by Elon Musk A DOT spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that brain-computer interface company Neuralink is being investigated by the US Department of Transportation for allegedly packaging and shipping contaminated hardware in an unsafe manner.
in one Letter to Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg Fifth, the animal welfare group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said obtain public records that suggests Neuralink may have mishandled devices carrying infectious diseases that pose a risk to human health in 2019.
According to the letter, the devices were removed from the brains of non-human primates and may have been infected with viruses such as Herpes B and antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Staphylococcus and Klebsiella. The PCRM claimed the materials were not properly stored or transported, possibly because Neuralink staff had not received appropriate safety training.
A DOT spokesperson told CNBC that it is “standard practice” to investigate alleged violations of regulations transporting hazardous materials. A spokesperson said the Hazardous Materials and Pipeline Safety Administration, part of the DOT, is conducting a “standards investigation to ensure compliance and public safety of workers and the community.” ” based on information received from PCRM.
Representatives for Neuralink did not respond to requests for comment.
Neuralink is one of many companies in the emerging brain-computer interface, or BCI, industry. BCI is a system that decodes brain signals and translates them into commands for external technologies, allowing patients to move cursors, type, and even access smart home devices with just their mind. . Several companies have successfully created devices with these capabilities.
Musk, and the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter, co-founded Neuralink in 2016 with a team of scientists and engineers. The company is developing a BCI designed to be delivered directly into brain tissue, and although the company has not tested its device in humans, Musk said he hope to do so this year.
The public records obtained by PCRM, which were reviewed by CNBC, include emails exchanged between Neuralink and the University of California, Davis. The university partnered with Neuralink from 2017 to 2020 to help the company conduct experiments on primates.
In a March 2019 exchange, a UC Davis employee, whose name has been redacted, wrote in an email that the hardware was improperly handled and the transportation of hazardous materials required performed by a trained hazardous material handler.
The employee wrote that if Neuralink employees have not completed the required training, UC Davis employees are “always happy” to pack and ship documents.
“Since the hardware components of the discovered neural device were not sealed and it was not disinfected prior to leaving the Primate Center, this poses a danger to whoever could potentially come into contact with the device,” the UC Davis staff member said in an email.
In another April 2019 case, a UC Davis employee, whose name has been redacted, wrote in an email that the three devices explained were delivered in an “open box with no carrying case.” extra”. Staff noted that monkey-infested, uncontrolled hardware puts members of the Primate Center at risk.
“This is an exposure for anyone exposed to contaminated probed hardware and we are taking this matter seriously because we are concerned for human safety,” the employee said in an email. “.
PCRM obtained these records from UC Davis through a public information request. Since Neuralink is a private company, it is not subject to public records laws. Representatives for UC Davis did not respond to requests for comment.
PCRM opposes the use of animal testing in medical research, and the team has raised concerns about Neuralink in the past. In February 2022, the group Complaint filed with the United States Department of Agriculture alleging that Neuralink violated the Animal Welfare Act during its partnership with UC Davis. The complaint was directed to the USDA Inspector General, who is believed to have launched a federal investigation into the company, according to a report. Reuters report.
The advocacy group also asked the US Food and Drug Administration in December to investigate Neuralink for possible violations of good laboratory practices.
Representatives for the USDA and FDA did not respond to requests for comment.
Ryan Merkley, director of research advocacy at PCRM, said the latest DOT investigation found Neuralink was “sloppy in a whole new way,” he told CNBC. He said there is no evidence that anyone has been infected by contact with the hardware, but the worried tone of the UC Davis staff member in the emails “reflects the seriousness of the potential pathogen leak. this hidden.”
“This is a completely different issue that clearly affects not only the animals involved, but also the people who work at Neuralink, the people who work at UC Davis and everyone else,” he said. that they come into contact with.
