Accidental exposure to live anthrax at US military base in Korea

Posted on : 2015-05-29 14:03 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Civic groups raising questions over how often dangerous biological materials are brought into the country
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Twenty-two Osan Air Base staffers were exposed to anthrax after a US military institute mistakenly sent them a live sample of the bacteria.

The incident has raised questions about the potential for civilian harm from accidents involving USFK biological and chemical weapons.

According to a press release and other accounts from the USFK Command on May 28, an anthrax sample used in an incubation test by 22 staffers at the Joint United States Forces Korea (USFK) Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition Program at Osan Air Base on May 27 was found to be live, prompting the deployment of emergency response personnel and the destruction of the sample.

The US military said that examination of the staffers in the training exercise showed no signs of infection, and the public was not exposed to any threat.

The USFK Command notified the South Korean government on May 27 about the live anthrax sample’s discovery. But no information was provided on whether it disclosed or discussed the purpose of the test and the circumstances of the anthrax sample’s shipment with South Korean authorities. Other questions that remain unanswered include how much anthrax was involved and how often anthrax is brought into the country.

Sources said the purpose of the USFK‘s test is to store an anthrax vaccine and practice decontamination for a possible biological weapons attack using the bacteria, which some estimate North Korea may possess as much as 5,000 tons of. Anthrax is reportedly deadly enough that a low-altitude mass exposure to 100 kg in a large city could kill one to three million people.

The civic group People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy responded to the revelation in a statement on May 28.

“This is a matter with direct bearing on the public’s lives, and the South Korean government needs to state publicly whether it was aware of anthrax being brought into the country, whether similar biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction have been introduced in the past, and whether there was sufficient government quarantine and control action during the importation process,” it said.

 

By Kim Ji-hoon, staff reporter

 

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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