Episode 727 • • 3:12 - 7:30
727: Win By Losing
Department of Defense Anthrax Distribution Error and Detection Contracts
The Department of Defense inadvertently shipped live anthrax samples to 51 laboratories across 17 states and three foreign countries, including South Korea. While the samples were intended to be dead spores killed by gamma radiation for the development of detection systems, a technical glitch resulted in the distribution of live pathogens. Analysts question the necessity of such a high number of labs handling these materials and suggest the error is linked to lucrative government contracts for anthrax detectors.