Updated: 07:42 AM EST
Signs of Anthrax Detected at Two Pentagon Mailrooms
Authorities Investigate Origins of Suspect Mail
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, AP
WASHINGTON (March 15) - Investigators are trying to learn why sensors
at two military mail facilities in the Washington area detected signs
of anthrax on two pieces of mail.
They are not sure whether the discoveries are signs of an attack.
The two pieces of mail, the origins of which were not provided, had
been irradiated, so officials believed any anthrax in them was inert
when they triggered alarms at the two mail facilities on Monday.
Additional tests and other sensors at the two facilities, one of them
at the Pentagon and the other nearby, found no presence of the
bacteria, which can be used as a biological weapon. There were no
initial reports of illness.
The Pentagon's mail delivery site, which is separate from the main
Pentagon building, was evacuated and shut down Monday after sensors
triggered an alarm around 10:30 a.m., spokesman Glenn Flood said. It
was expected to remain closed until at least Tuesday while the
investigation continued.
It was not clear when sensors at the second Defense Department
mailroom were triggered. Pentagon officials said only that a nearby
satellite mail facility was closed.
But firefighters in nearby Fairfax County, Va., reported that a
military mailroom in the Bailey's Crossroads business district a few
miles from the Pentagon had been shut down after a hazardous material
was detected, and no one was allowed to leave that building.
Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell said mail at both
facilities had been irradiated before arriving at either one. The
radiation treatment should kill any anthrax bacteria, but sensors
would still be able to detect it.
She had no information about the origin of the two pieces of mail.
About 175 people work at the Pentagon's mail facility, and an
additional 100 may have been in contact with deliveries for the
Pentagon, officials said.
Medical personnel took cultures from anyone who may have had contact
with those deliveries, and those people were also offered a three-day
course of antibiotics and told to watch for the signs of anthrax
exposure: fever, sweats and chills.
Follow-up tests were being conducted at the U.S. Army Research
Institute for Infectious Diseases at Fort Dietrich, Md., officials
said. They would take two to three days to complete.
General operations at the Pentagon appeared unaffected.
Anthrax can be spread through the air or by skin contact. Officials
noted that sometimes anthrax sensors can give false-positive results.
Several cases involving letters laced with killer substances remain
unsolved.
In October 2001, someone sent anthrax in letters through the mail to
media and government offices in Washington, Florida and elsewhere,
raising fears of bioterrorism. Five people were killed and 17 more
sickened.
In October 2003, two letters containing the poison ricin, sent to the
Transportation Department and White House, were intercepted before
they reached their destination. The letters objected to new rules for
long-haul truckers.
A small amount of ricin was discovered Feb. 2, 2004, on a mail-opening
machine in the office suite of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist,
R-Tenn. The discovery led to a shutdown of three Senate office
buildings for several days, and about two dozen staffers and Capitol
police officers underwent decontamination.
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