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Review of the scientific approaches used during the FBI's investigation of the 2001 anthrax letters

Author(s):
National Research Council (US) Committee on Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI's Investigation of the 2001 Bacillus anthracis Mailings, author
National Research Council (US) Board on Life Sciences, author
National Research Council (US) Committee on Science Technology and Law, author
Title(s):
Review of the scientific approaches used during the FBI's investigation of the 2001 anthrax lettersĀ / Committee on Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI's Investigation of the 2001 Bacillus anthracis Mailings ; Board on Life Sciences, Division on Earth and Life Studies ; Committee on Science, Technology, and Law, Policy and Global Affairs Division, National Research Council of the National Academies.
Country of Publication:
United States
Publisher:
Washington, D.C. : National Academies Press, [2011]
Description:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (xxii, 209 p.)) : illustrations
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780309187190
0309187192
LCCN:
2011927648
Electronic Links:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209412/
Summary:
Less than a month after the September 11, 2001 attacks, letters containing spores of anthrax bacteria (Bacillus anthracis, or B. anthracis) were sent through the U.S. mail. Between October 4 and November 20, 2001, 22 individuals developed anthrax; 5 of the cases were fatal. During its investigation of the anthrax mailings, the FBI worked with other federal agencies to coordinate and conduct scientific analyses of the anthrax letter spore powders, environmental samples, clinical samples, and samples collected from laboratories that might have been the source of the letter-associated spores. The agency relied on external experts, including some who had developed tests to differentiate among strains of B. anthracis. In 2008, seven years into the investigation, the FBI asked the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct an independent review of the scientific approaches used during the investigation of the 2001 B. anthracis mailings. Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI's Investigation of the Anthrax Letters evaluates the scientific foundation for the techniques used by the FBI to determine whether these techniques met appropriate standards for scientific reliability and for use in forensic validation, and whether the FBI reached appropriate scientific conclusions from its use of these techniques. This report reviews and assesses scientific evidence considered in connection with the 2001 Bacillus anthracis mailings.
MeSH:
Anthrax*
Bacillus anthracis/pathogenicity
Bioterrorism/history*
History, 21st Century
United States
Other Subject(s):
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Notes:
Title from PDF title page.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued also in print.
Other ID:
(OCoLC)743004667
NLM ID:
101638931 [Electronic Resource]

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