Charges Leveled of Lax Safety at NIH

Documents obtained by the Associated Press suggest that lax safety is commonplace at the National Institutes of Health, including in AIDS-related research. The documents also reportedly show that sexual harassment is pervasive at the agency and that female employees are so intimidated that they often do not speak up about safety concerns. The Senate and the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services are investigating the claims. Documents provided to the Senate Finance Committee show that safety concerns about AIDS studies were frequently overruled or delayed by supervisors. In one particular incident the NIH failed for two years to update safety protocols for an anti-HIV drug trial.