~MOST IMAGES ENLARGE and/or LINK to WEBSITES & DOCUMENTS~
"Thank you for your interest in this website. It is for the purpose of informing all those who have been exposed to bacteria, fungi and/or viruses in any setting, where there is a chance of your exposure; in agricultural settings, in the field of biology/microbiology research and/or in the medical field that you are indeed at risk. Many are being told you "are safe". This is far from the truth. Read what David Bell has to say HERE
How many of those employed [or formerly employed] in biotechnology research and development laboratories around the world have no idea what has made them ill and/or caused diseases because of known or unknown occupational exposure/s to bacteria, fungi and/or viruses?READDavid Bell Occupational Exposure From Biotechnology Research & Development Company; Agraquest, Inc. and Cross-Over Infections showing the microorganisms; fungi & bacteria related to David Bell's medical conditions from employment at Agraquest & the patents & products of Agraquest related to each.
How many family members and loved ones of biotech worker's that have died have no idea the deaths could have been the result of occupational exposure/s to known or unknown bacteria, fungi and/or viruses in the loved ones work environment?
How many family members have medical problems because their loved one carried home microscopic bacteria, fungi and/or viruses on or in their clothing, their shoes and anything that was brought home from the biotech workplace?
Biolab Health and Safetyby...TheCRGChannel2
CAPTION:
Lower level biological laboratories are proliferating across the world, regularly working with new biological materials, genetically engineered viruses, nanomaterials and other biological materials. The current regulatory framework governing laboratory safety largely excludes such hazards.
As this research rapidly expands, a broader scrutiny of human and environmental health and safety issues is necessary to ensure necessary research doesn't impose unnecessary risks.
For more info read GeneWatch magazine on Biolab Health and Safety at: http://bit.ly/Ok1mjY
HOW SAFE ARE THESE LABS? • 50,000lab workers in US • 33% have reported at least one infection • 1979 - 2004: 1448 symptoms causing infections • 36 Deaths • New York Times; “Substantial underestimation”
ABOUT THIS WEBSITE:
This website contains information about the hazards and human health related illness/s and disease/s David Bell acquired from occupational exposure/s to known and unknown microorganisms from working in the microbial; research and development biotechnology lab, Agraquest, Inc. in Davis, California which searches the world for new "novel" microorganisms for product candidates for bio-control products; AKA microbial products.
DISCOVERED IN 2012: David Bell's "Project"; what Agraquest hired him for, was the "Laginex Project" which exposed him daily to the fungus/water mold, the California strain of Lagenidium giganteum. The Oomycetes California strain of Lagenidium giganteum, as is stated in Agraquest's United States Patent # 5,691,191, "Medium for the cultivation of lagenidium giganteum" is the "active ingredient" in Agraquest's product's of Laginex (Laginex as & Technical Laginex). The California strain of Lagenidium giganteum did not belong to Agraquest solely; in fact, the California Department of Health Services was the co-registrant with Agraquest. Read EPA document→ HERE; [See - VII. Registrant Information: “California Department of Health Services Agraquest, Inc. DCDC/Vector-borne Disease Section c/o Technology Sciences Group, Inc.] (Read more on David Bell's Laginex Project → HERE)
This website additionally contains compelling evidence of the concealment and cover-up, corruption and fraud committed by Agraquest; but the State of California; and it's agencies; The California Worker's Compensation system, Yolo and Sacramento County agencies and and the Federal Government; and it's agencies as well - in not complying with mandated laws to protect employees and the environment.
It was discovered; over 3 years after Bell's Workers Compensation "trial" [to received mandated compensation and medical care for injury and/or illness from workplace exposure as set forth by the state of California], that the husbandof California's Workers Compensation Judge; Suzanne F. Dugan [Michael T. Dugan]; the presiding judge in David Bell's California Worker's Compensation case against Agraquest and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company had DIRECT TIES to the defendants in the WC case. [AFTER THIS DISCOVERY, Judge Suzanne F. Dugan stepped down from her position as Judge for the California Workers' Compensation system; citing she had "retired".]
October 23, 2003 denial letter from Preferred Employers Insurance Companywhich was sent to Agraquest and put in Bell's employee file (page 19; not DISCOVERED until 2004, after Bell's 2nd request for his employee files from Agraquest. 1st request in letter to Agraquest attorney in 2000 IGNORED. for his employee records
**SUZANNE F. DUGAN'S HUSBAND HAD "FIVE DIRECT TIES" TO AGRAQUEST BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER she heard the case of DAVID BELL vs AGRAQUEST, INC ; PBS&J Corporation, Agraquest, Agraquest's law firm of Morrison and Foerster and Agraquest's founder and CEO, Pamela Gail Marrone, company; Marrone Organic Innovations:
Judge Suzanne F. Dugan's husband, Michael T. Dugan was employed by the company, PBS&J Corporation [READ the Sacramento Bee, October 4, 2009 article; Second Act - Michael T DuganAND evidentially in the capacity of consultant and attorney, as is shown in Michael (T) Dugan of Shingle Springs contribution for Obama for America in 2008, on the date of October 4, 2007. Michael Dugan's employer, PBS&J Corporation "CO-SPONSORED" the University of California - Davis's Explorit Science Center's 16th annual Science Fair and Silent Auction - with Agraquest, Agraquest's United States Securities and Exchange and "patent" law firm; Morrison and Foerster, and Agraquest's founder; Pam Marrone's 3rd start-up biotech company in Davis, Marrone Organic Innovations [later re-named Marrone Bio Innovations]. **Not only were all four co-sponsors of the October 4, 2007 event; they provided "teams" for participation in the events held that day. READ EXPLORIT SCIENCE CENTER WEEKLY COLUMN; DATE OCTOBER 19, 2007 HERE
***It should be noted that Bell had written to Christopher Russell; of the law firm of Morrison and Foerster in February 2000 and had requested a copy of his employee file, for his review, per his legal rights under California law. READ BELL LETTER TO RUSSELL. David did not receive a copy of his Agraquest employee file until 2004 when a subpoena was issued for it's release.)
*Agraquest's 1st location; where David Bell began employment with the company as an Assistant Researcher on August 10, 1998. This is also the location where he became sick from occupational exposures to know and unknown bacteria, fungi and ????
David Bell became extremely ill while working for Agraquest at their 1ST location in Davis, CA.: 1105 Kennedy Place, Suite 4. (new tenants occupy the 700 sq foot space now.) This location was in an office park with apartments, single family homes and senior citizen housing in very close proximity.
This 5 office building was not designed for containment of unknown microorganisms being brought into the facility and exprimented with.
*Where was Bell instructed to dump liquid and/or fermentation broth at Agraquest's 1st location?
This is the "drain" David was instructed to "dump" liquid in.
This "drain was nothing more than a jackhammered out section of sidewalk, outside the lab door...
WITH an added hollowed out slab of contrete placed at the end of the sidewalk. The "drain" dumps directly onto the dirt. What is seen above the "drain" is the corner of the Kennedy Place Building
DESCRIPTION: Photo to the left is an aerial photo of the office complex [3 buildings] where Agraquest's 1st location was. This building sits at the corner of Kennedy Place and J Steet in Davis, California. The red arrow indicates where the "drain" was located. Please note: This is in a residential neighborhood with numerous apartment complexes and single family dwellings. What is not shown in the photo; senior citizen housing located behind the buildings [tothe right of the photo].
What in the world would cause this build-up on the faucet located on the exterior wall of the Agraquest lab? What would cause a crow; who evidentally stopped to get a drink of water from the dripping faucet to not only die, but to have no signs of decomposition what-so-ever? There were no signs of creeping, crawling and flying insects on or around the dead crow
BOTTOM LEFT PHOTO: Exterior wall of Agraquest; showing Faucet with gunk surrounding the pipe and on the facucet. This picture was taken after Agraquest had moved from 1105 Kennedy Place (# 4) in Davis, California
BOTTOM RIGHT PHOTO:
Dead crow under same faucet and pipe
Two weeks after the above pictures were taken a return visit showed the crow in the same condition as it had been prior. There were still NO signs of decomposition what-so-ever to the crow, nor were there any flying, creeping and/or crawling insects or bugs.
HUMAN DISEASES FROM PLANT /SOIL /INSECT DISEASES
JUST HOW MANY MICROORGANISMS DO BIOTECH LABS HAVE....
It is, and has been a known fact, there are some plant diseases [fungus & bacteriaL pathogens; meaning disease producing]; which also cause infections in humans. This puts farmers and their employees, as well as anyone who is exposed to these fungal and bacterial microorganisms, at extreme risk of being infected also.
Agraquest's culture collection included numerous species of fungi and bacteria which cause plant diseases when David Bell was employed with the company.
Quote: "The idea is use microbes to fight microbes"
During David Bell's 2008 interview with Steve Zeltzer of the Labor Video Project; INJURED BIOTECH WORKER DAVID BELL TELLS HIS STORY In the [Transcription of interview] Bell is very clear in describing how Agraquest would test "to see if it might kill a plant... a plant pathogen or maybe a pest of plants..."
Knowledge of Cross-Over Diseases from Plants, Soils and Insects by Agraquest, Universities, Federal and State Agencies is found below.
On 12/11/2009, ten years after David Bell had to have the first of his four major sinus surgeries because of infections from his exposure to fungi and bacteria at Agraquest; and over 2 years after his workers' compensation ‘trial', what had been discovered was the website for the University of California - Riverside's November 2006 workshop titled, "Microbial Biopesticides and Transgenic Insecticides - Enhancing Regulatory Communication". This workshop was held in Washington DC, at the University of California Center on Regulatory Communication and was sponsored by the University of California-Riverside, the USDA and the EPA.
Federal Agencies and their representatives, as well as universities from around the country, moderated the three day workshop and/or gave presentations over a period of three days. [ALL VIDEO PRESENTATIONS]
There was only one ‘private biotech company' who gave a presentation at this workshop; Pam Marrone of Marrone Organic Innovations - Davis, CA. Pam Marrone is the founder of Agraquest, her 2nd research and development biotech company, which she also started in Davis, CA. The first location of Agraquest, where David Bell became so ill, was located at 1105 Kennedy Place, Suite B, in an Office Park.
No Excuse for Government (State and Federal) Agencies, Universities and Agraquest to not know there are some plant diseases which can also infect humans & some of these are being used for biological control on crops and used for insect control.
During this workshop, it was made clear to everyone the fact there are some plant diseases which can also infect humans, when Doctor Anne K. Vidaver gave her presentation on "Cross-infective microbes: from plants to humans". Therefore, IF Pam Marrone and the federal and state agencies who were also at the workshop, didn't know of this prior to that time, they had no excuse not to have learned if then. ***ABSTRACT OF DR. VIDAVERS 2006 PRESENTATION↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
After watching Doctor Vidaver's presentation on the internet, "Cross-infective microbes: from plants to humans" and viewing her credentials, Doctor Vidaver was contacted via email on December 12, 2009 at 09:25 p.m-PST. Doctor Vidaver replied; by email on December 15, 2009 [BELOW]
Received from Doctor Vidaver on December 23, 2009 was an email suggestioning the reading of Molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity: how do Pathogenic microorganisms develop cross-kingdom host jumps? FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 32:239-277. Doctor Vidaver additionally wrote, "as a reference (heavy reading) for your doctors. This is not a journal they would ordinarily read, but it is a very reputable one. Table 1 is reasonably accessible." and "These goes beyond my chapter."
The fungi, bacteria, insect's etc. that cause human health problems; as is found in Doctor Vidaver's 2006 presentation; the 2006 Biological Safety - Principals and Practices, LABORATORY, GROWTH CHAMBER AND GREENHOUSE MICROBIAL SAFETY: PLANT PATHOGENS AND PLANT-ASSOCIATED MICROORGANISMS OF SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMAN HEALTH; and Molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity: how do Pathogenic microorganisms develop cross-kingdom host jumps? are (but not limited to) species of the following microbials,
MANY of these microorganisms are the "active ingredient" in bio-control products; These are indicated by a √ and listed below.
How many agricultural workers and those employed in biotechnology research and development laboratories around the world have no idea just what they have been exposed to that have made them ill and/or sustained terrible diseases because of occupational exposure/s to the bacteria and fungi?
of great concern is many of the bacteria and fungi which Dr. Vidaver points out as being the cause of plant and human disease and has/IS being used as bio-control agents. (From footage of "Cross-infective microbes: from plants to humans"). Following are ONLY A FEW of the applicable excerpts from Dr. Vidaver's 2006 presentation concerning this:
"Agrobacterium radiobacter is one of [inaudible] reported [inaudible] of being a pathogen as far as I known, and that is problematic. Nevertheless, it is the poster child for bio-control in bacteriology and plant pathology."
"And the organism K84 has been around for years now, and is also a poster child for the transgenic part of biotech microbial release of a biocontrol agent. Again, for beneficial control of crown gall disease, principally on fruits of various crops. It's been extremely beneficial, and this has been the instances for many people to work in biocontrol." "However, it apparently causes opportunist diseases in people, and a variety of diseases all the way from blood stream to heart problems and urinary tract infections and so on."
"Bacillus megaterium; a minor pathogen of a variety of plants, going from wheat to trees, but has a biocontrol agent to control a number of fungi. So while the biocontrol agent may itself be a single organism in general, the idea is to have a wide host range for a number of fungi.""And this has been linked with oral muscosal inflammation."
"Now, the majority of the diseases that I'm going to talk about in humans are rare; but, there will be a few that are not so rare; and I'll try to point those out when we come to those. And obviously, for anybody in the regulatory arena, this causes at least a plausible thought, but I'll indicate what some of the challenges are with this."
Now when we come to Burkholderia cepacia there's going to be some more presentation about Burkholderia cepacia; probably more than I have here. It's a minor pathogen on plants, but it can also cause disease in mushrooms and it has also been used in phyto remediation and has occasionally been found as an endophyte." "Well, this is a disease partially known for creating a problem in lung tissue and particularly in patients with Cystic Fibrosis; however, there're other diseases that it can be involved with." "At one time there was a biocontrol agent, actually it was going to be applied for soil-borne fungi. I believe, maybe we'll hear more about that later." "It had to be taken off the market because of objections through the American Medical Association. This is one of the two cases that I know of where you actually do have evidence, as apposed to conjecture that genes from plants, that cause disease, and genes that can cause disease in humans are on the same strain. That is not true for all strains of Burkholderia cepacia, but it is true for at least a few that have been so characterized. Very unusual and very challenging, of course if you're ready to talk about a biocontrol agent."
"Enterobacter cloacae; It can cause diseases on trees and in onions and in ginger; but can also, at least in the literature, be known as a biocontrol agent. I don't believe that any have been turned over to the EPA, or anyone else yet, for actual potential commercialization; and for those of you not familiar with bacteria; this is in the same family as e-coli, some of the notorious e-coli." "It caused generalized infections; respiratory tract infections and gas gangrene."
"Pantoea agglomerans; Is known by a number of different names, and in the literature; the plant pathology literature, there are a number of strains that have been proposed for biological control, usually by competitive exclusion and they work very well under some conditions, but have not yet been commercialized and may not for a number of reasons But it is also a pathogen of Wisteria and onions and some trees and a wide variety of plants; not the same strains of course." "You've already heard about the possibility of acquired infections; this is one of the organisms that has been reported of possible acquired infections and can also be reported in arthritis."
"More and more bacteria by the way are being reported to be the cause of some chronic diseases."
"Pseudomonas aeruginosa; a very minor pathogen in plant pathology; but can cause onion rot and has been used experimentally in that model plant Arabidopsis." "It is a very nasty organism if it get's into a burn ward because it is extremely difficult to control. It usually has intrinsic antibiotic resistance to a number of antibiotics; and can cause generalized bacteremia as well. This is also one of the few cases in which a single strain has been found that does have genes that can cause a disease in plants and in humans; and so there have been a few cases where strains have been isolated from humans and then tested in plants and they have been found to be pathogenic. The [reverse?] of course cannot been done directly but can be done through human surrogates such as mice; [we believe?] that would be appropriate and in many cases then a plant can kill mice, so that is a concern."
"Serratia marcescens; a lovely organism to look at on a petri dish usually in terms of the red-purple color. It can cause disease in alfalfa and cucurbit and I'll show you this in a moment; and also a [inaudible] [bio?] synthetic." "It can be a nasty organism in a number of infections in the respiratory tract, urinary tract, in the eyes, in the heart and so on."
"Now, switch to fungi; and there are more of them, but even though it may sound like I'm going to talk about a lot of them, I'm not going to talk about all of them that are in a paper that I had that I was going to use as a reference."
"The prospective virtue of fungi; which I'll talk more about later, is that in some ways they are more desirable as microbial control agents; but I'll say more about why that is."
"Aspergillus flavus; This is one that is also not only a pathogen of corn, but moldy peanuts and boll rot on cotton and is very extensive. There is a strain for control of A. fluvus and cotton, and I believe it works essentially as a competitive exclusion, and.." "..nevertheless it has been reported to have generalized infection in people and can be a problem in heart disease as well."
"So, this does not go on forever, but we're getting here and I'm not giving you all of them."
Additionally, although the transcription (From footage of "Cross-infective microbes: from plants to humans") of Dr. Vidaver's presentation of 2006; before numerous Federal Agencies, are not at this time completed... it is more than evident she was desperately trying to get everyone at the 2006 workshop to pay attention to what she had to say. IT SEEMS TO HAVE FALLEN ON DEAF EARS Only a fraction is listed below:
"So, you might want to know why do we have this topic for this workshop. Well, because there are some organisms that are used as microbial pesticides or prospective microbial pesticides, and in my experience, plant pathologist don't know about some of these microbes and the medical community conversely does not. And it's unfortunate that with all the people ... regulatory agencies, we're missing a few internationally; hopefully learn from what I plan to say, mainly the Food and Drug Administration nationally needs help."
"I'm going to talk about some illustrations of plants; plant/human cross infections and use those as examples, and then I'll talk about what this actually could mean, both to the scientific community and to the regulated community and challenges for regulators as well ... so."
"More and more bacteria by the way are being reported to be the cause of some chronic diseases."
"The prospective virtue of fungi; which I'll talk more about later, is that in some ways theyare more desirable as microbial control agents; but I'll say more about why that is."
"Now, the majority of the diseases that I'm going to talk about in humans are rare; but, there will be a few that are not so rare; and I'll try to point those out when we come to those. And obviously, for anybody in the regulatory arena, this causes at least a plausible thought, but I'll indicate what some of the challenges are with this."
"OK, so first of all, what am I talking about? The terms are not yet agreed upon what this means. You can talk about organisms that are cross infected; mainly go to from plants to humans. You can also call them cross-over pathogens and you can also call them Cross, or inter-kingdom pathogens, and Dr. Tauxe from the CDC invented the term as far as I know. Phytoses to force on with zoo-onoces, that is organisms that go from animals to people. What they are not; is they're not overlapped pathogens in the select agent list with the FDA and AMA."
"One of the important questions for people in ... the more we know in the way; the less we know is actually do we classify organisms? I mean this is a human endeavor but we have to do this in order to communicate."
" One place I think that there's something missing, and it is not perhaps straight forward to talk about, is that we could have an interdisciplinary program across agencies, there's certainly interagency programs already in many areas, but we do not have any, as far as I know, that incorporate USDA and NIH [inaudible], certainly in this area of cross-infective microorganisms."
" I dare say the medical community has no idea that some of these are really a problem in plants and the plant community has no idea that these are problems in medicine."
" Actually, the question really for the medical community and even for the plant community is, are we talking about the same organism? In many cases, that's still very much the question."
"And so, then how we do this is still a very fluid field, and this is good; but it's a very challenging area then for anyone who is in the regulatory arena. "
" This is also then true in terms of nanoclature. What are you going to name an organism? How are you going to identify it, and then how are you going to characterize any group of individuals [inaudible] by rank?"
" And then for species; at least for the present time, for bacteria you have a species being defined with at least 70% related misbind DNA."
"Homology: Well, some microbial geneticists believe that this is, in again, inappropriate maybe with what we know, but no one has yet come up with something that is actually being received well as an alternative, so this is still a challenge."
"What is the species? And I'm not sure even for the fungi that there is agreement on what is the species; and I don't know about some of the other organisms as well."
"And then for defining a strain that you would actually use and that you would worry about stability, we're talking about the descendants of a single isolation, your culture."
"Then there's the question of what do you do about the host responses. How do you measure the population; even of plants or people or animals as the case may be, because we are not in a scattered population in any of those categories."
" We need to know a lot more about induced and innate immunity; simply to be able to combat all these challenging organisms that are multiplying and changing at a faster rate than we are. "
"A DNA shuffling is going on often ; that is the rearrangement of genomes and how will this be actually seen by regulatory agencies is not clear. It could be [inaudible] that may come out in this workshop."
"Our model system analysis appropriate; it can all be complex depending on what you're looking at it and many people that are on both sides of the fence, but in any case this is a challenge; both for the regulated community and the regulatory system."
Each and every bacteria and fungi relating to David Bell's medical condition's after he was employed at Agraquest; in the laboratory and/or off-site farms, are directly related to exposure to these microorganisms in the workplace. These microorganisms have been identified in David Bell's cultures and/or levels of exposure in IgG Mast tests. The correlation to David Bell's exposure in the Agraquest workplace and significant human health hazards are verified by the scientific publications of Dr. Vidaver's chapter in BIOLOGICAL SAFETY - Principles and Practices; LABORATORY, GROWTH CHAMBER AND GREENHOUSE MICROBIAL SAFETY: PLANT PATHOGENS AND PLANT-ASSOCIATED MICROORGANISMS OF SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMAN HEALTH by ANNE K VIDAVER, SUE A. TOLIN, AND PATRICIA LAMBRECHT and Molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity: how do Pathogenic microorganisms develop cross-kingdom host jumps?
Further validation is found in Dr. Vidaver's presentation on "Cross-infective microbes: from plants to humans"
~Appologies as MORE information has to be uploaded. Thank you for your patience~
What has been recently discoveredMay 25, 2012 is cause for more concern for everyone who worked at Agraquest, the surrounding community and the public at large. This concern pertains to the fungus Muscodor Albus [QST 20799]; which was only one of the vast microorganisms that Agraquest touts to be 23,000 micoorganisms.
"It was necessary to modify the project.... Muscordor albus cultures and inoculum, and in light of new information on the health hazard of volatiles released by M. Albus." "Meanwhile, Agraquest, Inc. (Davis, CA) obtained an exclusive license for use of M. albus. All experiments with M. Albus, including those with cultures grown in university labs, require a Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) with Agraquest, Inc. An MTA between Agraquest and Oregon State University, completed in Sept. 2009, stipulated that Agraquest would provide OSU with a rye formulation of M. Albus. However, in the process of pursuing EPA registration, Agraquest discovered that volatiles produced by the fungus pose a significant human health hazard. Agraquest is no longer making or handling Muscodor formulations, is no longer pursuing EPA registration, and is discouraging the scientific community from working with this organism because of the toxicity of the active ingredient."
* Toxicology Reports (Muscodor albus) from the Canadian Journal of Microbiology and Cornell University Studies on Muscodor Albus were provided by Dr. Jack Dwayne Thrasher, Phd, Toxicologist.
"Rye grain culture of the fungus produced six alcohols, three aldehydes, five acids or esters, and two terpenoids. the most abundant VOC were: isobutric acid; buulnesene,asesquiterpene; an unidentifed terpene.
Agraquest's QST 20799 - [Muscodor Albus] was discovered in Honduras by Gary Strobel [ received his PhD at University of California - Davis ]. The February 2006 Bulletin of Puget Sound Mycological Society reveals Agraquest uses "professional microbe hunters, mainly academics who prowl wilderness areas" looking for a new or 'novel' microorganism/s. The bulletin also says, Strobel licensed Muscodor Albus to Agraquest "for around $100,000, plus royalties".
Was Muscodor Albus in Agraquest’s ‘culture collection at the time David Bell was with the company? Was he exposed to it?
Convened by: Alliance for Humane Biotechnology, California BioSafety Alliance, California Coalition For Workers Memorial Day, Center for Environmental Health, Center for Food Safety, ETC Group, Friends of the Earth, Global Justice Ecology Project, Injured Workers National Network, International Center for Technology Assessment, Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project, West County Toxics Coalition.
A Risky Development: The University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and the US Department of Energy have unveiled plans to build a high profile biotech laboratory in the East Bay. The lab and associated commercial activity will focus on developing biofuels and other products using synthetic biology: an extreme form of genetic engineering that creates artificial life.
Ground Zero for Syn Bio: Already a multi-billion dollar field, synthetic biology is fast becoming the next 'biotech bubble' with the Bay Area as ground zero for this new industry . The San Francisco Bay Area is already home to over a dozen synthetic biology companies backed by some of the world's largest energy, pharmaceutical, chemical and agribusiness players as well as "garage biotech" hackers. The next generation biofuels under development are a false solution to our environmental crises. The risks synthetic biology poses to worker safety, public health, social justice, and the environment are poorly understood and are as yet effectively unregulated.
This is the second of three articles that Richard Brenneman writes about last week’s GJEP-sponsored event, Unmasking the Bay Area Bio-Lab and Synthetic Biology. Cross-posted from Eats, Shoots ‘n Leaves. – GJEP
2012 April 1 – Trust us, says Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s chief “bioengineer,” who told San Francisco Chronicle writer David Perlman that the genetically engineered microbes the UC Berkeley-run lab’s microrganisms “will now be made even safer by the thoroughness of engineers.”
And as Keasling told Contra Costa Times scribe Robert Rogers, “there are often fears and misunderstandings associated with the development of new technologies. He noted that the work that will occur in Richmond is no different from the research and development at current lab sites, and that the lab adheres to all federal regulations.”
So thorough engineers — an odd name for folks who work with living things — and federal regulations will ensure that the new life forms tweaked out of artificially created DNA won’t spawn aren’t anything to worry about, right?
And we should trust them even though their dreams are to make millions capitalizing on the research they conduct for California’s public universities, right? [Keasling, for instance, has started at least three for-profit genetic engineering corporations, and Chris Somerville, the head of UC Berkeley’s Energy Biosciences Institute, has made millions off GMOs.]
And what about those federal regulations Keasling touts? Well, consider this from a 2010 report by the Council for Responsible Genetics report Worker Safety in Biological Laboratories [PDF] on regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institutes of Health:
While comprehensive and frequently updated, the NIH guidelines are largely advisory for many institutions. Even the NIH guidelines on rDNA research, which are mandatory for academic institutions, remain largely unenforced.
This is primarily because the NIH is not an inspection or enforcement agency. OSHA regulations on the other hand, while mandatory, do not address a broad range of potential safety issues encountered in biological laboratories. OSHA has specific regulations governing chemical substances and blood borne pathogens, which focus on HIV and HBV. However, most of the potentially infectious agents studied and engineered in biolabs are covered by neither of those two provisions in the OSHA regulations.
Doesn’t that make you feel so much safer?
Well, some folks think otherwise, and they spoke before a packed house at Berkeley’s David Brower Center Thursday night during the “Unmasking the Bay Area Bio Lab and Synthetic Biology” forum, sponsored by a coalition of environmental and worker safety organizations.
The legal labyrinth and the injured worker
One of the evening’s most compelling stories came from David Bell and his mother, Sandi Trend.
Joany Chou, Sandi Trend, and David Bell
Last Updated on Thursday, 13 September 2012 19:29
Read more...
Agraquest's submission to the EPA in 1999 of "new active ingredient" (QST713 - bacillus subtilis) AND in support of their pesticide petition
Agraquest's 4/26/1999 submission,"EPA has received a pesticide petition 8F5032 from AgraQuest, Inc., 1105 Kennedy Place, Davis, California 95616, proposing pursuant to section 408(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d), to amend 40 CFR part 180 to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for the microbial pesticide Bacillus subtilis QST 713 strain in or on all raw agricultural commodities (RAC).
Pursuant to section 408(d)(2)(A)(i) of the FFDCA, as amended, AgraQuest, Inc. has submitted the following summary of information, data, and arguments in support of their pesticide petition. This summary was prepared by AgraQuest, Inc. and EPA has not fully evaluated the merits of the pesticide petition. The summary may have been edited by EPA if the terminology used was unclear, the summary contained extraneous material, or the summary unintentionally made the reader conclude that the findings reflected EPA's position and not theposition of the petitioner."
Agraquest's 6/16/1999 submission, "2. File Symbol: 69592-L. Applicant: Agraquest Inc., 1105 KennedyPlace, Davis, CA 95616. Product Name: QST 713 Technical. Microbial Fungicide. Active ingredient: QST 713 strain of dried Bacillus subtilis at 5%. Proposed classification/Use: None. For use in manufacturing or formulating end-use products to control various fungalplant pathogens and terrestrial use.
**Agraquest only received a "CONDITIONAL TIME-LIMITED REGISTRATION [view 4 page form→HERE]from the EPA on 6/20/2000 (Janet L. Anderson, Ph.D, Director - Biopesticides and Pollutions Preventon Division) as the EPA themselves found fault....
Listed on the above June 20, 2000 "Conditional Time-Limited" Registration for QST 713 Technical:
•The submitted manufacturing processed did not have sufficient quality control fermentation batches.
Data required
•Data for the 12 month storage stability of the end-use product has not been submitted.
•Additional data described in the December 12, 1999 review and March 8 2000 letter are required to upgrade submitted process, MRID# 44519-04 to acceptable. This includes:
•1) A formal submission that clearly describes new quality control steps taken to assure the consistent CFU/g values and limit microbial impurities in the Technical Powder.
•2) A 5 batch analysis of Technical Powder produced from cell cultures with latest QC.
•3) Raw data for the above mentioned 5 batch analyses.
Ecological Effects Data Required
•A 21 day Freshwater Aquatic Invertebrate Study must be performed. Attenuated and filter sterilized controls should be used in the test. Test lab should attempt to determine cause of death and whether pathogenicity involved.
•[Shrimp] Required due to report of disease in terrestrial amphipod crustaceanassociated with B. subtilis infection. Protocol must be submitted before initiating study.
•QST Technical was shown to cause mortality to parasitic Hymenoptera. MRID 44619-14 is graded supplemental. Potential pathogenicity was not investigated.
•[HONEY BEE] All test concentrations showed treatment relatedmortality. MRID 4456519-17 is supplemental due to the short test duration and the lack of a determination as to whether mortality was due to toxicity only or whether pathogenicity contributed.
PLEASE NOTE: The submissions of April , 1999 and June , 1999 by Agraquest to the EPA were one of the products, [QST Technical wettable powder] that David had transferred from LARGE drums into 24 pound bags for shipment. He was told "it was safe" and didn't wear a respirator.
The California Workers’ Compensation system proved to be a nightmare for David Bell as well as countless other injured workers who have sustained an occupational exposure resulting in illness, disease and to some, death.
It is questioned “why” California has Qualified Medical Examiners [QME’s] within it’s workers’ compensation system when their expert medical opinion and findings side with the injured worker are merely ignored? Instead of believing, or even acknowledging the validity of the QME’s findings and reports (and other medical opinions as well as scientific evidence) the California workers’ compensation system, which is run by the same insurance industry that fights the injured worker’s “claim for benefits”, choses to rule on the side of the “unsafe” employer denying all rights for not only the injured worker’s rights to compensation benefits (including much needed medical care), but also denying him or her the judicial rights to a fair process.
In the following you will see how Agraquest. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and the California workers’ compensation system circumvented the "truth" with respect to David Bell sustaining an occupational illness and disease as a result of working for Agraquest.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 January 2013 01:43
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NEWAgraquest did NOT report David’s workplace injury/illness that rendered the left half of his face and teeth to become numb, severe infection with bloody pus draining from his nose leading to the emergency sinus surgery being scheduled 7 days later per:
Insurance Code Section 11760], Labor Code 5401 Reg 101119; "Claim Form provided to employee within one day of knowledge of injury"
Labor Code 3602; "Liability exists for any injury sustained by an employee “arising out of and in the course of employment”
Labor Code 4600; "Medical Treatment; employee is entitled to treatment that is “reasonably required to cure or relieve from the effects of the injury”
Labor Code 4650; "Injury Causes Temporary Disability-Payment to Begin"
California Code of Regulations: Title 8Section 342; "Immediate reporting of any serious injury, illness, or death of an employee at the workplace"
Agraquest further violated Federal and California state laws regarding MANDATORY pesticide incident (adverse effects to human or environment) exposure reporting laws per:
•"which requires pesticide registrants to report information concerningunreasonable adverse effects of their products to EPA(62 FR 49370). The purpose of the rule is to clarify what information to submit, how and when to submit it, as well as which failures to report information, or delays in reporting, will be regarded by EPA as violations of FIFRA section 6(a)(2), actionable under FIFRA sections 12(a)(2)(B)(ii) and 12(a)(2)(N)."
•III. AGGREGATE REPORTING The regulations establish different requirements for reporting timeframes and for content of incident reports depending on the defined severity categories (see Section VIII. Exposure Types and Severity Categories).
(For more information AND the Security and Exchange Commission filing by Agraquest listing "RISKS" that will indeed shed light on why Agraquest did not want David's injury and illness reported and KNOWN please see "Read More".)
Last Updated on Sunday, 25 January 2009 01:02
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Bell was instructed to "pick up a drum" from an off-site farm during the time he was working at the 1st Agraquest laboratory. This laboratory was in an office park complex in a residential neighborhood; at the corner J Street and Kennedy Place; 1105 Kennedy Place, Suite 4 in Davis California he was instructed to "pick up a drum" from an off-site farm. When he returned to Agraquest with the "drum" he opened it in the lab. This "drum" had liquid in it. When David asked if it was safe he was told "yes" and was told to "dump the liquid" and clean in out so it could be reused for fermentation broth.
Where Agraquest "dumped" was down a so called "drain" outside the lab that led directly onto the ground. As you can tell by the following photographs, the "drain was merely the hollowing out in the existing sidewalk.
The end of the drain sits flush with the corner of the building. (While David still worked at the Kennedy Place Location the hollowing out of the "drain" had not been jackhammered out as is shown in the above pictures.)
Around the corner of the building and the end of the drain was the "irrigation control valve". To the right of the "irrigation control valve" is the run-off drain from the roof. As you will note, directly above the "irrigation control valve" is a faucet. Please note, this is a "clean faucet". Pictures of the other "clean faucets" around the 1105 Kennedy Place building, as well as a faucet showing at the neighboring 1107 Kennedy Place can be found in "READ MORE". As you will see a little further down this page, the faucet that was on the outside wall of the Agraquest lab was NOT clean.
Apartment complex's are located directly across the street from the back of the building where the old Agraquest laboratory was located and where the end of the "drain" faces. These apartments are located on the corner of J Street and Kennedy Place. Additionally, single family dwellings and senior housing are located within direct proximity to the old Agraquest Laboratory where David became so ill.
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What was also found on August 13, 2006 was a dripping faucet with "GUNK" along the pipe and underneath . This is also on the same exterior wall where the old Agraquest lab was located and is on the same side of the building where the "drain" is. (In 2008 another wall had been placed next to the sidewalk with a new faucet installed and dirt has been placed between the building's exterior wall and the new wall containing a high flower bed.
Below the "gunky" dripping faucet was a dead crow. It appeared the crow had stopped to get a drink. There were no signs of the crow decomposing nor were there any signs of any crawling bugs or flying insects. Two weeks later the dead crow was still there AND AGAIN, there were no signs of decomposition, crawling bugs or flying insects.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 May 2012 14:42
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"One" of the Agraquest Products that David was exposed to was QST 713 Bacillus Subtilis Technical. This was the Seven Hundred Thirteenth microorganisms that Agraquest "screened". This bacterium was also discovered in a peach orchard by Agraquest scientist, Sherry Heins.
The 4/1999 and 6/1999 submission to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by Agraquest of "new active ingredient" (QST713 - bacillus subtilis) only received a "CONDITIONAL TIME-LIMITED REGISTRATION from the EPA on 6/20/2000 (Janet L. Anderson, Ph.D, Director - Biopesticides and Pollutions Prevention Division) as the EPA themselves found fault.... Storage Stability, Manufacturing Process - toxicity/pathogenicity to; Freshwater Fish, Freshwater aquatic invertebrate, paleomonetes vulgaris (shrimp) and HONEY BEES.
Alarming reasons were questions to cause of death in Freshwater Aquatic Invertebrate, question of Bacillus Subtilis infection in shrimp, questions of death to "HONEY BEES" and Agraquest DID NOT meet guideline requirements in their submission (studies) on the toxicity and pathogenicity to "FRESH WATER FISH".
Listed on the above June 20, 2000 "Conditional Time-Limited" Registration for QST 713 Technical:
•The submitted manufacturing processed did not have sufficient quality control fermentation batches.
Data required
•Data for the 12 month storage stability of the end-use product has not been submitted.
•Additional data described in the December 12, 1999 review and March 8 2000 letter are required to upgrade submitted process, MRID# 44519-04 to acceptable. This includes:
•1) A formal submission that clearly describes new quality control steps taken to assure the consistent CFU/g values and limit microbial impurities in the Technical Powder.
•2) A 5 batch analysis of Technical Powder produced from cell cultures with latest QC.
•3) Raw data for the above mentioned 5 batch analyses.
Ecological Effects Data Required
•A 21 day Freshwater Aquatic Invertebrate Study must be performed. Attenuated and filter sterilized controls should be used in the test. Test lab should attempt to determine cause of death and whether pathogenicity involved.
•[Shrimp] Required due to report of disease in terrestrial amphipod crustacean associated with B. subtilis infection. Protocol must be submitted before initiating study.
•QST Technical was shown to cause mortality to parasitic Hymenoptera. MRID 44619-14 is graded supplemental. Potential pathogenicity was not investigated.
•[HONEY BEE]All test concentrations showed treatment related mortality. MRID 4456519-17 is supplemental due to the short test duration and the lack of a determination as to whether mortality was due to toxicity only or whether pathogenicity contributed.
PLEASE NOTE: The submissions of April 28, 1999 and June 19, 1999 by Agraquest to the EPA were one of the products, [QST Technical wettable powder] that David had transferred from LARGE drums into 24 pound bags for shipment. He was told "it was safe" and didn't wear a respirator.
“WHY” didn’t Agraquest inform David Bell he had legal rights for workers’ compensation benefits when he sustained a workplace injury/illness/disease from his exposures to human pathogens in the laboratory? “WHY” didn’t Agraquest give David the DWC 1 claim form, EMPLOYEE’S CLAIM FOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BENEFITS? “WHY”, did Agraquest list the wrong insurance carrier when David filed the DWC-1 claim form after he realized he had in fact gotten so sick and required emergency sinus surgery after only 5 months and 9 days on the job in 1999, continued to have sinus infections which resulted in an additional major sinus surgery in 2002 (two more followed) coupled with the fact David’s immune system was crashing and the histoplasma found in David’s blood serum related to the U.S. patent 6,004,774 which was filed with the United States Patent Office 3 months and 15 days after he began working for Agraquest? Was this Agraquest's further attempt to willfully and fraudulently conceal their involvement in David's medical condition?
Did they list the "wrong" insurance carrier so the statue of limitation would run out?
“WHY” was and still is the above deliberate attempts by Agraquest to conceal David’s workplace injury/illness/diseases allowed to continue?
When Agraquest was 195 days past the 90-day allowable period to deny a claim per California Labor Code 5402 [90 Day Discovery - Period Starts] “WHY” was this allowed to continue throughout the California workers’ compensation process when David’s claim for workers compensation benefits should have been 100% compensatable? “Why” didn’t the California Worker’s Compensation system acknowledge, instead of ignore David’s judicial rights to a fair process?
Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 January 2013 01:39
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As of 2008 David Bell has gone through almost 10 years of thick, rubbery, hyper plastic-like substance's coming from his nose, when he is able to "flush it out". This is not what David had experienced before he went to work at Agraquest, he had "seasonal allergies" and he had a runny nose. David has been told by physicians, "I don't know what this is" and "I've never seen anything like this before".
Thick, rubbery, hyperplastic-like substance's from David's sinus.
"Mucous Balls or Plugs": To this day David continues to use an electric nasal irrigator (he has worn out 3) with saline solutions, usually daily, in the attempt to kill his ongoing sinus infections and loosen the thick rubbery substances that are lodged in the most upper portion of his sinus cavities. What he does manage to loosen is only replaced by new growth. David has not only used Saline nasal irrigations he has also been prescribed solutions to irrigate his sinuses, he has been prescribed AMPOTERICIN B Nasal irrigation solutions (10 prescriptions) , which is an antifungal and 4 prescriptions of GENTAMICIN nasal irrigation solution, an antibiotic.
The prescribed medications for David's “nasal irrigations” do not include the other thirty three (33) antibiotic prescriptions, and the twenty one (21) antifungal prescriptions which included 6 months of David being on Sporonox and additionally Nizoral. These prescriptions do not include: anti-inflammatory, asthma, cardiac, decongestants, expectorants, GI system, immune dysfunction, nebulizers, pain relievers, pancreas and rhinitis prescriptions prescribed David. (Only through 2005).
Agraquest and it's representatives not only deny David got sick from working at the company, they go so far as say that he is making this up.
Last Updated on Friday, 13 January 2012 21:26
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Agraquest is the biotechnology company that searches throughout the world for the "novel" microorganism (fungus, bacteria) to be used in the place of chemicals for diseases of plants and insect control. Although not known unless it has affected someone close to you, these plant diseases also produce diseases in humans as well. Remember, when a new microorganism is found it has to be screened and identified (if possible) and then it is tested on various bacteria and fungal diseases of plants or against insects. This took place in David's workplace environment at Agraquest. David Bell and many other microbiologist like him are exposed daily, and more times than not, without knowledge to these human disease producing microorganisms that are in their workplace environment.
Where does Agraquest "search" for the "novel" microorganism? [Meaning of "novel"; "of a new kind; different from anything seen or known before"] Agraquest and/or it’s representatives have made public where they search for these microorganisms in soil, plants, plant roots, lichen, leaves and/or it’s litter, mulch and other decaying organic matter, fruit, bird feathers, dead insects, lake beds, forests, dunes and ocean caves, animals from terrestrial sources, marine sources (sponges, sea urchins, etc.) insects of all kinds, rain forests, jungles, dry creek beds, orchards, farm fields, and gardens. This is only what has been published. (This information was obtained through searching articles and interviews by or about Agraquest. (This information was obtained through searching articles and interviews by or about Agraquest. “Excerpts” from these references can be viewed [ HERE ]
•"Partnering in the project with Davis, CA-based AgraQuest are Drs. Elena Stepanova and Elena Ryabchikova, State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology ("Vector"), New Siberia Region, Russia."
•"[Vector} once a top secret biological warfare research facility in the Soviet Union"
Also included in the "excerpts" in the article, "Recruiting microbes to do the dirty work";By Michael Kanellos Staff Writer, CNET News.com - April 11, 2006 in which states:
•"The microbe for root-knot nematodes studied at AgraQuest was discovered in an Eastern European creek by scientists once associated with a bioweapons lab in Siberia. The company's first product, Serenade, derives from a microorganism found in a peach orchard near Fresno, Calif., where a farmer had noted that a particular strand of trees never got hit with the dreaded brown rot. And the active ingredient in a fungicide called Sonata is a patented strain of Bacillus pumilus, originally found in a garden in Micronesia."
Agraquest's product QST 20,799 is the fungus, muscodor albus that was found in a cinnamon tree in Honduras.
The point is that microbes, fungus and bacteria from locations from the around the world have been and still are at the Agraquest lab. These are "known", "WHAT" are the "unknown"?
Last Updated on Friday, 13 January 2012 21:22
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David Bell has tested positive to 19 microorganisms, both fungi and bacteria in either blood serum, nose and/or sputum cultures and/or IgG antibody levels (positive to HIGH POSITIVE) that can be traced to Agraquest in their patents and/or products and/or other company’s patents that Agraquest scientists are listed as “inventors”. Agraquest has only admitted to a few of these being at the company during his employment term.
BACTERIA: (source's nose and/or sputum cultures); Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Staphlococcus FUNGUS; (source; blood serum); Histoplasma, (source's nose and/or sputum cultures); Acremonium, Curvularia, and Penicillium (source; IgG levels from "positive" to "HIGH POSITIVE"; Alternaria, Aspergillus, Botrytis, Candida, Cladosporium, Eppicoccum, Fusarium, Helminthosporium, Mucor, Penicillium, Pullularia, Rhizopus, and Stemphylium.
To see the the five page; color coded flowchart which shows Agraquest’s connection’s to the bacteria and fungi identified in David Bell, PLEASE OPEN→ HERE
To view a chart that is completely linkable for the reader of this website to see the actual patents and/or products that connect Agraquest’s involvement in the illness/disease’s of David Bell as the result of the workplace exposure from working at Agraquest PLEASE OPEN→HERE.
This "chart" is searchable in which numerous links have been provided for the reader of this website to go directly to the documentation showing the validation of David's workplace exposure: ie; fungus and bacteria linking Agraquest Patents (and or Agraquest Scientist listed as "inventors" on other companies patents) as well as Agraquest's Products.
•Further included in this database are links to Workers' Compensation documents as well as responses from Agraquest to and order from Judge Volkan in which she ordered whether pathogens were in the Agraquest workplace when David Bell was employed there and Denise Manker's response to David's "Motion to Compel" [Discovery].
•You will also find links to documentation as to what these pathogens do to the human body.
•Also included is the workers' compensation, Qualified Medical Examiner, Dr. Ng report in which he says:
"..... it is not surprising the he [David Bell] could have been exposed to histoplasmosis in the contaminated microfoci"
Read what happened to David Bell, who at 32 years of years of age accepted the letter of job offer from the former Monsanto scientist, Pam Marrone which in turn turned out to be the biggest mistake he had ever made. David wanted to help the world in the new and evolving field of biological control of plant diseases and insect control. He never realized his health would never be the same. His daughter, being very young when David went to work for Agraquest has asked, "What was Daddy like before he got sick?"
Last Updated on Wednesday, 12 December 2012 02:51
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•DINA PADILLA INTERVIEWED BY STEVE ZELTZER ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 AT THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE & ANNOUNCES HER RUN FOR CALIFORNIA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER.
DOCUMENTARY ON THE CASE OF DAVIS AGRAQUEST BIOTECH WORKER DAVID BELL ON DAVIS COMMUNITY CHANNEL 15 by Davis Media Access Television
For other articles, video's, and audio's that concern not only David Bell and Agraquest, but in no way are less important include;
•1) Article from Dr. Larry Rose, retired Public Safety Medical Doctor with Cal/OSHA for 28 years andwho was the last doctor at Cal/OSHA, Dr. Rose is very critical of California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration because when he left California chose to not replace him. Therefore, Cal/OSHA only has Industrial Hygienists and Compliance Officers for inspections of Hospitals, Medical Centers/Clinics, and Biological Laboratories to name a few. As Dr. Rose says, "They don't know what they're looking for".
There are over 17 million worker's in the state of California without a Medical Doctor on board.
•2) There are video's which include ex-presidential candidate, Ralph Nader and his Vice Presidential running mate, Matt Gonzalez who give their support for injured workers everywhere.
•3) There are several articles concerning the safety and health to the residents of Davis, California where David got so sick.
•4) There is an audio of David Bell in which he was interviewed live on air in Davis, California.
To see the list of articles, videos, audios and blogs (with links) please click "read more" below.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 January 2013 01:59
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Joany Chou, Sandi Trend, and David Bell 
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