A team of military and civilian experts is being formed in the wake of accusations by the FBI that former Fort Detrick microbiologist Bruce Ivins was behind the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five and injured 17. Ivins died of an apparent suicide July 29.

Army Secretary Pete Geren has asked at least a dozen military and civilian officials to scrutinize safety procedures, quality controls and other policies and practices at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Friday.

Frederick Mayor Jeff Holtzinger said he is glad the Army is examining its policies.

"If you look over the years, again, their safety record is good, but it certainly doesn't hurt to re-look at it," he said. "They're not just resting on their laurels of the past record, and we'll see what they come up with."

Frederick peace activist and attorney Barry Kissin criticized the plan.

"That is essentially a charade," he said. "The motivation behind the anthrax letters was to compel a massive expansion of our so-called biodefense program, a lot of which expansion is scheduled to open on the site of Fort Detrick."

To date, the Army has offered no explanation for how its biosecurity system, which is set up to catch mentally troubled workers, failed to flag Ivins for years.

Boyce said Geren met with military officials Thursday night, then traveled to USAMRIID on Friday morning to talk with leaders there. The team is not targeting individuals and will review documents, procedures and other safety measures to ensure security at the military biodefense lab.

There are no deadlines for reports from the team, which will be headed by a two-star general, and will include representatives from the medical research command, the Army's surgeon general, and Army operations.

The Frederick County Commissioners requested in April a review by the National Academy of Sciences of the impact of proposed expansions to USAMRIID, specifically citing safety concerns. The commissioners asked for a review of protocols to ensure the secure handling of hazardous and infectious materials.

"I think it is appropriate for the Army to respond to the circumstances surrounding the anthrax case to scrutinize their safety procedures, quality controls and other policies and practices," Commissioners President Jan Gardner said Friday. "It also seems appropriate to have a similar review conducted by independent experts."

Commissioner David Gray said he hopes the team will be able to draw on the expertise of the National Academy of Sciences staff when conducting the review.

"If (Army experts) expressed their willingness to at least deal with those items in conjunction with NAS, I think that would be a good gesture," Gray said.

The facility has come under scrutiny as details have spilled out about therapists' concerns that in recent years Ivins had become paranoid, delusional and bent on violence. The FBI said between 2000 and 2006, Ivins had been prescribed antidepressants, antipsychotics and anti-anxiety drugs. It wasn't until November 2007, after the FBI raided his home, that Fort Detrick limited Ivins' access, according to USAMRIID.

Army officials have declined to discuss any efforts to either watch Ivins more closely or put other restriction on him prior to the November action.

Microbiologist Nancy L. Haigwood claims Ivins stalked her for decades. Now the director of the Oregon National Primate Research Center, she said she suspected Ivins in the anthrax mailings as early as November 2001, when he e-mailed her, his immediate family and other scientists a photo of himself working with what he called "the now infamous 'Ames' strain" of anthrax, which was used in the attacks.

She reported her suspicions to the FBI in 2002 and, at the behest of investigators, kept in touch with Ivins by e-mail and shared the e-mails with investigators.

Ivins' attorney, Paul F. Kemp, said the government's evidence was too weak to restrict Ivins' access.

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