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U.S. military lab may have shipped live anthrax to Pentagon: report

Xinhua, June 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Pentagon itself might be one of the locations that have received shipment of live anthrax from a military lab in Utah by mistake, U.S. media reported Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Defense is now investigating whether anthrax samples shipped to the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the Pentagon's police force, contained live spores, Pentagon officials told CNN.

The anthrax sent to Pentagon was reportedly to be used to help calibrate sensors to detect chemical or biological agents.

Currently, only one lab in the U.S. state of Maryland has reported actually receiving live anthrax from the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.

The Pentagon and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are currently investigating if live anthrax shipments were made to facilities in as many as 12 states, as well as Canada, South Korea and Australia.

CNN reported that more than 30 shipments already shipped to these locations will be tested.

Pentagon officials insisted there is no threat to public health because all the anthrax shipments were shipped and handled under controlled circumstances. Endite