Project Bacchus was a covert investigation by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to determine whether it is possible to construct a bioweapons production facility with off-the-shelf equipment.
Project Bacchus operated from 1999 to 2000 to investigate whether would-be terrorists could build an anthrax production facility and remain undetected.
[1] During the two-year simulation, the facility was constructed, and successfully produced an anthrax-like bacterium.
[2] The participating scientists were able to make about 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of highly refined bacterial particles.
[2] The secret Project Bacchus was disclosed in a September 2001 article in The New York Times.