SIGHTINGS



Gad - New Ultra Deadly Virus
Canadian Lab Spills Waste Water
http://newsworld.cbc.ca
7-15-99
 
 
WINNIPEG - A published report says an accidental release of waste water from a laboratory in Winnipeg has the Federal government scrambling to review its safety procedures.
 
The lab which opened just over a month ago is designed to hold the world's most deadly microbes.
 
The Globe and Mail says the leak occurred two weeks ago when more than 2,000 litres of effluent from the lab's waste-water system was accidentally released into the city's sewer system.
 
The lab was supposed to have been stocked with vials of Ebola and Lassa viruses. But officials say that won't be happening for at least a month, because of the spill.
 
Federal officials say the release poses no threat to human health.
 
The lab, named the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health cost Health Canada $172 million to build.
 
When it opened last month the government said the lab -- one of only 15 like it in the world -- would provide the highest possible level of safety.





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