Henry S. Heine

Key Expert Calls FBI's Theory About Anthrax "Impossible"

Key Expert Calls FBI's Theory About Accused Anthrax Terrorist 'Impossible'

By Gary Matsumoto, ProPublica

Posted on April 25, 2010, Printed on April 26, 2010

http://www.alternet.org/story/146614/

A microbiologist who supervised the work of accused anthrax killer Bruce E. Ivins explained to a National Academy of Sciences panel Thursday why the arithmetic of growing anthrax didn't add up to Ivins' mailing deadly spores in fall 2001.

"Impossible," said Dr. Henry S. Heine of a scenario in which Ivins, another civilian microbiologist working for the Army, allegedly prepared the anthrax spores at an Army lab at Fort Detrick. Heine told the 16-member panel that Ivins would have had to grow as many as 10 trillion spores, an astronomical amount that couldn't have gone unnoticed by his colleagues.

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