In March, Reedley Code Enforcement first inspected a secret lab that contained bioengineered mice designed to carry COVID-19, as well as freezers and and containers that held biologics such as human tissue and blood.
Two months later the California Department of Public Health exercised a search warrant of the warehouse, operated by Prestige Biotech, to inspect if the facility was in compliance with the requirements of the Medical Waste Management Act.
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As revealed in court documents, here’s a look at what the California Department of Public Health found in the biologics lab:
The department inspected 30 of the 32 refrigerators and freezers on site. The two freezers that were not inspected were set to -80 degrees Celsius. Court documents say the department was advised to not open those two freezers due to the chemicals that they stored.
Several freezers had containers that were labeled as serum and plasma (pictured above), as well as the name of an infectious agent (pictured below).
Other containers were unlabeled or labeled with indecipherable words or information, and the department was not able to discern what their contents were.
However, many of the containers appeared to contain blood or another bodily fluid (pictured below).
The department also found many vials of pharmaceuticals (pictured below) and did not find any containers that was clearly labeled as a waste.
The department also found what appeared to be a biohazardous waste container shrink wrapped to a pallet that also had filing cabinets or storage shelves. The container (pictured below) was unable to be accessed due to safety concerns.
The department found a box that had one unused red biohazard autoclave bag and a box of unused orange biohazard autoclave bags (pictured below). The red biohazard bag was not marked and certified. Orange biohazard bags are not permissible for medical waste in California.
The department also found several pieces of lab equipment, including incubators and centrifuges (pictured below). The equipment could not be opened or examined.
Court documents note that Prestige Biotech is not registered with the department as a medical waste generator despite the various pieces of evidence that were discovered on site.
