The South African Biological Weapons Program - Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945 - page 211

desire to “safeguard the skills and material developed by the South Afri-
cans against the threat of proliferation” contributed to his decision. 109
Goosen's claims need to be treated with a degree of skepticism because
there is no confirmatory evidence to support them. If he was indeed try-
ing to put the biological agents out of harm's way, so to speak, this mo-
tive might have made it difficult for the South African government to
prosecute him successfully under the South African nonproliferation leg-
islation.
The Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1993 in-
cludes Article I of the BWC. The relevant section states that it would be
an offense for an individual to seek to transfer material in “types and in
quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other
peaceful purposes.” 110 Since this legislation has not yet been tested in
court, it is unclear how it will be interpreted. The act also regulates the
export and transfer of a comprehensive list of pathogens and genetically
modified organisms. If Goosen has committed any violations of the South
African legislation to control export of genetically modified organisms 111
through the transfer of the modified E. coli to the US, his activity would
require the cooperation of US authorities to provide proof of shipment. It
is unlikely that criminal proceedings will be initiated against Goosen.
Conclusion
The planning of the upgraded facility for RRL in the late 1980s by Foster
Wheeler draws attention to the need for an internationally accepted
mechanism whereby industry can report plans for the construction of
biosafety level 4 facilities.
Goosen's attempt to sell pathogens from a former illegal BW program
demonstrates a remarkable degree of naïveté. Had the appropriate South
African authorities known about the deal, as Goosen claimed, 112 they
could have been expected to have acted more decisively to contain the
culture collection.
Goosen's actions may reflect personal insecurity as a former BW scien-
tist in South Africa. He spoke of being concerned about both his own fu-
ture and that of his former colleagues, who, he claimed, were under in-
creased pressure as a result of affirmative action policies: “affirmative
action is killing off all those researchers [who left RRL for a university-