A committee of outside experts has issued a scathing report on safety at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report, met with general agreement by CDC leadership, also makes numerous suggestions. CDC officials say they are making headway in addressing the issues.
Problem cited in the report: Leadership commitment toward safety has been inconsistent and insufficient at multiple levels.
Recommendation: Create a position for a scientist who will oversee all biosafety issues and who reports directly to CDC Director Thomas Frieden.
CDC response: The agency is currently recruiting for a new position, associate director for laboratory science and safety, which will oversee lab safety across the agency and report directly to the agency director.
Problem: Laboratory safety training is inadequate. The majority of training is now conducted online.
Recommendation: Establish standardized lab safety training curriculum across CDC.
CDC response: Developing enhanced competency-based lab safety training, and reviewing the implementation of training for new and existing staff.
Problem: Many CDC staffers have concerns about experiencing negative repercussions, either personally or more generally to the agency, for reporting exposures to hazardous materials.
Recommendation: The agency needs to establish a culture of responsible science and accountability, which will require prompt reporting of incidents. Not reporting should be considered a breach of responsibility.
CDC response: Agency spokesman Tom Skinner said CDC is making progress changing the culture. The change is emphasized during training. He pointed to the incident in December in which a worker may have been exposed to Ebola, noting it was reported immediately. (The worker did not become sickened.)
Problem: Management and oversight must include multiple layers of checks and balances.
Recommendation: The CDC should track its progress on implementing the committee's recommendations and report them to the new lab safety director or the committee itself or some other reviewing entity.
CDC response: CDC is preparing a report on its response to the committee's recommendations, which will be posted on its website within weeks.
Problem: The CDC must not see itself as "special," the report said. "The internal controls and rules that the rest of the world works under also apply to CDC," it added.
Recommendation: CDC laboratories should go through an external review and accreditation process for all labs.
CDC response: Some CDC labs are already reviewed by an outside accrediting organization under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments and the agency is moving toward a process in which many of its labs are accredited.
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