After he left on the afternoon of Sunday, October 7, 2001, Dr. Ivins did not enter B3 again until the evening of October 9, for just 15 minutes, and then again on October 14, for one hour and 26 minutes. The scientists who evaluated the material in the letters to Senators Daschle and Leahy (i.e., the second round) found it to be far cleaner and more refined than the material in the earlier letters, which according to these experts would have required additional lab hours to create. In the 69-hour window in which the second mailings could have been made, Dr. Ivins could account for only a few hours that weekend. He had no alibi for the remaining time.[1]
An expert microbiologist from Dugway stated that these hours were consistent with someone preparing the anthrax letters. He specifically noted that the spore-washing process would take some time, especially if the mailer were not using a density gradient to clean the spores.[2] This is significant because there are no traces of renografin on the mailing material, which means that the spores could have simply been water-purified, as opposed to this other measure. The expert noted that with respect to the material in the first mailings, he would have been "embarrassed to send that out" because it was so granular – further support for the notion that the additional time expended in preparing the second round of materials may have been due to further washing/purifying of the spores.
When confronted with his suspicious pattern of hours worked in the lab, Dr. Ivins's only explanation was that he "liked to go there to get away from a difficult home life." He could not give a legitimate, science-related reason for being there during these hours, and none was documented in any of his lab notebooks.[3] Also, source information, including from Dr. Ivins's
- ↑ In addition, during these same few weeks, Dr. Ivins exhibited an unusual pattern of access to the USAMRIID Library, where there was a photocopying machine. On Sunday, September 16, he was in the library from 2:11 p.m. through 2:25 p.m. According to lab access records, also present were two other USAMRIID employees. On Saturday, September 22, he was present in the library from 8:22 p.m. through 8:36 p.m., with no other researchers present. Finally, on Friday, September 28, he was in the library from 10:42 p.m. through 10:55 p.m., again with no other researchers present. Each of the anthrax-laden letters was a photocopy of originals which have never been found.
- ↑ When spores of Bacillus anthracis are cultured, the natural growth process leaves behind residual growth media, vegetative cells, and cellular debris along with the spores. In order for these spores to be used in experiments, they need to be washed clean, or close-to-clean, either by passing them through a gradient or filter – such as renografin – or washing them repeatedly with water, which takes considerably more time.
- ↑ It bears mention that during the first five days of this second phase, Dr. Ivins did make notations regarding the health of some mice involved in a study being conducted by another colleague – thus justifying his presence in the lab for a short time on each of those days (Friday, September 28 through Tuesday, October 2). However, the first three of those days, he was in the hot suites for well over an hour, far longer than necessary to check to see if any mice were dead. And for the three nights before each mailing window, Dr. Ivins was in the hot suites for between two and four hours each night, with absolutely no explanation.
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