Elon Musk’s brain-implant company Neuralink, is being investigated over the potentially illegal movement of hazardous pathogens.

Animal welfare group, The Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine (PCRM), alerted the Secretary of Transportation of records it obtained on the matter.

The record includes emails and documents that suggest unsafe packaging and movement of implants removed from the brains of monkeys that may have carried infectious diseases in violation of federal law.

According to PCRM’s letter, Neuralink may have transported pathogens, such as antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus and herpes B virus without proper containment measures.

On Thursday, a Department of Transportation spokesperson said the agency took PCRM’s allegations ‘very seriously’.

‘We are conducting an investigation to ensure that Neuralink is in full compliance with federal regulations and keeping their workers and the public safe from potentially dangerous pathogens,’ said the spokesperson.

The incidents that involved potential breaches of hazardous material transportation regulations happened in 2019, when Neuralink relied on University of California, Davis to help carry out its experiments on primates, according to the documents cited by PCRM.

While Neuralink’s partnership with UC Davis ended in 2020, PCRM said the company continues to employ the neurosurgeon who oversaw the experiments and other staff involved may also still be employed.

A UC Davis spokesperson told Reuters that the university abides by all biohazard and lab safety regulations.

PCRM also alleged that pathogens were carried on removed implants from monkeys after improper sanitization and packaging.

These pathogens could potentially cause serious health issues in infected humans, such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia and severe brain damage, among other problems.

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PCRM, which opposes the use of animals in medical research, did not identify any harm as a result of these incidents, but said Neuralink’s actions ‘may pose a serious and ongoing public health risk’.

‘The company’s documented track record of sloppy, unsafe laboratory practices compel DOT to investigate and levy appropriate fines,’ PCRM said in the letter.

PCRM said it also found instances that appear to describe UC Davis employees urging immediate biohazard training for Neuralink employees following incidents that had caused contamination concerns.

On one occasion in April 2019, a UC Davis employee wrote in an email that the university’s primate centre is ‘at risk’ for ‘monkey contaminated hardware’.

‘This is an exposure to anyone coming in contact with the contaminated explanted hardware and we are making a big deal about this because we are concerned for human safety,’ wrote the employee, whose name was redacted from the records.

Representatives for Neuralink, including Musk, did not respond to comment requests from Reuters.

The Department of Transportation probe comes at a time when Neuralink is already under federal investigation for killing 1,500 animals in botched tests.

In December, Neuralink was being investigated for potential animal-welfare violations after internal staff complained that the company was rushing animal testing, causing needless suffering and deaths.

In the same month, Musk said that the institution’s wireless ‘brain chip’ could begin human clinical trials in six months.

Neuralink hopes its brain chip interfaces could allow disabled patients to move and communicate again, as well as restore vision.

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