There is significant concern that DTRA’s Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) mission was abused.
The priority should address Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) and biosecurity/pathogen risk during the conflict in Ukraine. Subpoena DTRA officials, Victoria Nuland, Metabiota (DTRA funded) executives, Black & Veatch (key integrating contractor) representatives, and relevant Rosemont Seneca-linked individuals for sworn testimony on:
• Exact scopes of work and pathogen handling protocols
• Any dual-use or genomic research elements
• Oversight mechanisms and compliance with DURC policies
• Funding flows and audits
• Biosecurity measures (especially conflict-related risks)
• Business relationships and potential conflicts
The combination of contractor involvement, political connections, historical Soviet-era pathogen stocks, and ODNI’s recent declassifications justifies deeper examination. There is inherent dual-use risk throughout Ukraine’s biolab network. That doesn’t include frozen Risk Group 4 agents becoming a threat in Menchikov were Odessa facility to lose power from strikes. DURC oversight challenges need to be overcome.
We need to act fast. Ukraine is a war zone. If your “Spidey-Sense” is going off, it’s for good reason. Ukraine grid failures cause power disruptions, potentially causing frozen high-risk samples to thaw, risking a significant outbreak of disease. Odessa’s Menchikov BSL-3 facility in particular stores especially dangerous pathogens: plague; anthrax; tularemia; and viral hemorrhagic fever agents Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa (the latter two have no validated vaccines). The BSL-2 facility in Donetsk after capture didn’t look so good. What happens in Odessa when its facility’s maintenance and containment protocols become impossible to maintain?
“If you lose the electrical power, the pathogens in the freezers warm up. If the ventilation system is damaged, or the building itself is damaged, and these now ambient-temperature pathogens are able to escape the facility, then they can be potentially infectious in the region around the facility.”
Robert Pope
Former Director, DTRA, Cooperative Threat Reduction Program
February, 2022