Exclusive: Inside the defence labs that deal with the world's most deadly substances

People have been trying to poison each other for millennia so the need for new ways to deal with chemical, biological and radiological threats is as real today as it's ever been.
BFBS Forces News was granted an exclusive look behind the normally sealed doors of Dstl - the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
We stepped inside the suits the scientists use to work on the most deadly substances and discover brand-new research which could save personnel from an infectious disease that's plagued the military for decades.
More: www.forcesnews...
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[@nearestyoutube]

I used to work in a Containment Level 3, microbiologist as well. That guy is so serious lol, but in this case I think that's a good thing. Right sort of person in this field

BSL3 or is that Canuckistan nomenclature?

[@dammitdan106]

Lay people have zero idea how sloppy and arrogant "scientists" can be when handling pathogens, isotopes and toxic chemicals. The P3, now called BSL3 facility demonstrated here has engineered redundancy to contain more handling mishaps, thank God.

[@HULLGRAFFITI]

When they have something like bubonic plague do they keep a sample from decades ago frozen and keep dipping into it or keep 'growing' new samples from what I assume would be an original sample ? and do these things come in strength or qualities or is bubonic plague just the same thing the world over ? Cheers

[@CausticLemons7]

@@HULLGRAFFITI Good question. I wonder if they keep something like original strain and mutated samples.

[@predatortheme]

@@CausticLemons7 i would think so, there are institutes which have 50 year old straits up to the newest strains of certain bacterias stored with every generation inbetween for especially these purposes and seeing how bacteria evolve

[@Connor-Colyer]

“Remember, that’s plague”

[@haifutter4166]

No pressure at all. 😂 As a lab technician myself its always funny to watch clumsy people in the lab. They allways underestimate how precise every movement has to be in environments that should stay sterile.

[@dammitdan106]

It's likely just buffer solution with same molecular weight, color and viscosity used to grow the bacteria, not actual *Y. pestis.*

[@chrismac2234]

He did say "if this was for real"

[@user-bq3zh1of3t]

Dstl

[@JettisonTheSupreme]

The professor was not impressed with the poor reporter lol

[@Вивсівідстій]

That’s because the journalist is an ignoramus asking stupid questions.

[@Scythl]

​@@Вивсівідстійno she is trying to communicate what they do to people who don't know the basics, which is absolutely a worthwhile endeavour. The professor was showing how hard the work is and how careful you must be

[@ScotlandTheBrave_1]

He’s not even got goggles on so he can’t even talk

[@honkeykong9563]

If he wasn't impressed he wouldn't have told her that he must now examine her for contagion and he's afraid she will have to be rather naked.

[@Thataussiebattler]

In you come Hanna! "Coughs on her". Hilarious.

[@SilentStudioExplores]

Twice now...😅

[@MostlyPennyCat]

My wife could've worked there when she graduated, in the hot labs. In the end she chose to pursue her career in the NHS

[@Bluetoothedshark]

My half sister qualified as a lab scientist. She then went back to university and got paramedic qualified and became a paramedic in the Newcastle area. I don't really know her, but I'm proud of her.

[@iliaviwara1442]

That pathway is better and safer.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

@@Bluetoothedshark Good for you and her then, buddy. It's good when people's careers come together. What do you do?

[@MostlyPennyCat]

@@iliaviwara1442 What, the NHS? Yep! Much safer.

[@stun5700]

Cheers dits

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

“You found it difficult to get the tops off”… Maybe come up with a system where people don’t have to unscrew tiny lids one handed then.

[@ScotlandTheBrave_1]

They already exist, my lab has them

[@mrslinkydragon9910]

It's not that hard, hold the thing with the ring and little finger, use the index and thumb to unscrew the cap

[@lagrangiankid378]

It just takes a little practice. It's not that difficult.

[@SaveUsfromHarris]

If you can crack an egg in two separate halves with one hand without breaking the yolk your good.

[@TheTerribleGamingzone]

The less tools, the less waste or decontamination

[@mrelectronicsdude]

Fascinating insight to DSTL. Thanks for showing us.

[@ChasinTheLife]

How cool and scary would that job be! Kudos to these people that work behind the scenes to keep us safe.

[@Daimo83]

Man made horrors beyond my comprehension

[@ex1tium]

Not disagreeing with you but most of this stuff nature made first and mankind weaponized them, technology is just about to reach the point where we can create our own designs from scratch. Scary stuff. I truly do not miss the bio/chemical/nuclear drills we had to go through in the military. I'd rather take the exit by nuclear warhead than any of the bio/chemical weapon stuff.

[@SilentStudioExplores]

Creating new hazards and creating a cure for it at the same time 😅

[@HULLGRAFFITI]

Pathogens are natural , It's not 'man made' it's 'man controlled'

[@sid35gb]

No it’s what occurs in nature that is scary. All it takes is something to crawl out of the extreme environments of the world. Zoonotic disease is terrifying if you knew what drives it you would realise how dangerous animal agriculture and eating animals is to our health. all the pandemics that have occurred around the world have come from diseases transmitted from animals to humans.

[@georgemorley1029]

Plague?

[@mlord1815]

I had the chance to see behind the curtain as a contractor of BSL-4 at Porton Down under armed guard, bound by NDA and secrecy act but what an eye opener. Glad they're on our side.

[@ge2623]

For now.

[@mlord1815]

@@ge2623 believe me it won't come from them

[@danielfreeman1204]

They are NOT on our side.....

[@TSHKKRipper]

Once they are out of lab, you never know whose side they will be.

[@mlord1815]

@@TSHKKRipper with the level of security, qualification and vetting they have and the fact they're just like the rest of us I'm confident. The heads of department and owners are the one's to be wary of

[@davidmonkman6677]

Good that we have people trying to protect us from pathogens

[@jackmehauf542]

No 😂 their working on making them more deadly and getting anti virus for the weapons they create! Their weapons!

[@I-am-not-a-number]

Whilst making pathogens.

[@robertstallard7836]

@@I-am-not-a-number How are you going to protect from pathogens unless you make them to test?

[@I-am-not-a-number]

@@robertstallard7836 What could possibly go wrong?

[@robertstallard7836]

@@I-am-not-a-number Lots, but that doesn't answer the question, "How are you going to protect from pathogens unless you make them to test?" Or maybe you prefer to bury your head in the sand, ignore the fact that foreign powers might be developing them, and do nothing about it?

[@buddytoups1129]

Guessing the wohan lab skipped one of the doors.

[@nemesiswes426]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Aztesticals]

I know that's a joke. But like you know the whole pandemic I'd because rich Chinese millionaires snort pangolin scales and eat raw bats at an aphrodisiac to get hard. That's not a joke. They snorted covid

[@km077]

more like all of 'em💀

[@volkerkalhoefer3973]

They overhauled their ventilation systems in Sept. 2019😇

[@erickhuntsman240]

I can't imagine the stress of working in one of these labs. especially the first few years. you're stretching to reach something and feel air being pushed into your suit. dropped a sharp and pierced the suit. etc etc

[@aliencrafter_]

Luckily you'd feel the air leaving your suit, not any better psychologically but eh

[@DJAlexParker]

1:20 blurring out coat rail lol, then unblurring

[@pjg_77]

Play it again slowly. The one on the left wall, you can see name tags in white blurred out.

[@gairahadam5304]

The point is not about Biohazard but about people killing each other using biohazard

[@devenb1218]

Always wanted to do this. Thought it would've been my dream job and settled with a different field instead. Crazy they deal with such dangerous bacteria regularly

[@markdiii]

real life "Umbrella Corporation"

[@kyleates6192]

Cat the Microbiologist lowkey a baddie

[@gosie-z]

Ayooo...i see im not the only one. What's her insta? Lol.

[@alexandreperron6106]

Sadly, as long as we'll think in terms of "operational advantage", this world won't get better.

[@phillipandrewwright4521]

"Operational Advantage" refers to our Armed Forces being fully prepared to defend against pathogen attacks by certain enemies who, don't think the laws of war apply to them. Not, that we would use them ourselves.

[@alexandreperron6106]

@@phillipandrewwright4521 That's my point EXACTLY. As long as the world will think in terms of invasions and attacks, this world will stay at war, stay in conflict, stay completely locked in to a cycle of hurt and suffering. It's not the fact that USA or Canada wants an operational advantage itself, it's the fact that THE WHOLE WORLD thinks like that, with varying degrees of success. As long as policies like Mutually Assured Destructioin exist, we fail as a society. "The general sat and the lines on the map moved from side to side".

[@sandalphoncpu]

Surely they don’t allow kids to be in the facility right. I mean what was the journalist doing acting so carefree in a place as dangerous as that.

[@kazkk2321]

I really wish I could work in such environments. Hell of a job

[@Cookingwithchefdanny]

Is this microbiology? Cause I find this stuff very fascinating

[@MrYega-zq7rz]

Yea it's to die for

[@KX36]

Amazing how in this place the equipment they have for level 3 is basically level 4, e.g. with positive pressure suits; but in hospital path labs the equipment we have for level 3 is basically level 2. 0:27 this is what our CL3 lab looks like and we handle ACDP HG3 annex 1 agents without even the cabinet.

[@jameson1239]

To be fair they also work with chemical and radiological hazards

[@189643478]

Ebola was discovered when blood of an infected nun was brought to the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp where the scientist analyzed it on an ordinary lab bench... The vials had been shipped in a thermos flask with ice cubes and one of the vials had broken during transport... I am glad that we're more careful today...

[@christopherleubner6633]

That looked a lot like a BSL 4 minus the airlock and multiply redundant PPE. The cell was probably a training lab for BSL 4 work. Same lab coat color code too, white 1 and 2, yellow 3, red 4. Another give away that it was a dedicated training lab was that it didn't need biometric ID to get in. 😮

[@KX36]

@@christopherleubner6633 I think you're right

[@Monkey_D_Luffy56]

They shouldn't allowed carefree journalist on these kind of facilities. It's quite frightening how she acts like it's just a play pretend

[@MrMoo272]

it was just play pretend. You think they'd go through the hassle of making 4 levels of containment and then just let anyone in and use it? I can almost assure you that every room she walked through contained no accessible pathogens or toxins.

[@tjentertainmentstudio]

Why would they put all the pathogens all in one building. What if the single laboratory gets attacked or has a natural disaster affect it?...

[@utarionzo3099]

It’s not in one lab, you’ll find a lot of hospital and research labs across the UK all also have their own samples of these pathogens. This is simply the MoD’s one, NHS has a few as well.

[@MoreFootWork]

1:16 why they blure jacket handlers?

[@utarionzo3099]

@@MoreFootWork I assume because some may have name tags on them, and they don't want to release the names of general workers who have not consented to that

[@thebigeasy87]

I used to make regular visits to a DSTL site linked with this one, it did explosive forensics, not bio chem. 24/7 armed guards provided by specialist firearms officers. Before you can get anywhere near the labs, the security checkpoint is at the perimeter. If anything happens the whole site locks down and there are some seriously heavy doors keeping you out while reinforcements arrive if necessary.

[@amelliamendel2227]

​@@utarionzo3099yes, it's a security thing they didn't want people looking up the employees

[@OntologicalShock777]

Maybe an ultraviolet light lamp can be added as a layer of extra sanitation when exiting the lab.

[@christopherleubner6633]

They do. They are installed with the lighting.

[@mathematicalmuscleman]

Mathematics and Statistics play a very important role as well as basic science and technology.

[@ScotlandTheBrave_1]

Why is she walking about without her legs covered and no goggles? Our labs require your legs to be covered, aka no shorts or skirts, at all times and use closed shoes

[@davidf2244]

The room has been prepared for this segment.

[@vasiovasio]

@@davidf2244 Or, She is a Pure Angel! :)

[@MZ95]

Skank

[@taco2050]

never thought id see a real life scp site

[@Frieren_Lienel]

if theres a virus outbreak, im blaming this facility

[@jshoe1986]

Porton down ?

[@jakedovey7488]

Yes, dstl is the official name for porton down!

[@lmaoroflcopter]

​@@jakedovey7488 Er DSTL is the name of the parent company. Porton Down is this specific lab's location. DSTL do more than just bio safety.

[@peterharris38]

I used to do alcohol deliveries to Porton Down in the early 80s, very odd place. No birds not many visible humans and escort from gate-delivery-gate. Hadn't thought about it for almost 40 years. Thank you for the memory.

[@thebigeasy87]

​@@peterharris38similar experience for me, I delivered to a sister site. Eerily quiet

[@GORDITO_de_LODI]

"Get the pathogen on the white cloth" walkes away 🤣 she probably started panicking..poor lady

[@なディル]

One of the most dangerous jobs and sensitive jobs in the earth

[@anthonyfelony]

Deadliest substance? That's my mother-in-law during Halloween ☠️💀

[@gadgetgus]

⚠️ Silent & Unseen. Essential work that is quietly and professionally carried out behind closed doors, by unsung heroes... ⬇️ And we have been privileged to a rare insight, thanks to the MOD and BFBS. If you are interested, there is a very good ducu-film called 'Inside Porton down' with the late Dr Michael Mosley... 🇬🇧

[@modacontempo4531]

Maxwell Smart & Agent 99 😂

[@mrslinkydragon9910]

Why are the coat hooked blurred out? 😂

[@Emblazed123]

Nuclear war leaks!

[@BushworldAventures]

They probably have people's names written on them.

[@MrShaneSunshine]

Is ignorance a substance?

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

The internet has proven that it is communicable, and spreads fast.

[@KX36]

@@StillAliveAndKicking_ and is certainly abused.

[@samuelgarrod8327]

It depends how much you need to take.

[@Dantick09]

Yes, too much of it and you become communist

[@antoniobabb1938]

Yes wide spread

[@maxcarter3453]

"So this is where we handle our most hazardous pathogens" *Coughs*

[@pauljerome01]

I hope mpox isn't being manufactured there

[@rjohn00]

mpox was discover 1950 pls educate your self

[@Spencer.Lucas1991]

Omg, it’s soooo scary 😱😱 great job and be safe ♥️

[@siddharthaghimire2415]

Internet needs such security,layer wise ..to seperate various sectors based on Infection and remove pathogens who plague internet.

[@baepple]

Can you imagine if there was a tear in that suit? Lol

[@20PINKluvr]

Didnt they show that in outbreak or contagion?

[@baepple]

@@20PINKluvr idk never saw the movies

[@snyseb]

Why are coat racks blurred ? 😂

[@thebigeasy87]

Name tags

[@Tyler.i.81]

Where do you keep the aliens 👽

[@mwallace2922]

That's the question. 🤔🤔

[@tigertiger1699]

Let us all spend more on R & D

[@JohnStoddart1010]

Fascinating

[@hudsongalanou5647]

Why blur out the coat racks?

[@JamesSmith-mo4yt]

Maybe there were name tags?

[@UndisturbedMonk]

@@JamesSmith-mo4yt That should be common sense right?! Some people...

[@drekelley2352]

If its that hazardous then how do they create the plagues in the valves in the first place?

[@louisnemzer6801]

"Imagine there was an outbreak of a deadly new virus in Wiltshire and we shrugged off the fact that the outbreak 'just so happened' to be near a little place called Porton Down. We'd be laughed out of town." -Matt Hancock

[@ronin_user]

Outstanding.

[@jordanpearson4824]

2020 called...

[@BushyHairedStranger]

7 DOORS!..from outside the facility into the pathogen containment chamber they passed through at least 7 doors, likely more than that.

[@matthijsleenhouts4827]

CBRN specialist

[@erpetek]

1:14 they even censor the coat hangers... damn...

[@TheEzali]

Portland down is also THE go-to reference laboratory in the UK for infectious diseases. Depending on NHS trust or health care entity, the appropriate virology or microbiology consultant team(s) may request samples for referral confirmation serum, plasma, stool, swab, urine CSF, etc after test results come back from the RRL or primary reference laboratory. This is an essential part of our routine health care service, in addition to their research.

[@josearias306]

Protect the young scientists Ms. Cat

[@amsf1]

Def not the job for me. Id think i had symptoms of every substance I handled. Hypochondriac settings on 1000 😂

[@cameronlove1093]

why are the coat hangers blurred out? xD

[@Garthvador]

04:00 its like the crystal maze

[@Most_Trustworthy_Weasel]

I can't imagine what this is possibly hinting at

[@JustMe-12345]

One thing i just wondered..... why dont they use robots? Like for example the da vinci robot is used for surgeries. So like this they could be in a seperate room to control the robot and therefore be safe

[@kristofer4019]

Possibly the most dangerous man in the world. Let's hope he keeps enjoying the world we live in.

[@gadgetgus]

Hey buddy 👊🏼 I disagree with your assumption... Firstly, he isn't. Secondly, they'll be layers of extra security in place to mitigate such occurances. I hope this helps with any underlying anxiety, some may have when reading this thread...

[@kristofer4019]

@gadgetgus foot and mouth UK resulted in? Same level security as this laboratory. bsl-4 I also state he is possibly the most dangerous man, not that he is. 🤷‍♂️ But thanks, I guess 😅

[@randomviewer3494]

he very much isn't. anyone able to fire off nukes is way more dangerous than anything thats in those labs.

[@JDR71326]

​@@kristofer4019BSL4 is only reserved for pathogens and substances with high % fatality rates most often at times BSL4 has other accompaning labs like BSL3/2

[@kristofer4019]

@@randomviewer3494 🤦‍♂️

[@tindustries]

I want to work there. Looks very Cool

[@JulsHorrorStories]

Government: *writes viruses down and stores it in a Doomsday box*

[@mitcha4163]

Whats Cats @? She's cute as

[@gosie-z]

This comment is what I'm looking for. Lol.

[@emorelix]

jesus, who makes the safety equipment and containment fields for these labs? I don't think you could make it less ergonomic

[@MattyT_86]

"one size fits all" I think. They do look clumsy to work in. I wonder how often spills - however small - happen?

[@lordofthehunt5384]

They're designed for safety/containment first and foremost so I imagine the human factors aspect is probably only an afterthought. There is also probably more usable equipment on the market but is too expensive or complex for the MoD/Government to use.

[@christopherleubner6633]

This was a training lab area. The dead giveaway was the lack of biometric identification devices to get in. ❤ The positive pressure suit is designed for one size fits most. In this case the suit was not truly positive pressure rather the cell had negative pressure so it was easy to get inside the suit and use it like a simulator rather than using the fully functional one. These suits are insanely expensive and have a limited number of uses before they are discarded. 😮

[@user-ei3dq2dw6i]

Got ask question why produce these viruses in first place

[@tiagomichel]

To better understand them and to possibly increase our chances of survival in the case of an epidemic

[@ex1tium]

Simply because when the **** hits the fan it's already too late to start working on prevention/containment/treatment strategies. Major military nations have their black labs working on all kinds of horrors. These BSL-3 and BSL-4 level labs are tame stuff compared to those.

[@thebigeasy87]

Because other people are also creating them

[@kylajohnson9848]

They’re not producing them- they already exist. They’re studying viruses

[@surfleetsurfer6370]

Why does this woman reporter find the handling exercise funny? She should take it seriously.

[@welshdefenceforces]

Have you watched any of there other videos?

[@andrewlavey6992]

What does the professor think about "The Andromeda Strain" (1971)?

[@yaykruser]

1:21 why are the cost hooks censored?

[@rjohn00]

Name tags

[@Silky_Q]

Why is this a good idea to go in there?

[@TootieProduct]

This was cool to watch but im the more people that know aboit this place the worse

[@TheLifeOfKane]

Every peice of media has taught me this is where High Fructose Corn Surup must be made 😵😵😂

[@Andrew_Fernie]

The residues from the process are stored in brown jars and labelled "Marmite"

[@TheKingFigaro]

have seen many movies with this kind of labs and experiencing covid. I don't think this facilities will end well

[@rjohn00]

Time to be educated dont let stupidity win

[@valisarussell3481]

After what’s happened in the Wuhan’s lab through gain of function research so it seems , I’m really not happy about having porton down on my door step 😡

[@tightlines106]

Not my cuppa tea keep calm and carry on Cheerios lads

[@mwallace2922]

Maybe we shouldn't muck around with things.

[@robertconcepcion2644]

Scary to be anyway near that building. You will not know when the virus will scape 😅

[@CtrlOptDel]

Why were the coat hooks blurred out?

[@componick6393]

Named pegs of people who work there

[@JDR71326]

Yeah porton down is a military installation after all anything that involves BSL4 has to be very protected and any outgoing information must be screened

[@CtrlOptDel]

@@componick6393 I thought that at first, but the blur goes away just before the hooks go out of frame & there didn't appear to be any names on them... I suppose the left-most few might be unassigned.

[@colorado841]

They looked to suggestive for youtube.

[@CtrlOptDel]

@@Tommy-it3go Well, then they needed to do a better job, as you can still see how many are there through the blurring…

[@dragonage200]

1:16 why are the racks censored?

[@uwusmolbean]

"Protect" us 😂😅😊 *they have to chill you to protect you 😮

[@user-du5tg4si2j]

is this by any chance where pet food is produced?

[@windogmassey1]

He's got to have discharged at no more than corporal. Hes got that about him. Her dress on the other hand is the saving grace of this clip.

[@DanielThomas-yw6ju]

Well, that is another gooood reason why we should stop climate change obviously ☣️‼️

[@themusingsofamadman.8925]

Gain of function !

[@dienar3717]

Create or control existing toxins, that is the question.

[@mrgenetics4063]

Wish I could have continued a career in Biolgy research but unfortunately….the income is very low…had to change careers 😢

[@danb2936]

his eyes have seen a lot...he has a dead look..betting hes been through a lot

[@Christopher_S]

Over my lifetime I've always been fascinated with Porton Down, so I love these little snapshots of the place. Unfortunately given how classified the place is, I've only seen around 5 videos/documentaries on the place. I know the history wasn't very good (experiments it carried out on members of the armed forces (and killed some) under false pretences), but I'm really glad to have this place truly on our side now. Well, that is at least I hope they are haha! I'm from the North East and the Maddison family are mine on my maternal side, so that does hit home, but it's still really reassuring to know we have the greatest and brightest minds now working to defend us.

[@ge2623]

Fun Fact: I supply these labs with my farts after eating Chipotle.

[@miloregnix_vlogs293]

These guys at porton down gets top dollar and very secretive to get in

[@HALOBOSS93]

Just more money for someone else. I bet you won’t hear anything back.

[@muaaz.k]

1:16 what was the reason to blur the hangers out??

[@rjohn00]

Name tags

[@Kymcook73]

Reporter wasn't the best one to choose for this assignment. Unprofessional

[@TSHKKRipper]

Oh, yeah. You don't invent new cbrn poisons, you try to eliminate them 😉

[@benjaminthomas5227]

Why did they blur the coat hangers?

[@dupalaswiecki1663]

Names????

[@axelaxel7118]

My neighbour poisoned my dog, and you expect that companys care if they poisoned the whole world, people are toxiest supstance existing

[@lizichell2]

Prion

[@wtsang1]

Is this facility in the heart of Raccoon City?