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Title Review of the scientific approaches used during the FBI's investigation of the 2001 anthrax letters / 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
Published Washington, D.C. : National Academies Press, [2011]

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Description 1 online resource (1 PDF file (xxii, 209 pages)) : illustrations
Contents Introduction -- Biology and History of Bacillus anthracis -- Scientific Investigation in a Law Enforcement Case and Description and Timeline of the FBI Scientific Investigation -- Physical and Chemical Analyses -- Microbiological and Genetic Analyses of Material in the Letters -- Comparison of the Material in the Letters with Samples in the FBI Repository -- Bibliography -- Index of Documents Provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation -- Appendix A: Radiocarbon Dating -- Appendix B: The Forensics Potential of Stable Isotope Analysis -- Appendix C: Committee Evaluation of Statistical Analysis Report -- Appendix D: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff -- Index
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
Notes Title from PDF title page
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Version viewed August 22, 2014
Subject United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Anthrax -- United States
Bioterrorism -- United States
Pustule, Malignant.
Anthrax.
Anthrax
Bioterrorism -- history
Bacillus anthracis -- pathogenicity
History, 21st Century
LAW -- Forensic Science.
Pustule, Malignant
Anthrax
Bioterrorism
United States
United States
Form Electronic book
Author National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI's Investigation of the 2001 Bacillus anthracis Mailings, author, issuing body.
National Research Council (U.S.). Board on Life Sciences, author, issuing body.
National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Science, Technology, and Law, author, issuing body.
LC no. 2011927648
ISBN 9780309187190
0309187192
9780309187206
0309187206
128313506X
9781283135061