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HPN OS O 7] or To: Washington Field From: Washington Field Re: 279A-WF-222936-USAMRIID, 05/24/2005 SPECULATIONS REGARDING THE SOURCE OF CONTAMINATION The Findings of the AR 15-6 Investigation reported that a Single source of contamination was not unambiguously identified. Contamination was attributed to inadequate decontamination of the outside of shipping containers brought into and out of suite B3 of Building 1425. Additionally, it was speculated that opening of evidentiary material in suite B3 created conditions leading to contamination outside of ziplocks used to transport material out of the B3 pass-box and led to contamination of the pass-box areas.’® That strain was difreren € strain Causing contamination of the USAMRIID cold_areas. The latter strain was non-erythromycin resistant. [i concluded that the contamination was caused by two different sources of B.a.*“* A relationship was not established between the surface contamination within the biocontainment suite and that detected on the outside adjacent areas 1° advised that there was no way of determining how Tong the cold-side areas had been contaminated, as no prior efforts were conducted by USAMRIID to identify possibly contaminated areas.1° IVINS suspected that poor housekeeping and lack of environmental controls caused the contamination. He further speculated that the contamination resulted from USAMRIID undertaking the role of examining evidence from law enforcement agencies, while lacking a policy or plan in effect to complete the mission. According to IVINS, USAMRIID had never dealt with B.a. affixed to a powder and the anthrax letter evidence may have arrived at USAMRIID in an outer package contaminated with B.a.’”’ Specifically, IVINS speculated that B.a. detected on the cold- side Building may have been contamination from the Daschle letter .?% . With regard to the contamination found on his desk, IVINS indicated that he would sometimes set containers in ice buckets on his desk so that he would remember to ship the material or to fill out paperwork. The containers would remain on his desk for a few hours or sometimes overnight. When live B.a. was received from outside of USAMRIID, IVINS never opened the outer shipping container in the office. When IVINS took B.a. to Building he would either take it over directly or store it in the refrigerator just outside of until he was ready to go to Building[ | Typically, he would not stop by his desk.+° 8 a