Professor H.E. Luccock Once Wrote, \"No One

¶ … professor H.E. Luccock once wrote, "No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it" (1947). Similarly the Laboratory Response Network (LRN) is a collaborative effort that is more than the sum of its parts. It was established by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1999 with the objective of ensuring an effective laboratory response to bioterrorism. This goal would be achieved through education and by helping to improve the nation's public health laboratory infrastructure, which had limited ability to respond to bioterrorism. This original mission has transformed into the job of maintaining an integrated network of state and local public health, federal, military and international laboratories with the purpose of responding effectively to any biological/chemical terrorist threat, as well as to other public health emergencies such as widespread disease outbreaks. The LRN is a valuable actor in the United States' growing preparedness for responding to biological and chemical terrorism. The linking of state and local public health laboratories, veterinary, agriculture, military and water- and food-testing laboratories is unprecedented and will inevitably yield significant benefits if ever fully needed (CDC, 2000).

Currently, government funding supports 62 U.S. states, territories, and metropolitan areas in the LRN through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative agreement. In 2010, fifty-three laboratories within these jurisdictions provide emergency response capabilities for their local areas, the nation, or both. These laboratories make up the chemical component of the Laboratory Response Network (LRN). A designation of Level 1, 2, or 3 identifies laboratory capabilities and defines member network participation. To summarize, nationwide fifty-three laboratories are designated as Level 3 laboratories. These laboratories work with hospitals and other first responders within their jurisdiction to maintain competency in clinical specimen collection, storage, and shipment. Thirty-four labs are designated as Level 2 laboratories. Chemists in these laboratories are trained to detect exposure to a number of toxic chemical agents. Analysis of cyanide, nerve agents, and toxic metals in human samples are examples of Level 2 activities. The highest rank is Level 1 with only ten laboratories currently participating. These laboratories, which serve as surge-capacity laboratories for CDC, are able to detect not only the toxic chemical agents that Level 2 laboratories can detect but also can detect exposure to an expanded number of chemicals, including mustard agents, nerve agents, and other toxic industrial chemicals. These facilities greatly expand the LRN's ability to analyze large number of patient samples when responding to large-scale exposure incidents (CDC, 2000).

Though the LRN is a valuable component of national security, the program has not been without criticism. Investigations have been conducted on agency internal controls and the regulatory compliance of facilities receiving select agent certificates. One study found that of 15 representative laboratories investigated 15 did not fully comply with the select level regulations. In 2007, the CDC suspended a laboratory certificate, reportedly because of failure to report occupational exposures in a timely fashion and because laboratory workers lacking a security risk assessment which allowed access to select agents (Gottron and Shea, 2009)