Army chief: Human error at Army lab probably was not the cause of mistaken anthrax shipments

FILE - In this May 11, 2003, file photo, Microbiologist Ruth Bryan works with BG nerve agent simulant in Class III Glove Box in the Life Sciences Test Facility at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. The specialized airtight enclosure is also used for hands-on work with anthrax and other deadly agents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is investigating what the Pentagon called an inadvertent shipment of live anthrax spores to government and commercial laboratories in as many as nine states, as well as one overseas, that expected to receive dead spores. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This Jan. 27, 2010, file photo, shows the main gate at Dugway Proving Ground military base, about 85 miles southwest Salt Lake City, Utah. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is investigating what the Pentagon called an inadvertent shipment of live anthrax spores to government and commercial laboratories in as many as nine states, as well as one overseas, that expected to receive dead spores. A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Steve Warren, said the suspected live anthrax samples were shipped from Dugway Proving Ground, an Army facility, using a commercial delivery service. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2013 file photo, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Human error probably was not a factor in the Army's mistaken shipment of live anthrax samples to numerous Odierno told reporters the problem may have been a failure in the technical process of killing, or inactivating, anthrax samples. The process in this case "might not have completely killed" the samples as intended before they were shipped, he said. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File) (The Associated Press)