Biosecurity

Did Homeland Security ignore a breakthrough tool to block bioterrorism? A trial will decide

Four years ago, a top Homeland Security scientist reported a potential breakthrough in the government’s race to detect deadly pathogens spread by bioterrorists or nature — germs that could cause calamitous infections.

A Silicon Valley company called NVS Technologies appeared on track to build a portable device that would swiftly and accurately analyze air samples from sensors deployed nationwide, and determine if they contained anthrax spores or other lethal germs.

"NVS has done a tremendous job in fulfilling our requirements,’’ Segaran Pillai, Homeland Security’s chief medical and science advisor, wrote in a seven-page internal report dated June 13, 2013. He recommended continued funding for NVS "to ensure a successful outcome for the Nation.’’

But the promising project was abruptly halted in February 2014 — six months before NVS engineers were due to deliver prototypes. A new acting division director at Homeland Security terminated the NVS contract for "convenience,” a legal term that gives the government broad leeway in oversight of its contracts.