Bio-Technology Awareness

*INJURED AGRAQUEST BIOTECH WORKER DAVID BELL TELLS HIS STORY"
DESCRIPTION: 
The following is the transcription; with supporting documentation of the “Injured Agraquest Biotech Worker David Bell Tells His Story” video. [Video Produced by Labor Video Project; P.O. Box 720027 - San Francisco,CA 94172  - Phone (415) 282-1908.  E-mail address: lvpsf [at] labornet.org]

On 12/12/2008 Labor On The Job interviewer, Steve Zeltzer interviewed Agraquest biotech worker David Bell.  David talks about his work at the Davis, California based biotechnology company Agraquest, owned by the former Monsanto scientist and former NovoNordisk Entotech owner, Pam Marrone.        This video is just a small fraction of what happens to employees working in the biotechnology field.  More and more evidence is emerging that this industry in not as safe as we are being led to believe.
Moreover, this industry is not being held accountable for the injuries, illnesses, diseases, maimings  and even death that befalls their employees; biotech companies merely claim, “Trade Secrets” in denying the injured worker his or her constitutional rights to know what he or she has been exposed to in the workplace environment.

David Bell discusses among other things:
•How the lack of proper health and safety protection led to his contamination from bacteria and fungus at Agraquest.
•His sickness after he was only with the company for 5 months and 9 days and the horror that has followed;  4 major sinus surgeries, loss of an intact immune system, and the continual infections he has had to endure over the years.
•How Agraquest did, and still is covering-up their responsibility for his illnesses and diseases.

•The corruption and the breakdown within the California workers compensation system.
•The failure of health and safety regulatory agencies; such as the EPA and OSHA to regulate the biotechnology industry.

~TRANSCRIPTION OF THE DAVID BELL INTERVIEW~

<sup>Welcome to labor on the job, I’m the host, Steve Zeltzer.

Tonight we’re going to be looking at the condition of workers’ in the the biotech industry.  This is a new industry that has... employs hundreds of thousand of workers in the United States and we’re going to be looking at what has happened to health and safety protection and oversight of this industry and in particular the case of David Bell, who worked at the Agraquest company in Davis, California.

Labor on the Job has covered other industries and the issue of health and safety protection for working people in these industries is of vital concern, but also the effect of biotechnology on the community at large.

So, joining us this evening is David Bell.  Welcome to the show David.</sup>

_{David Bell:
Thank you Steve for having me.}

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So David, you were a science student and you were studying biotechnology and chemistry?  Why don’t you talk about how you got into that field.

David Bell:
Into science?</sup>

<sup>Well, originally I started off as a premed student, biology... like a lot of people do and then just ended up a general science major with a chemistry minor.

Steve Zeltzer:
And this was at Chico State?

David Bell:
I started at Chico and then later transferred to Sacramento State.

Steve Zeltzer:
And you were then looking for a job...  you were close to graduation?</sup>

<sup>David Bell:
Yeah [yes], I was about three courses away from graduating before I started looking for a standard one year laboratory job in the field, which is kinda what’s required to break into the industry, you generally need one years experience.

Steve Zeltzer:
And Davis is a major area for biotechnology?</sup>

^{David Bell:
In the Sacramento region yes, there’s like maybe three biotech employers in Sacramento and the remainder in Davis and Vacaville, for that area.}

^{Steve Zeltzer:
So you heard about this job, you heard about it from the school?}

^{David Bell:
No, actually I just started randomly faxing the top 20 biotech companies in my area with my resume, to you know,  throw out some hooks and see if I could find a half way decent job to get my one year experience.}

^{Steve Zeltzer:
So you got a call back?}

^{David Bell:
Yeah, I got kinda lucky, they called me back, put me through an interview with about six of their employees and I passed with flying colors.}

^{Steve Zeltzer:
What kind of questions did they ask you?}

^{David Bell:
It’s been a long time, to come up with those things.  But it was the most extensive interviewing process I’ve ever done.}

^{Steve Zeltzer:
It was like, about science and..}

^{David Bell:
About how I got along with the people, whether or not I was going to click with this environment people ... this culture of people.}

^{Steve Zeltzer:
I see,  I see... so you started working for this company.  What was the culture like at this company, the biotech company....   startup?}

^{David Bell:
It was pretty good.... I mean we had a lot of college interns and a couple of high school students  that worked there. A lot of us were younger.  We all got in to it because we wanted to contribute to the green industry, to come up with natural, environmentally friendly products.... was the big hooks that got us into it because it was suppose to be sustainable agriculture by using biopesticides instead of these organic or... the chemical based stuff.}

^{Steve Zeltzer:
That has harmed a lot of people, chemical..}

^{David Bell:
Ultimately it looks like they have throughout the years.}

^{You know, a lot of people argue about whether it’s harmed people or not because there would be the benefit of having people with food on their table versus starvation... so it’s... it’s really hard to justify it one way or another.}

^{Steve Zeltzer:
So you began to work at this company and.... what exactly did this company do?}

^{David Bell:
They would go and scour the world around and bring back dirt and rotting plants, decaying material, feces... you name it... anything and culture it at random, in petri dishes and then they would take the pure culture and run it through a screen to see if it might kill a plant... a plant pathogen or maybe a pest of plants... and then it if showed promise then it would further be uped into more... more trials until finally they might consider registering it if it was really a promising candidate.}

VIEW DOCUMENT ARTICLE;  HUNTING FOR MICROBES

VIEW DOCUMENT ARTICLE;  AGRAQUEST GROWING IN OWN SUCCESS,  AUGUST 11, 1997

^{Steve Zeltzer:
So these were living organisms that they were trying to get?}

<sup>David Bell:
Oh absolutely viable... yeah [yes].  That’s the whole thing.... is when you put a biological on a product you don’t really just spray the chemical of the biological... you expect the biological to be viable and propagate and actually grow on the plants.  That’s how the inhibitory effect works.

Steve Zeltzer:
So it’s kinda exciting what you can discover.

David Bell:
It’s cutting edge, it’s definitely cutting edge.  I mean you’re culturing and growing species of bacteria and fungi that maybe nobody’s ever catalogued before.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT ARTICLE;  AGRAQUEST GROWING IN OWN SUCCESS,  AUGUST 11, 1997

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So did..... was there any concern about health and safety or some of these new  pro..... fungus and bacteria that was being brought in that might be dangerous?

David Bell:
There was never any discussion of it..... they used biosafety level 2 containment hoods and that was for most of the transferring. 

Lab safety.... there was minimal discussion.  To be honest, I’m better protected when I mow my yard than I was when I worked in that laboratory.

Steve Zeltzer:
Now, what kind of better protection are you talking about that would be important to have...

David Bell:
I have hay fever....

Steve Zeltzer:
...for a biotech worker?


David Bell:
I have hay fever so like when I mow my yard I wear a mask... I wear a standard respiratory dust mask just to keep the pollen out.  We didn’t wear that in the laboratory.

Steve Zeltzer:
So there were no masks?

David Bell:
No.

Steve Zeltzer:
And these products were out there... or these organisms were just on the table or what ... how did they contain them?

David Bell:
One employee wore a mask, the rest of us didn’t. 

Steve Zeltzer:
Who was that?

David Bell:
Brian Campbell.. one of the coworkers that worked in the formulation laboratory.

Steve Zeltzer:
Was it his own mask or was the company providing him that mask?

David Bell:
Somehow,  he had a HEPA mask...... one of the full ones with the two things on the end.

Steve Zeltzer:
So he was wearing this big mask.

David Bell:
The only guy in the company wearing a mask.

Steve Zeltzer:
A HEPA mask and no one else was?

David Bell:
Running around the hallways... past us, wearing nothing.

Steve Zeltzer:
Really?

David Bell:
A-ha [yes].

Steve Zeltzer:
So were there any signs there of biohazards... or be careful or something like that?

David Bell:
No, in fact I actually wanted to put some up at one point and I was told I couldn’t do it because the company president said it would be bad for the public tours of the laboratory.... it would... it would look bad to the investors.

Steve Zeltzer:
And who was the company president?

David Bell:
Pam Marrone.

Steve Zeltzer:
Pam Marrone.

Now this Pam Marrone has been written about a lot, people go to Google they’ll see that she’s a very entrepreneur  leader in biotechnology and she likes to get products out and that kind of thing. Where did she come from?

David Bell:
Pam apparently originally came back fro... came from back east with a degree in entomology and then somehow she just pops up in Davis, California.  I don’t know entirely how she got there.

Steve Zeltzer:
But before that she worked for Monsanto?

David Bell:
Ahem [yes].

Steve Zeltzer:
And what did she do at Monsanto?

David Bell:
I would have no clue.

Steve Zeltzer:
Okay.  Because I think....  I’ve done some research on this and she was in charge of their genetic engineering for organic pesticides.....</sup>

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENT FIFTY LES5ONS Ltd.: Pam Marrone

<sup>David Bell:
Oh... did she?

Steve Zeltzer:
And that’s exactly what I think this company Agraquest was doing.

David Bell:
Well, she ended up I know after..... before she started Agraquest she was working over at NovoNordisk-Entotch and that was definitely one of the things that they were doing through patent searches also was genetically modified organisms.

Steve Zeltzer:
So in other words, they would genetic modify different organisms, living organisms that you got... that were gotten around the world.... fungus and pes... and bacteria to kill insects, is that the idea?

David Bell:
Well, NovoNordisk-Entotech was doing the genetic modification. You know, I think the idea behind Agraquest was to actually find a species that had more of the concentrated quantity of the active ingredient that you were looking for... that was naturally bred,  However, I really don’t know what Pam had in that laboratory to be honest... I’m a bit... kinda wondering myself.</sup>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENT: BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES,  PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
And you began.... became kind of concerned that things were being brought in improperly at some point?

David Bell:
Yeah [yes], I did question them one time when I saw them bring a suitcase from, I believe a flight  in Chile or Mexico, I definitely questioned that.

Steve Zeltzer:
Why did you question that?

David Bell:
Because I’m not used to watching somebody unpack their luggage and they just pull a giant bag of dirt in a cellophane bag out of there.... that’s pretty unusual for luggage.

Steve Zeltzer:
And you don’t know where that dirt came from or...?

David Bell:
It came from the trip.... the international trip.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see.... so somebody had brought in dirt....</sup>

<sup>David Bell:
Oh absolutely...

Steve Zeltzer:
... from a trip?

David Bell:
...and then I questioned them and when I asked them about that they started laughing and told me they do it all the time.

Steve Zeltzer:
So is this illegal.... illegally...  can you bring in dirt from other countries?

David Bell:
Absolutely illegal unless you have the importation permit....

Steve Zeltzer:
And why is that?

David Bell:
... because it’s considered smuggling.

California is very protective of the crops and we’re very specific about people bringing in a foreign pathogen that might destroy.... for instance, the entire grape crop or the orange crop which could cost California billions of dollars in industry and receipts.

Steve Zeltzer:
So they want to protect our agriculture industry and also, I mean who knows what’s in it... it could affect people or harm people?

David Bell:
Well absolutely, I mean.... it’s the same reason why when you come into California from other states why you go through quarantine zones and there’s agriculture inspection stations looking for Mediterranal fruit fly or the apple maggot or any you know... any back yard produce that wasn’t professionally grown and they’ll absolutely confiscate it at the airports or at the checkpoints coming in and they’ll... they’ll burn it.... it will be incinerated for the protection of the California agriculture industry.

Steve Zeltzer:
So this actually.... this activity that you saw at Agraquest was, in your mind illegal and very concerned you... or very concerning to you?

David Bell:
Well, at the time I saw it...  observed it, I was an employee and I naturally assumed that there would be a permit... that the company would’ve gone through the proper paperwork and proceedings to actually bring this thing in, and given the amount of times that they have done it, and repeatedly done it... one would naturally assume that it was completely above board and on the level.

Steve Zeltzer:
You thought this company was above board company and doing things properly....

David Bell:
Ahem [yes].

Steve Zeltzer:
...when you worked there?

David Bell:
Absolutely I thought they were.

Steve Zeltzer:
Now,.... so you began to raise some health and safety concerns?  Did you ever go to OSHA or health and safety about some of these things?

David Bell:
When I was working there I never went to OSHA.... a couple of years after being sick from working there I finally broke down and called OSHA because I was extremely suspicious.</sup>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENT: CAL/OSHA RESPONSE TO DAVID BELL’S 2002 TELEPHONE COMPLAINT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENTS: PAGE 1 , PAGE 2 , PAGE 3 8/22/2002 AGRAQUEST RESPONSE LETTER TO OSHA

VIEW DOCUMENT: 8/12/2002 E-MAIL FROM DAVE WARD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENT : 8/22/2002 WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE  RATING ; BUREAU OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIENCE RATING FORM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENT: 3/12/2003 BELL WRITTEN COMPLAINT LETTER TO OSHA

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENT: NO DATE,  LETTER TO BELL FROM OSHA

VIEW DOCUMENT: 7/9/2003 OSHA CITATION AND NOTIFICATION OF PENALTY

^{Steve Zeltzer:
And you... people were... in these... in these rooms with this bacteria and fungus and were there any incidences where people got sick?}

<sup>David Bell:
Well, the week I got ill I was told that about fifteen or so other workers also got ill that week too.  See, I got ill and ended up going out for five weeks between the surgery the and recovery period.

Steve Zeltzer:
What year was this?

David Bell:
First got ill in January of 1999.

Steve Zeltzer:</sup>

<sup>Hmmm, and what were the symptoms?

David Bell:
It was horrible. I was at work and it was like a Monday or Tuesday and this... this  purulent pus just kept coming out [nose]  and the more I blew it out the more it would keep producing.  I literally could not blow it out fast enough.  So, come around noon at that point I checked out of work, told them I was sick and I went straight to a doctor.</sup>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENT: 1/18/1999 BELL IMMEDIATE CARE MEDICAL CLINIC

VIEW DOCUMENT: 1/18/1999 RITE AID PHARMACY ZITHROMAX

VIEW DOCUMENT: 1/18/1999 BLUE CROSS BILLED $70.00;  IMMEDIATE CARE

Steve Zeltzer:

^{And what did the Doctor say?}

^{David Bell:
Doctor said I needed to immediately see an ear, nose and throat specialist and put me on an antibiotic.}

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
And you went to the hospital?

David Bell:
I went to a little like triage, doc-in-the-box thing.  So I went to doc-in-the-box first.  And then I ended up with the real ear, nose and throat doctor come Friday of that week.

Steve Zeltzer:
And were you off work?

David Bell:
Oh yeah [yes] , absolutely.  There’s no way to go back the symptoms were getting worse.</sup>

<sup>Finally the purulent drainage went into a fever, body aches, chills and this whole side of my face [left] was numb... from the lower eyelid to the top lip.... you couldn’t feel it...  it....

Steve Zeltzer:
So you had a serious infection then?

David Bell:
Yeah [yes].... yeah [yes],  I’ve been told by three physicians that I would have died had I have not have sought immediate medical care.

They actually told me I was lucky because I was a biology major, that was the only thing that saved my life.  They told me most people would have gone to sleep and had never woke up.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see.  So what... what was it that you had?

David Bell:
That’s a really good question.  To this date I still do not know.

Steve Zeltzer:
So you... but you had a very serious infection inside your body?

David Bell:
Ahem [yes],  I asked the physician to culture it upon surgery and told her that it very well could have been my employer and I didn’t have any proof so I wanted to know what we were treating and cutting out of me.

Steve Zeltzer:
So you just wanted a record, what it was and also to find out what... what was in your body?

David Bell:
Give... being that I was a bio major I wanted not just a record, I wanted them to culture it and run it through an antibody susceptibility testing so they could actually prescribe an antibiotic, be it IV or oral that was actually going to kill this thing..... instead of just randomly doing the shotgun approach where they just pick a broad-spectrum antibiotic and say let’s get rid of it.

Steve Zeltzer:
So the medical treatment had problems with it because they didn’t do the culture?

David Bell:
Absolutely.

Steve Zeltzer:
And who was the doctor who refused to do the culture?

David Bell:
Well no she didn’t refuse.... later, before she did another surgery I asked her about that first one and she told me she had forgotten.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/3/1999  WAL MART PHARMACY; OMNICEF

VIEW DOCUMENT:  2/3/1999 RITE AID PHARMACY; PROPOXY

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/3/1999 WAL MART PHARMACY; DELTASONE

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/3/1999  BLUE CROSS BILLED $11,208.60  SACRAMENTO

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/3/1999 BLUE CROSS BILLED;  $900.00 SACRAMENTO

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/3/1999 BLUE CROSS BILLED; $7,680.00 HEALTHSOUTH SURGERY CENTER

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/3/1999 BLUE CROSS BILLED; $715.00 CENTRAL ANESTHESIA SERVICES

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/3/1999 BLUE CROSS BILLED;  $375.00  OUTPATIENT PATHOLOGY ASSOCIATES

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/3/1999 BLUE CROSS BILLED; $475.00 SACRAMENTO  EAR, NOSE AND THROAT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENT: 3/3/1999 SACRAMENTO EAR, NOSE AND THROAT CHART NOTE

VIEW DOCUMENT: 3/3/1999 BLUE CROSS BILLED $475.00 SACRAMENTO EAR. NOSE AND THROAT

VIEW DOCUMENT: 5/8/1999 SACRAMENTO EAR, NOSE AND THROAT NO  ENTRY BUT BILLED

VIEW DOCUMENT : 5/8/1999 BLUE CROSS BILLED $475.00; SACRAMENTO  EAR, NOSE AND THROAT

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
And what system was this... what health system was this?

David Bell:
Sutter Healthcare system... Doctor Nancy Appelblatt.</sup>

 

 

 

 

VIEW DOCUMENT: SUTTER HEALTH  APPELBLATT

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So she said she forgot to do a culture even though you had asked her to do the culture and even though this had something to do with something in your body?

David Bell:
Even though she knew it was potentially a workers’ compensation issue and was heading in that direction.

Steve Zeltzer:
Do you think that’s maybe why maybe she didn’t want to do a culture?

David Bell:
You know it’s an interesting question. 

The fact that Pam Marrone would’ve known Nancy Appelblatt from the Sacramento Valley Women’s Chamber of Commerce and also the fact that Pam Marrone sits on the board of that hospital system.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT: FIFTY LES5ONS PAM MARRONE

VIEW DOCUMENT: SUTTER HEALTH; GOVERNING BOARDS OF DIRECTORS - MARRONE

VIEW DOCUMENT: SUTTER HEALTH; PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS - MARRONE

VIEW DOCUMENT: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - DAVIS; GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT - MICHAEL (MICK) ROGERS

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
The Sutter Hospital system in that region?

David Bell:
Yeah [yes] , it’s... it’s a very interesting question.

Steve Zeltzer:
That’s quit a frighting thing.  that your life and what’s inside your body is being.... they’re not really looking to find out what the causes are because they want to possibly contain their liability in workers’ comp.

David Bell:
Well,  that would be really disgusting because when I took microbiology classes at Sacramento State... we were told cut and dry that this stuff is extremely dangerous.  And we were told that no way should we ever really be concerned about it because if something unusual happened, like the instance that happened with me.... that the doctors would call the CDC and the CDC would take over and they would culture it and they would find out what it was and actually eliminate it and save the workers life.  Somehow, my thing just kinda fell through the cracks and..... literally damn near died from it.

Steve Zeltzer:
And the CDC is the Center For Disease Control?

David Bell:
Ahem [yes]

Steve Zeltzer:
Now, what would’ve happened if they’d done a culture and found out that indeed some of this fungus or material... bacteria was in your body?   What would’ve been the effect?

David Bell:
I think the most immediate effect would’ve been that I probably would’ve had absolute recovery.... because they would have known what it was and it could’ve been treated.  So I would’ve gotten better.... I don’t think things would’ve dragged on for six, seven - eight years as it had been with repeat surgeries.  I think that had they had done the proper thing in the first place that I would have had one surgery, one antibiotic... probably an IV and that would have been it. 

Steve Zeltzer:
And how many surgeries did you have?

David Bell:
I’ve had four surgeries and at least thirty or forty antibiotics,  three or four anti-fungals... over two.. two years of IV IG blood infusions.  I’ve been through horrific things.</sup>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So you were in the hospital, this was your first hospital visit and then you went back to work?

David Bell:
No... no, the original physician told me I could probably go back to work within two weeks.  I called my supervisor and told her that I didn’t think that it was really wise me coming back in to an unknown pathogen laboratory once my head had just been scraped out like a cantaloupe.  They agreed. And so I stayed away for over four weeks.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/12/2002 FAX COVER; CAN RETURN TO WORK

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
And then what happened?

David Bell:
Went back to work.  Went absolutely back to work.

Steve Zeltzer:
And how were you treated when you went back to work?  Was there special treatment....?

David Bell:
Oh!  I got a card and a beautiful Japanese flower arrangement and....  nobody told me everybody got sick while I was gone. Nobody told me they had to lock the lab because everybody called in sick.  It was just... kinda clueless when I show back up there....  I get back there and they say, wow  I guess everybody must have had the flu  Dave.  Ok the flu, ah... that kind of explains it.... normally it doesn’t hit 100% of one whole demographics, but ok... the flu.... maybe?

Steve Zeltzer:
So, was this reported to OSHA or reported to the government that every...  that they had been a sick situation which people got sick in mass at the laboratory?

David Bell:
No, in fact the physician never reported it to anybody which was actually an illegal act. She was required by law to report it... as soon as I told her it was even a possibility, she was required by law to report it.

Steve Zeltzer:
So she ignored the rules and the law?

David Bell:
Ahem [yes], which is pretty standard apparently, I understand from physicians in workers’ compensation.  When you go in to a doctor they want to know who they can bill and if they find out it’s a worker compensation case.... or potentially, they think that they might not get paid for their services for three...  five years if they ever get paid at all.  So the physicians are in to getting their paychecks so they’ll... they’ll set it off on to private insurance as quick as they can and try to steer it away from the workers comp system entirely.

Steve Zeltzer:
So, you discovered that there’d been a large number of people getting sick when you were gone and.... how did you find that out?

David Bell:
Later in the year I had a discussion with the receptionist.... and she’s the only one who took the phone calls from all the sick people,  so she’s the only one who actually knew.

Steve Zeltzer:
And she told you this?

David Bell:
FYI David,  everybody got sick, I had to lock the lab.

Steve Zeltzer:
So, you went back to work and you found out that this incident had taken place.... and then you continued working there.  What were... what happened while you were working there?

David Bell:
While I was working there we moved into another facility.  We moved from the first laboratory into the second laboratory which was... the second laboratory was actually  constructed, mostly for containment in a biology laboratory.  It was a much better design for a building and for safety with double door protection and stuff like that. 

Steve Zeltzer:
So the first laboratory was in a residential neighborhood?

David Bell:
Yeah [yes], the first laboratory was in a residential neighborhood, it was more like a converted doctor’s office or a chemical laboratory, like a chemistry class laboratory.  A biological laboratory and a chemistry laboratory are two entirely different  beasts. 

Had an autoclave, had a break room right next to the autoclave room.  We could never use the break room... we were never really allowed to use the break room because the founder, Pamela was always having tours in there.

So, another thing is we had was we had tea time in the laboratory, everyday. We have a hot pathogen laboratory and we have condoned food and drink.... required of employees to even contribute money for it.  Right there in the lab sink.

Steve Zeltzer:
And you also discovered that children of employees were coming in to this laboratory as well?

David Bell:
Oh yeah [yes]... yeah [yes].  On weekends and stuff some people would come to work... employee...  family members of Agraquest employees.... high school students.</sup> 

<sup>We had a high school dishwasher.  Later I learned that no high school students are allowed in this kind of laboratory.  This kind of laboratory is suppose to have locked access, double door, sign a log when you walk in to it.... which is completely different from what we.. what we had.  I mean... anybody could walk in the laboratory, there were tours daily and we had high school students running around.

Steve Zeltzer:
So the stringent regulations were not being enforced in this startup?</sup>

<sup>David Bell:
Not at all.... not at all.  But there not stringent regulations... when you track down the BLMB as it’s called, most of these regulations are actually worded as recommendations.  It’s interesting.... but the wording is recommended.

Steve Zeltzer:
So they’re not really requirements?

David Bell:
No

Steve Zeltzer:
When dealing with this kind of sub... of material.

Now, so you went back to work and then what happened you were taking stuff out, barrels of this stuff and.....

David Bell:
I was still pretty ill when I went back to work, I was still vomiting almost daily and every time I would kinda bend part-way over liquid would just start running out of my nose.

Steve Zeltzer:
So you were still sick?

David Bell:
Absolutely... absolutely,  but, I was told I could go back to work so I tried to go back to work... you know and...

Steve Zeltzer:
And this was still not a workers’ comp case?

David Bell:
No,  no.  If I would’ve known a respirator was required for the job or even necessary then I could have told my physician that.  And my physician would have immediately said, well you just had your septum fixed and your nose scooped out.  When I went back to work I couldn’t even wear a mask on my face.  If I had to I couldn’t have worn one.  There was no way because of the pressure on the bridge of my nose, it would’ve hurt like hell.

Steve Zeltzer:
So the doctor sent you back to work?

David Bell:
Yeah [yes]. 

Steve Zeltzer:
Knowing that you worked in a biotech laboratory?

David Bell:
Absolutely.

Steve Zeltzer:
And what doctor was this?

David Bell:
Appelblatt.

Steve Zeltzer:
Appelblatt.  And is she still with the Sutter chain?

David Bell:
Oh... my guess is she’s still with Sacramento Ear, Nose and Throat.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see.  So that seems a very serious concern that she would send you back to a biotech laboratory knowing that you had still serious symptoms that were causing you problems.

David Bell:
True, however Dr. Appelblatt just also told me that she just saved my life.  So  even though the physician sends you back to work, are you going to doubt the physician when they just told you they saved your life?... So, at this point I have absolute trust and faith in this doctor because surely she’s the one who just saved my life.

Steve Zeltzer:
She told you you would’ve died unless they’d gotten you in there?

David Bell:
Yeah [yes],  which was later confirmed by several other physicians also.

Steve Zeltzer:
So you went back to work and where were they taking some of this toxin.... toxic material... you were being told to dump it places?

David Bell:
Oh... occasionally things would get dumped out back of the building... big drums, old fermentation runs, stuff that’s too big to fit in the autoclave ...we’ve got to get rid of it somewhere.  So if you can’t....

Steve Zeltzer:
So by fermentation runs you mean these barrels had things that were growing inside them?</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT: ARTICLE:  AG AND INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES HAVE QUIETLY  FLOURISHED, 5/15/1999

<sup>David Bell:
Ahem, Yeah [yes]. In nutrient broth...... yeah [yes].

Steve Zeltzer:
In nutrient broth..... so what was growing inside them?

David Bell:
The biopesticide industry is very much like the beer industry.... ok.  We get the stuff and we have it in a petri dish and it’s in this pure form and then we do what’s a shake flask scale-up to where it moves and it slowly goes up in volume til it gets to big fermentors.  Very much like you make beer.  It’s fermented product.  So, if you’re going to think of beer that’s what we would call the fermentation run.

Steve Zeltzer:
And so these barrels... you were asked to take them and dump them where?

David Bell:
Behind the building.

Steve Zeltzer:
What was behind the building?

David Bell:
A little space before you got to the next offices... in a concrete culvert.</sup>

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So it was just ground..... or cement?

David Bell:
At the end of the concrete.... yeah [yes]... yeah [yes].

I was told to pour bleach in there first,  so I poured a lot of bleach in it,  two and a half gallons of bleach.

Steve Zeltzer:
So you poured bleach... I guess this was to secure that it would kill what was in there .  Is that the bleach... the reason for the bleach?

David Bell:
Aha [yes]... ten percent bleach will kill virtually everything.

Steve Zeltzer:
Is this in the rules of the biotech industry... or the EPA?  You dump it in your backyard and put in some bleach?

David Bell:
When your cutting edge you gotta do what you gotta do.

Steve Zeltzer:
By cutting edge, what does that mean?  You’re a startup and don’t have a lot of money is that what it means or.....?

David Bell:
They had quite a bit of money, they did have plenty of investors, there was no shortage of investors.

You’re breaking new ground.  What are you going to do with something when you have to reuse the barrel?  You gotta kill what’s inside... what you know will kill it is usually bleach.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see,  so that’s usually a pretty sure thing as far as putting bleach in, it will kill microorganisms.

David Bell:
Aha [yes], well it’s cheaper than ethanol, cuz you can put ethanol in it too.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see, but that would cost more money?

David Bell:
Right.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see. 

So you were asked to take these barrels down and then what happened?  Did you get sick from taking any of these barrels out and dumping them?

David Bell:
That’s an interesting question because that’s all timed within seven days of me ended up at the hospital at the first time.  I don’t know if that barrel caused it, I don’t know know if it was something else in the laboratory.  Opening up that barrel was a coincidence of when everybody got ill.

Steve Zeltzer:
Not just yourself, but other people got ill.

David Bell:
The whole lab got ill that week.

Steve Zeltzer:
When that barrel was opened up.

David Bell:
Yeah.

Steve Zeltzer:
So there may have been something in that barrel that contaminated not just you but everyone there.

David Bell:
It could’ve been, very possible and the barrel was labeled Germany.

Steve Zeltzer:
It was labeled Germany?

David Bell:
Ahem [yes].

I think it was AQ 153 which would be the one hundred and fifty third candidate that they had because that’s how all the experimental runs are labeled.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT: UNITED STATES PATENT 5,753,222

VIEW DOCUMENT: UNITED STATES PATENT 6,004,774

VIEW DOCUMENT: HISTO IN BELL’S BLOOD BY THE MAYO CLINIC

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
And what did that mean?

David Bell:
It just meant it was one of the first things they ever tried to grow.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see.

David Bell:
153.  Right there in the beginning.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see. 

So people got sick... so you went back to work and what happened when you went back to work?

David Bell:
Well, they moved into the second facility which was a bit of a problem because since OSHA was never called in to inspect the first facility, now we’re in the second, beautifully designed  facility. So....

Steve Zeltzer:
So they put some money in to this... and designed the facility  for a biotech plant.

David Bell:

True, but now we’re not at the scene of the crime anymore ... we’re in the new building where every thing’s perfect.....

Steve Zeltzer:
I see.

David Bell:
...well, hopefully perfect.

Steve Zeltzer:
And what happens there?

David Bell:
What happens there is apparently you lay off an employee, give him a months severance pay of $1,441.00 and then later say you fired the guy.</sup>

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So you got laid off there?

David Bell:
Well, laid off and later told I was fired.

Steve Zeltzer:
Is this while you were sick?

David Bell:
Oh yeah [yes], I was still throwing up daily.

Steve Zeltzer:
Did they know that?

David Bell:
Aha [yes]

Steve Zeltzer:
Pam Marrone personally knew that?

David Bell:
I told my supervisor I was still throwing up.  Next thing you know  I was laid off next week.

Steve Zeltzer:
So you were still sick,  you were throwing up, you told your supervisor you were sick and then you got laid off and....

David Bell:
Ahem [yes]

Steve Zeltzer:
.... they gave you Fourteen Hundred and forty dollars severance....

David Bell:
Severance pay.

Steve Zeltzer:
Severance

David Bell:
Which would be standard when you’re laid off, to give someone severance pay is perfectly normal when they’re laid off, I would’ve thought nothing of it.

Steve Zeltzer:
And what did they say to you?

David Bell:
Good luck finding another job.</sup>

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
I see.  So did they say what the reason was you were being laid off?

David Bell:
They said my position had ended because it had lost funding.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see, so your position lost funding so they were laying you off?

David Bell:
Which didn’t really raise a red flag in my mind because I was hired for a six to a twelve month duration any ways.  So that fit right in the ten month window, a month severance pay..  it made sense to me.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT : 4/27/1999 LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So you were going to be on your way, except you were still sick.

David Bell:
Oh, I was absolutely still sick.

Got another job but I had to quit that because I was throwing up on my way to that job everyday.  Every day on the way from Sacramento to Fairfield I’m pulling over twice on the side of the road to puke in both directions.... not fun. 

Steve Zeltzer:
So you were seriously ill.

David Bell:
Aha [yes]

Steve Zeltzer:
But you really didn’t believe it was because of what had happened at the company at that point.

David Bell:
Well, I had no proof. 

They told me that everything I worked with there was benign...  couldn’t harm a fly.  You know, these guys are PhD’s, I’m working on a Bachelor’s degree at that point, before I got it. You gotta trust someone, so you trust the masters and the PhD’s.  So you would think the PhD’s could be honest and they’re ethical and would actually lay it all on the line  and level with you and be honest.

Steve Zeltzer:
So these scientists told you don’t worry you’re not sick because of working here.

David Bell:
Oh yeah [yes], they told me that it... again, it was benign and it couldn’t hurt a fly is what my supervisor told me.

Steve Zeltzer:
And who was that?

David Bell:
Her name is Laura Cunningham-Hilbig.

She works over at Bayer in Berkley now.  Apparently she’s got three or four of the Agraquest  employees over there.  She won’t let me talk to any of them on the phone, I’ve tried.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see. So they basically tried to say what you had, even though you were throwing up and seriously ill, had nothing to do with working at this biotech company?

David Bell:
Yeah [yes], it turned out to be a cover-up. 

Later that year I requested a copy of my employee file .</sup> 

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/3/2000  RE: BELL FAX COVER PAGE FROM RUSSELL TO  AGRAQUEST

^{Steve Zeltzer:}

^Ahem.

^{David Bell:}

<sup>That turned into a fiasco, I finally got a copy of my employee file more than four years later after I subpoenaed it.

Steve Zeltzer:
So you had to go to a lawyer?

David Bell:
The worker comp lawyer got it.  It took a court subpoena to get a file that  I’m supposed to be able to just request via mail, which I did, offered to pay copying costs, delivery cost... never heard a word from them... they never delivered it.

Steve Zeltzer:
So you filed a workers’ comp complaint.

David Bell:
Finally.

Steve Zeltzer:
When did you file that?

David Bell:
[A]bout three.... four years later after I discovered a research article about one of the company’s main species.... only the article wasn’t recent, it started in 1969 and it was listed under the heading of, Papers That Have Changed Occupational Medicine and it happened to be reprinted, in 2002 I believe it was.

Steve Zeltzer:
And you read this article, and what shocked you about this article?

David Bell:
It told me of factory worker’s that were working around bacillus subtilis, that they had gotten near the exhaust ports.... or other people that were in adjoining buildings,  and they were having sever asthma, nasal polyps.... symptoms quite similar to what happened to me at Agraquest.

Steve Zeltzer:
And it clicked.

David Bell:
It clicked that I had just been completely deceived.

Steve Zeltzer:
You’d been lied to?

David Bell:
Oh... I literally felt like a horses ass... to be honest.

Steve Zeltzer:
Well,  you believed in them.. and you trusted them.

David Bell:
Until the minute I read that article ... and then I started researching this article and I’ve come up with a hundred other references that were after 1969, that all went then....  and quoted this person again. 

So basically the subtilis... the bacillus subtilis produces an enzyme, some protolytic enzyme,  it’s called subtilisn, and there’s about 18 of them that are known to man and they cause severe allergic reaction.  Flindt quoted it as being a potent allergen.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT : QUALIFIED MEDICAL EXAMINER, 3/2/2005 DR NG PAGE 24

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So these were dangerous, toxic substances for human beings..... that you had to be careful about?

David Bell:
Well, it’s on the toxic substance control act.... this one was listed as an allergen, but then once I found out about this one, which was the company’s main product was bacillus subtilis, and I figured you know, if they lied to me about this, then what else have they lied about at this point.

Steve Zeltzer:
And what products does this company have, Agraquest that go to the public?

David Bell:
Well, I believe there’s Serenade which is a bacillus subtilis, and then there’s a Rhapsody which again’s a bacillus subtilis... and I’m not to sure if that’s mixed in with bacillus thuringiensis.  And then the third product was called Lagenidium Giganteum, or Laginex AS which was my primary product.... and apparently they pulled that off the market.

Steve Zeltzer:
And these products were sold where... at WalMarts or hardware stores or... where are these products sold?

David Bell:
Serenade actually ended up being shelved at WalMart.....  eventually.

Steve Zeltzer:
But they’re widely dispersed?

David Bell:
Oh, it’s worldwide.

Steve Zeltzer:
It’s Worldwide. 

And so you filed a workers’ comp complaint and you get a run around by the company on getting your paperwork.

David Bell:
Yeah [yes] I filed a comp complaint I called every government and state agency I could find at the time, lodged complaints with them also.

Steve Zeltzer:
Who’d you file complaints with?

David Bell:
Well, it started with Cal/OSHA  and then we went to the USDA, and then went to APHIS, and then went to the Office of Spill Prevention and Response.  I’m sure there’s a couple of others, but virtually everyone I could call.

Steve Zeltzer:
So these are Federal and state and local... there’s a Department of Pesticides... did you contact them?

David Bell:
The Department of Pesticide Regulation is almost pointless to contact because company employees work there.

Steve Zeltzer:
Is that legal?

David Bell:
Well, it’s not suppose to be but now that every things set up with the government  where people can be consultants on the side so now they can work with regulatory agencies and work for the companies that are also in the process of getting their things regulated.

Steve Zeltzer:
So this... insecuous relationship between employees at Agraquest and government agencies like the Department of Pesticide... do you think this affected the lack of regulation of Agraquest and other similar kind of biotech companies?

David Bell:
When you have somebody in the regulatory agency and they’re actually working in the  registration department for new applications.... yeah [yes], I think there’s going to be a severe conflict of interest because the companies are getting inside information as to what the government agencies are up to and even potentially what their competitors are up to.... that they have submitted to the government agency also .

Steve Zeltzer:
And Pam Marrone is very well known, she’s kinda a celebrity figure in the biotech industry as an innovator and she brings... markets new products...  you initially, when you started working there  thought she was doing great work and it was an exciting place to work.  What did you come to see about Pam Marrone?

David Bell:
She’s dishonest.  She’s an... is an extremely dishonest individual that apparently is not concerned for employees.  So if your not concerned for your employees then how can you claim that you’re concerned about the world, or the environment, or anything,  you know.  If your house isn’t in order ....

Steve Zeltzer:
So she had kind of a double standard then what you’re saying.  On the one hand she talked about helping people and using organic pesticides to help people, but in reality in your experience, it was quite a different story.

David Bell:
I believe I got sick at work and  somehow it became personal with Pam to try and grind me in the ground and not slow down registration of any of her products, which could’ve been implicated in making me ill.</sup>

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
Now, another incident took place where you were accused by an employee there of being ... of threatening him and they tried to get a restraining order against you.  What was that all about?

David Bell:
Oh yeah [yes],.. he says I threatened him over cable tv, and that was around the same time that I also requested that employee file.... and that’s why I requested the employee file.

Around the time that the year anniversary of me being laid off was...  Mr. Campbell put up a restraining order on me. Which basically prevented me from contacting the company,  because the blank.... the restraining order, the temporary restraining order was put up as a blanket deal.  So I couldn’t contact the company, I couldn’t contact company employees, couldn’t ask questions.</sup> 

<sup>Never had any idea at that time I had apparently been fired, so I couldn’t even get in to a wrongful termination lawsuit which I had an absolute right on,  however they had a restraining order on me at the time so now I couldn’t even get.....

Steve Zeltzer:
And what did the restraining order say?

David Bell:
Oh God, it said I molested and harassed the individual.

Steve Zeltzer:
Who was that?

David Bell:
My co-worker, Brian Campbell, the one that wore the respirator at work while no one else did.

Steve Zeltzer:
So he... he accused you of threatening him?

David Bell:
He accused me of it, but he had an entirely different story when it went to court.

Steve Zeltzer:
What happened?

David Bell:
When it went to court he told me that he was receiving hang-up phone calls....  and I laughed at him and said, you got to be joking me.  I’m not going to pay this gentleman’s attorney bills because he gets hang up phone calls.

Steve Zeltzer:
So do you think somebody put him up to it?

David Bell:
Oh absolutely, absolutely, four years later when we got the employee file there was a script for what Brian was supposed to say and the questions he was suppose to ask me at the hearing.  The whole thing was in my employee file.

Everything was in my employee file except the order from the judge dismissing the whole thing and quashing the temporary restraining order because Mr. Campbell couldn’t show any justification for even having a temporary restraining order on me.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/18/2000  SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL MINUTES

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So this was a rigged deal.

David Bell:
Oh absolutely.

Steve Zeltzer:
Basically to threaten you and try to silence you.

David Bell:
Oh, I think that what they were hoping is they were going to get it on me and I was going to come knocking on the door for the business thinking I’m going to get arrested.</sup>

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
So they could actually put you away in jail?

David Bell:
I believe so.

Steve Zeltzer:
And then be... be done with you.

David Bell:
Probably.  Accuse me of something I never did in Yolo County.

Steve Zeltzer:
So, you were getting sick... continuing to get sick from these infections.... from sinus infections and how were you getting your medical care taken care of?

David Bell:
Well originally it started going through on my wife’s employer, which was Blue Cross - Blue Shield and then later they finally reversed all that and started putting it through on Medicare.

Steve Zeltzer:
So you had to apply for Medicare?

David Bell:
This is where it’s interesting. I was already considered a disabled worker before I worked at Agraquest...  cuz I was on Medicare through part of college.  When I worked at Agraquest I was working there to get off of Medicare. I was on my trial work period. Injured worker returning to work, which Medicare tells me nobody ever does.  Normally they actually get on the system and never get off.  I got sick returning to work.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see.

David Bell:
They actually made one of the first workers to ever return to the workforce ill during his trial work period.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see.  So you went back on Medicare?

David Bell:
Ahem, Yeah [yes]

Steve Zeltzer:
And what kind of money was spent on taking care of your health at that point?

David Bell:
Thousands... the co-pays were thousands.  It was absolutely astronomical, I spent more on co-pays than I ever made at Agraquest.

Steve Zeltzer:
So we’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars?

David Bell:
Out of pocket?  Hundreds of thousands of dollars is the cash value of the medical care.  And just the cash value of the blood infusions alone is about Three Hundred Thousand dollars.

Steve Zeltzer:
Hmmm

David Bell:
What I get billed versus the cash value are two different things because your co-pays are different.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see.  So, you still wanted to find out what was inside your body?

David Bell:
Oh absolutely.

Steve Zeltzer:
And how did you eventually find that out?

David Bell:
By the variety of cultures.  We still have no absolute definitive answer.

The original... the original surgery had a pathology sample taken which I demanded that they take and try to culture and figure out what it was in the first place.  They let it get destroyed. We... we had an absolute sample of the real thing.... they let it get destroyed.  So now all I can go on are the cultures and the blood work that come out of me now.

Steve Zeltzer:
And you went to the Mayo Clinic to find this out?

David Bell:
I went to the Mayo Clinic because a physician back in Sacramento told me the ring of doctors at Sutter had been deceiving me.... and I asked him... I go, why? Can you see the hole in my nose,  in my septum?  And he said yeah [yes], you got to be blind not to see it.

You see, Dr. Appelblatt had never mentioned that there was a perforated septum from the first surgery, only the mention of the cat scans that said it was there and then those are actually missing out of her chart.  I had to go to the radiologist to get the copies of the cat scans and the... the readings.

Steve Zeltzer:
So this sounds like a very convoluted cover-up... I mean, that they were doing all kinds of things to prevent you from really learning what was happening with yourself?

David Bell:
Somehow I got stuck in their dirty little circle which is mostly UC Davis graduates and UC Davis physicians and Sutter Healthcare physicians

Steve Zeltzer:
Is there a connection between UC Davis and Sutter?

David Bell:
A lot of people go to work for Sutter out of UC Davis, cuz UC Davis is a very reputable medical school in the Sacramento valley area.

Steve Zeltzer:
And Pam Marrone apparently was on the chair of the committee, biotech and agriculture committee of the University of California?

David Bell:
Well, she was on that, but she was also went to the UC Davis school of management, where she met a lot of her companions, the people that would contribute money or that she would pull favors from.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see,  so there was this kind of relationship between Pam Marrone, the biotech company,  Agraquest and UC?

David Bell:
Ahem [yes].  Pam... Pam Marrone couldn’t survive in Davis with Agraquest without having a partnership with UC Davis.  It’s impossible.

Steve Zeltzer:
So was UC Davis aware of this or are they aware of this?

David Bell:
What, that I had become ill over there?

Steve Zeltzer:
Yeah [yes]

David Bell:
I think they’re such a large facility that they probably are oblivious to what happened.

Steve Zeltzer:
Do you think they’re concerned, the University of California Davis about the dangers... potential dangers in the biotech industry?

David Bell:
Absolutely not.

Steve Zeltzer:
Why not?

David Bell:
UC Davis is a school... it’s not some humanitarian organization... they’re a school.... this is what they do.

Steve Zeltzer:
Do you think it might have to do with the fact that there’s corporate control of the university?

David Bell:
That could be a little bit of it, where the money string goes to, the money chain. But again, it’s a school.  I mean, they’re... they’re apparently not there to teach ethics, they’re there to conduct science.... and we’re going to let future generations pick up the pieces from the science that goes bad in our generation.

Steve Zeltzer:
So, this Mayo Clinic did a culture of you and what did you discover about the products that were in your body... or the material that was in your body?

David Bell:
Mayo Clinic didn’t do cultures.... Mayo Clinic ran some blood work,...

Steve Zeltzer:
I see.

David Bell:
...some very definitive blood work.

The only thing that really came up unusual out of the Mayo Clinic blood work was the presence of histoplasmosis yeast or some antibody to it in my blood, which was very unusual.  

Histoplasma Capsulatum is not endemic to the California area,  it’s largely in the Ohio valley area,  Indianapolis.... this is normally where they have the outbreaks.

So here I am living in California for most my life, haven’t returned to Ohio in ten or fifteen years and yet I’m coming up positive for something that’s in Ohio River valley only. So strange...  strange turn of events.</sup>

 

VIEW DOCUMENT:  UNITED STATES PATENT 6,004,774

VIEW DOCUMENT:  UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE PATENT ASSIGNMENT ABSTRACT OF TITLE

VIEW DOCUMENT:  3/2/2005 DR NG PAGE 20; HISTOPLASMSIS?

VIEW DOCUMENT:  3/2/2005 DR NG PAGE 21 & 22; HISTOPLASMSIS?

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
Did you find any patented material in your body?

David Bell:
Pardon?

Steve Zeltzer:
Patented material... was there any material in your body that had... the company had patented... that they were developing?

David Bell:
Virtually everything that the cultures.... all the cultures but one so far have come up on their patents.  All the blood work has also come up on their patents, 100% of the blood work has come up on their patents.

Steve Zeltzer:
And what does that mean?

David Bell:
I think it means that somewhere like fourteen organisms, thirteen of them have been linked to Agraquest.  I could be off by a couple of organisms, but basically every one but one is admitted to be... well everyone but two is admitted to be there... everyone but one has been proven to be there.

Steve Zeltzer:
So Agraquest is patenting these materials which they’re developing?

David Bell:
Well, either they’re patenting it or it’s in the screen as one of their agricultural pests already... cuz you gotta remember that Agraquest not only grows stuff on purpose to run through the screen, but Agraquest purposely has stock cultures that they keep around which they’re inside the screen.  You know, you’re going to have a pathogen of a plant, the decomposer and that is purposely sustained and kept on site for future experiments on it.</sup>

ENLARGE FOLLOWING DAVID BELL MEDICAL FLOWCHART - AGRAQUEST CONNECTIONS (pdf)

KEY TO FLOWCHART

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
Ahem.

Now, so now you applied for workers’ comp and you got the run-around as far as getting your forms and your work records and that kind of thing and how long did this run around last?

David Bell:
The run around went on for six years.. five or six years.

Steve Zeltzer:
And you know... they must have spent a lot of time fighting you and you spent a lot of time fighting them to get your paper work and actually have a hearing.

David Bell:
Their lawyers spent a lot of time fighting me, the company just stopped... started ignoring me and not communicating with me and not cooperating with discovery issues.  Once they got their worker comp lawyer he became the mouthpiece for the company, even though he knew absolutely nothing about biology.

Steve Zeltzer:
And you first wanted to find out who the insurance company was.. that was... that insured them for workers’ comp and who was that?

David Bell:
Well, the original form got submitted and it came back saying that the state board, Preferred Employers wasn't their insurer.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT: 10/23/2003 PREFERRED EMPLOYERS INSURANCE DENIAL

VIEW DOCUMENT: 2/5/2004 PREFERRED EMPLOYERS INSURANCE DENIAL LETTER

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
Aha

David Bell:
And then the first lawyer told me they were uninsured.... and I couldn’t get a straight answer out of anybody so I mailed in this form to San Francisco to find out who the true insurance company was and it actually turned out to be Golden Eagle, which is also known as Liberty Mutual down in San Diego.</sup>

VIEW DOCUMENT: 7/14/2004 HELMAN MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC;  LETTER/NOTICE OF DENIAL OF CLAIM

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
And Liberty Mutual is owned by Warren Buffet?

David Bell:
Apparently so.

Steve Zeltzer:
So we’re talking about a major insurance company.

David Bell:
Big insurance company, into a lot more than just worker comp,  you know,  they do property and casualty and I think auto too.

Steve Zeltzer:
Were you aware that Warren Buffet is chief of Schwarzenegger's kitchen cabinet and was involved in deregulating workers’ comp in California?

David Bell:
Had no clue, but now I can see why.  If he’s running an insurance company why not deregulate worker comp?

Steve Zeltzer:
Do you think that’s part of your problem here that this is deregulated and they can play games with you and...

David Bell:
A large part of my problem was the... the difference between the old rules of worker comp and the new rules.. and the fact that all they want to do is take all the old cases and just dismiss them or throw them out so then they can go under the new rules.  So I definitely got stuck in a transitional period.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see. 

Now,  you were denied, what happened why did they deny your workers’ comp claim?

David Bell:
The first denial was statue of limitations if I recall correctly.

Steve Zeltzer:
Even though it wasn’t your fault they had stalled providing information, that kind of thing?

David Bell:
Stalled, they completely deceived me... these people committed fraud.

Steve Zeltzer:
How did they do that?

David Bell:
How’d they commit fraud?  They still won’t even give me the hazard list.  Again, there’s a thing called a hazard communication program, which is cross referenced by about nine federal and state and federal... federal and state statutes. 

I have asked for the hazards that I have been exposed to repeatedly ever since I had filed the worker comp claim.. and I have no answer.  The only answer from them was their defense lawyer said he was unaware of worker right to know laws and even if they do exist my request was overly broad.  A brilliant piece of paper that I actually want to frame.... because if this... if this guy, who’s doing worker comp does not know about federal Hazcom laws then why is he even a lawyer?  Shouldn’t be a lawyer, he should be in real estate law or something. He shouldn’t be in worker comp.</sup>

<sup>Steve Zeltzer:
Well it sounds like he’s being paid a lot of money to try to sub... you know, try to prevent liability for this company.

David Bell:
But the court actually bought into it,  I’m actually watching the judge sit here watch this lawyer lie through his teeth, tell me he’s unaware of this federal laws, which are advertised on every minimum wage board throughout the whole country, it say’s right there, You have a right to know the hazards in the workplace.

Steve Zeltzer:
And the judge...

David Bell:
The judge bought in to it and then told me I could sit there right then and ask him questions specifically about organisms and he could come back with a yes or a no.

So I spit off like eight of em off the top of my head, missed a couple of em.   They came back with yes with virtually everything I asked.  That was the only time I got to ask them things.

So I get to ask about eight organisms when I know there were at least ten thousand things in that laboratory when I worked there but we’re going to talk about eight of em. What about the other nine thousand nine hundred ninety two of them?  What were they?  Are they human pathogens?  Never got these answers.

Steve Zeltzer:
So the judge denies your claim... workers’ comp?

David Bell:
Ahem [yes]

Steve Zeltzer:
And then what happens?

David Bell:
Then I send in a really long appeal with all the points of order as to what I thought was illegal about their judgment.

Steve Zeltzer:
Ahem.</sup>

<sup>David Bell:
They sent back a denial. Then I sent back another appeal and they sent back a denial saying that I sent it to the wrong address, I didn’t send it to San Francisco, I sent it to Sacramento and by the time Sacramento had forwarded it to San Francisco that I was over the amounted days that I was allotted for them to hear it.

Steve Zeltzer:
So they stalled you again and said that you had exceeded your time...

David Bell:
Ahem. [yes]

Steve Zeltzer:
...limit to actually file an appeal?

David Bell:
Absolutely.

Steve Zeltzer:
Do you think this was purposely done?

David Bell:
The whole thing looks pretty orchestrated from the beginning from what I’ve seen. 

I mean, when I sat there and watched the judge tell... listen to the lies that this guy’s spitting out.  And then half of the meetings that we had over there were over the... the restraining order and cable television.  I’m... I’m having motion for discovery hearings trying to discuss hazards and try to figure out what was really there so I finally have my ponderance of the  evidence to prove that what I had in my body could’ve been caught at Agraquest... and we’re arguing over this guys little issues about cable television.  That’s all he wants to... he said I demonstrated moral turpitude,  I don’t even know what that meant.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see. 

Now, You appealed it, you finally got to another judge, or you were trying to get another judge to appeal it  so, what happened with that?

David Bell:
Now, they got the first judge challenged out because she said that the insurance industry’s lawyer was... no, the insurance industry’s doctor was known to be a liar.

Steve Zeltzer:
This is the judge?

David Bell:
Yeah [yes].

So.. so they challenged her out and got her off the case real quick.

Steve Zeltzer:
So they got her removed from the case?

David Bell:
Ahem [yes],

Steve Zeltzer:
Because she said the insurance company’s lawyer was known to be a....

David Bell:
Their doctor...

Steve Zeltzer:
Their doctor was known to be a liar.

David Bell:
Ahem [yes].

Steve Zeltzer:
And for that she was discharged?

David Bell:
She was booted off and then what they... they brought in a judge that was apparently a former defense attorney for Liberty Mutual.

Steve Zeltzer:
Did she let you know about that.... when you were in the hearing?

David Bell:
Absolutely not.

Steve Zeltzer:
So who was this judge?  Susan...

David Bell:
Oh yeah... her name was Susan something.

Steve Zeltzer:
So, that’s another example, in your view of the kind of corruption that’s going on in this workers’ comp system, that a... that a judge is actually ruling on your case who’d previously worked for a law firm representing the insurance company, Liberty Mutual?

David Bell:
They’re absolutely corrupt... yeah [yes],... yeah [yes].  That’s the way it plays out. 

During one of... this is interesting... during one of the motions to discovery’s with this Daniel Reich guy, spewing off his lies.... they were wanting to talk about cable tv. I told em, you know, fine I’m done talking about cable tv., this is irrelevant so I’ll take the fifth amendment at this point, I’m not saying nothing... I’ll plead the fifth. She [judge] demanded that I answer the question or she would throw out my court case and told me that the fifth amendment does not matter in the W C A B, that the entire constitution of the United States of America, and of California is irrelevant in her court. 

At that point I started to wonder where I’m sitting?  Am I sitting in America or not?  The constitution is irrelevant.  She said the only thing we enforce here is labor code. 

That’s why they don’t enforce any of the health and safety standards... cuz the health and safety code is seperate from the labor code.  Now,  I know there’s got to be a statute in labor code somewhere that marries labor code to health and safety code,  and holds it accountable.  But,  I’m not a lawyer.

Steve Zeltzer:
But this... this sounds like a catch twenty two because to fight your case around workers’ comp required showing what was going on with the labor regulations and that kind of thing.

David Bell:
Yes.

Steve Zeltzer:
This was prevented from being brought up in this case by this judge?

David Bell:
Ahem [yes], they want to talk... no health and safety violations were admissible in her court, labor code only.  Any other law in America does not matter.... labor code only.

Steve Zeltzer:
And you tried, and your mother tried to go to all kinds of politicians.... the District Attorney, Dan Stroski of Yolo County.... many people apparently....  the Insurance Commissioner, Steve Poizner.... you visited these people or they were  contacted and.. Senator Boxer, Senator Feinstein, the Attorney General of California , Jerry Brown...

David Bell:
Aha [yes].

Steve Zeltzer:
... and the previous Attorney General.  Did they ever call you and contact. you?

David Bell:
No.  No, it’s not important to their campaign. And also when it comes down to microbiology, unfortunately it’s over a lot of people’s heads.  A lot of people don’t understand biology.

Steve Zeltzer:
So your saying that the... the... the agencies, the politicians, the insurance commissioner, the fraud assessment commission.... the agencies in California and nationally, which are responsible for oversight in this industry and workers’ comp fraud,  not.... never tried to get in touch with you personally to get your story?

David Bell:
No, no the only government agency that ever called me back was APHIS wanting to know why the employer was importing dirt without a permit.  They wanted to know why they were smuggling.  They’re the only one’s who called back.

Steve Zeltzer:
And APHIS is who?

David Bell:
APHIS is FDA.... USDA.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see, and they did call you?

David Bell:
Oh yeah [yes], they were real curious about soil smuggling in America.  This was right around that hoof and mouth disease over in Europe.

Steve Zeltzer:
And... when you called OSHA to go in and check the place out were you disappointed about the.... first of all, how long did it take for OSHA to go in there and make the investigation?

David Bell:
It took ‘em a year and a half to show up and make the investigation.

Steve Zeltzer:
In this biotech company?

David Bell:
[nods yes]  About a year and a half, they said they lost the paperwork. 

Then I finally called them up eventually and said, where’s the report... didn’t you guys ever search?  And they said, oh no we already conducted the investigation, I’m sorry, you were suppose to get a copy of it.  You were automatically suppose to get a copy of it.  So they finally send me a copy of it and of course it’s missing the report date... which hung them because they never sent it to me... so now the report dates missing from it.

Steve Zeltzer:
I see. 

So you’re struggling for justice to get your healthcare.  And this fight... basically is obviously not just an individual situation but a problem with the system.  Is that how you see it?

David Bell:
With the worker compensation system?  It’s broke.  It’s probably broke beyond repair.

You’ve got an industry which is playing both sides of the field.  You’ve got the state in the insurance industry as an actual insurance provider and now you got the state running the court system at the same time.

How’s that going to work?  It’s conflict of interest, the state does not belong in the insurance industry.

Steve Zeltzer:
Ok.... thank you.  Good talking to you, I hope to have you again.

David Bell:
Thank you Steve.</sup>