U.S. to End Support for Bio-Threat Reduction Programs in Russia

By Crystal Franco August 9, 2007

In its News of the Week for August 3, 2007, Science published a biosecurity report http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5838/581 on the end of U.S. government support for bioweapons non-proliferation and threat reduction efforts in Russia "in favor of a similar but larger initiative in parts of the world that [the government] considers potentially more dangerous to global security."

The U.S. Departments of State and Defense (DoD) have each established programs to monitor "former weapons labs and scientists" and "redirect Russian bioweapons scientists into other activities." Yet some state department officials say that many of the scientist redirection projects are now being "sustained" by the Russian government, and a stronger Russian economy has made it "easier for scientists to find jobs." DoD cites difficulties accessing Russian laboratory facilities as a reason for ending its programs.

In fiscal year 2008, the U.S. Senate plans to shift funding and resources away from programs that "simply [monitor] former weapons labs and scientists in states that once possessed weapons of mass destruction" and apply them toward programs in the Middle East and Southeast Asia where scientists are to be trained in biosafety techniques and bioethics. "Working with dangerous pathogens is inherently dual use," says Jason Rao, senior coordinator for cooperative threat reduction at the State Department. “When we come in and say, 'We'll help you work with anthrax in a safe, secure and sustainable manner,' the result is less of the stuff hanging around, a smaller risk of an accidental release, and a smaller risk of terrorists getting their hands on it. It's good for everybody."

However, according to Science, many non-proliferation experts are concerned that there is still a significant biosecurity threat in Russia that will only increase if the United States ends its programs.

"There are still quite a few former weapons scientists in the region whose future is uncertain," says Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley of the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Washington, D.C. One state department official says that the pay rate for scientists in Russia "is still low enough to make working scientists vulnerable to offers of ‘uncomfortable’ collaborations with rogue states."

References

1. Bhattacharjee Y. Biosecurity: rising Asian threat leaves Russia in the lurch. Science. August 2007; 317(2838):581. Available at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5838/581. Accessed August 3, 2007

- Center for Biosecurity

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