It would not then be necessary to declare small quantities of isolated toxins, since they cannot reproduce themselves. A threshold quantity, below which a facility would be exempt from declaring toxins, should be chosen to exclude most research and medical facilities that work with toxins, but to include declaration of listed toxin stocks sufficient for use in terrorism or warfare. We suggest a threshold of one gram. The threshold value should be revisable. Not all culture collections are commercial.
Culture collections are possible sources for virulent strains.
Very few of these facilities have a need for listed agents. These agents are not widespread pathogens and do not have any particular economic interest. Exclusively diagnostic or medical treatment facilities should be excluded, provided that listed agents are inactivated immediately after diagnosis and no live samples are retained. The few reference laboratories and other facilities that may require live listed agents should have to submit declarations. Declaration of the possession of listed agents will result in improved laboratory safety and lower risk of accidental release or acquisition by terrorists.