegal aliens, criminals and persons dishonorably discharged from the U.S. armed services are also included in the category.

The 2002 act follows President Bush's "USA Patriot Act of 2001." The Patriot act was made into a law in October after the Sept. 11 attacks and banned the possession of the select agents by persons classified as restricted.

The 2002 follow-up not only establishes a database of the select agents, but will also ensure proper access and safety procedures in relation to the agents. It is a stricter version of its predecessor, "The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996."

The 2002 act "will be a more robust mechanism for sending a list to the Department of Justice [who] will do a background check on people with select agents," Finucane said.

"We will probably be the leading people exempt from any sort of notification or reporting requirement -- at least that's my hope," Finucane said.

Finucane and his staff are waiting for the last of the forms due from faculty that are to be turned over to the government by Oct. 8.

The forms will be viewed by the government in December, when they will comment on the results and decide whether to fully enact the legislation in March 2003.

Finucane and Nathanson's group will convene for consultation periodically as needed to comply with future and current bioterrorism legislation.

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