Summary
8 September 2014
Six deadly substances, some over a century old, have been discovered in government laboratories in the United States. The deadly microbes were found in a hunt that started after the accidental discovery in July of bottles of smallpox at a research centre near Washington.
Reporter:
Joanna Jolly
The deadly microbes were stored in vials
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Report
Workers searching the government premises found six different types of microbes classed as being so dangerous they're required to be stored at high-secure facilities.
Instead, they were found in regular laboratories. They included bacteria that cause the plague and nerve toxins that cause botulism. A vial of the highly poisonous toxin ricin was also found, dating from nearly a century ago.
Authorities said although the microbes had not been stored correctly, they had been properly sealed, so posed no danger to staff. They have all been destroyed.
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Vocabulary
- premises
buildings and land used by an organisation or business
- microbes
small living things that can only be seen with a microscope
- facilities
(here) buildings containing equipment used for a particular activity
- the plague
a disease, usually deadly, that quickly spreads to lots of people
- toxins
poisonous substances
- botulism
serious illness caused by eating food that has gone bad
- vial
small bottle for keeping medicine or other liquids in
- posed
caused (a problem)
