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Title 50, War and National DefenseRelease 119-110

§1527 Improved Biosafety for Handling of Select Agents and Toxins

Title 50 › CHAPTER 32 — CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM › § 1527

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense, through the Defense Department’s biosafety program leader, must run a quality control and quality assurance program at every DOD facility that makes biological select agents and toxins. The program must include things like naming an outside manager to oversee quality; environmental checks; rules that separate work with live agents from viability testing; bans on working on multiple organisms or strains in the same biosafety cabinet; video monitoring to improve lab practice; regular data reviews to catch problems early; validated production procedures; and maintenance and calibration schedules for equipment. The Secretary may skip any of these measures if needed for national defense. The Secretary must study whether to combine facilities under one command, work with industry instead of the Army, or move production to a different government or commercial lab, and must report to the congressional defense committees by February 1, 2017. The Comptroller General must report to those committees by September 1, 2017, on actions taken after the December 15, 2015 Dugway anthrax report and on progress with the program, and must analyze the Secretary’s study. “Biological select agent and toxin” means agents listed in 7 C.F.R. 331.3; 9 C.F.R. 121.3 or 121.4; or 42 C.F.R. 73.3 or 73.4. A “covered facility” is any DOD facility that produces these agents.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §1527

War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Quality control and quality assurance program
The Secretary of Defense, acting through the executive agent for the biological select agent and toxin biosafety program of the Department of Defense, shall carry out a program to implement certain quality control and quality assurance measures at each covered facility.
(b)Quality control and quality assurance measures
Subject to subsection (c), the quality control and quality assurance measures implemented at each covered facility under subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1)Designation of an external manager to oversee quality assurance and quality control.
(2)Environmental sampling and inspection.
(3)Production procedures that prohibit operations where live biological select agents and toxins are used in the same laboratory where viability testing is conducted.
(4)Production procedures that prohibit work on multiple organisms or multiple strains of one organism within the same biosafety cabinet.
(5)A video surveillance program that uses video monitoring as a tool to improve laboratory practices in accordance with regulatory requirements.
(6)Formal, recurring data reviews of production in an effort to identify data trends and nonconformance issues before such issues affect end products.
(7)Validated protocols for production processes to ensure that process deviations are adequately vetted prior to implementation.
(8)Maintenance and calibration procedures and schedules for all tools, equipment, and irradiators.
(c)Waiver
In carrying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary may waive any of the quality control and quality assurance measures required under subsection (b) in the interest of national defense.
(d)Study and report required
(1)Study
The Secretary of Defense shall carry out a study to evaluate—
(A)the feasibility of consolidating covered facilities within a unified command to minimize risk;
(B)opportunities to partner with industry for the production of biological select agents and toxins and related services in lieu of maintaining such capabilities within the Department of the Army; and
(C)whether operations under the biological select agent and toxin production program should be transferred to another government or commercial laboratory that may be better suited to execute production for non-Department of Defense customers.
(2)Report
Not later than February 1, 2017, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the results of the study under paragraph (1).
(e)Comptroller General review
Not later than September 1, 2017, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that includes the following:
(1)A review of—
(A)the actions taken by the Department of Defense to address the findings and recommendations of the report of the Department of the Army titled “Individual and Institutional Accountability for the Shipment of Viable Bacillus Anthracis from Dugway Proving Grounds”, dated December 15, 2015, including any actions taken to address the culture of complacency in the biological select agent and toxin production program identified in such report; and
(B)the progress of the Secretary in carrying out the program under subsection (a).
(2)An analysis of the study and report under subsection (d).
(f)Definitions
In this section: (1)
(2)The term “covered facility” means any facility of the Department of Defense that produces biological select agents and toxins.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, and not as part of Pub. L. 91–121, title IV, § 409, Nov. 19, 1969, 83 Stat. 209, which comprises this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Notification of Safety and Security Concerns at Certain Department of Defense Laboratories Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title X, § 1089, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 420, provided that: “(a) In General.—The Secretary of Defense shall notify the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] within 7 days after ceasing operations at any Department of Defense laboratory or facility rated at biosafety level–3 or higher for safety or security reasons. “(b) Content.—The notification required under subsection (a) shall include—“(1) the reason why operations have ceased at the laboratory or facility; “(2) whether appropriate notification to other Federal agencies has occurred; “(3) a description of the actions taken to determine the root cause of the cessation; and “(4) a description of the actions taken to restore operations at the laboratory or facility.” “Congressional Defense Committees” Defined Congressional defense committees means the Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives, see section 3 of Pub. L. 114–328, 130 Stat. 2025. See note under section 101 of Title 10, Armed Forces.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 1527

Title 50, War and National Defense

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110