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American Morning

FBI to Renew Search in Florida; Interview With C.J. Peters

Aired August 27, 2002 - 07:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: FBI investigators are re-entering the place where it all began. The nation's first anthrax death occurred at the American Media offices in Boca Raton, Florida last October. Photo editor Robert Stevens died, and the building has been quarantined ever since.
Now, investigators are going back in the building to search for evidence and for leads.

Our Mark Potter is outside the building today with more.

Mark -- good morning.

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

The FBI says that it will be in the AMI building this time for two weeks, conducting a second and a much more thorough search than it did last October.

Now, agents say that authorities in recent weeks have developed new technologies for processing and analyzing large amounts of anthrax, and they hope to use these methods to try to establish links between the anthrax found here and that found on letters in the northeast.

They also hope to determine how the anthrax here in Boca Raton entered the building.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DWIGHT ADAMS, FBI: We are looking for a dissemination device, such as a letter or letters, again, to generate new leads for the investigation. And then finally, we are looking for large quantities of spores in order to chemically characterize those spores and compare them against the spores found in the Senator Leahy and Daschle letters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POTTER: Now, agents have long suspected that the anthrax got into the building by way of a letter, but they never were able to find it. They are hoping that using this new technology, they can find concentrations of anthrax throughout the building, and use that to determine the entry point.

They also hope to trace the anthrax through the building to see how the letter might have moved through the building. Their ultimate hope, of course, a hope against all hope, is that they can finally find that letter.

In their search warrant application, the FBI agents also said that they would be looking at desks, briefcases and things like that, trying to determine the target and possible reason for the anthrax attacks here in Boca Raton -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Mark Potter in Boca Raton, Florida, thank you so much for that.

For more perspective on what is taking place there, let's bring in Dr. C.J. Peters from the University of Texas, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He is the director for the Center for Biodefense, and he is joining us from Galveston this morning.

Doctor, good morning.

DR. C.J. PETERS, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: Hi.

KAGAN: I find it fascinating that here we are less than a year after this happened, and there is new technology or new techniques that could help investigators understand even better what took place inside that building. What is new?

PETERS: Well, only the FBI knows, and they are not talking. But I think you could imagine. What they want to do is go through this building with a fine-tooth comb, take samples from desktops and so on, and analyze them semi-quantitatively for anthrax spores.

It would be like if you imagine a face powder jar on someone's dresser and the little powder marks on the desk around it. Well, this powder with the anthrax has microscopic droplets around it, and so, they'll have to analyze quantitatively for the bug, which they could have done by old technology, but I'm sure that they have some sort of high-proof wrinkle that will allow them to do many more samples much more quickly.

KAGAN: We just heard Mark Potter explain, and also in the sound byte from the official, that they are looking for the concentration of anthrax spores, and also have the spores are dispersed throughout the building. What in English does that explain to them, and how does that take them to the trail of whoever did this?

PETERS: Well, we know that the letters give off spores as they are moved around. We also know that they were disseminated by something other than a letter, that it would leave a trace. In other words, where the letter went, there will be a high concentration of spores, and where it didn't go, there will be no spores or low a concentration of spores.

So you can just think of it as somebody walking through with muddy shoes, and they have a special test for mud. And so, they'll be able to tell where the letter went, and they might even be able to trace it to where somebody tossed it in their desk drawer and forgot about it. Or some other way to -- some other place where they could actually get their hands on some physical evidence that they could then subject to the usual testing. KAGAN: We have seen other buildings involved in the anthrax situation in Washington, D.C. Those building have been reopened. Does it surprise you that this building in Boca Raton is still closed almost a year later?

PETERS: Well, you know, a lot of this is driven by public perception, but I think that one of the important things about going through this building is if there is a high concentration of anthrax spores, or if there is a letter or a powder, it will be found. And then, you can decontaminate the building much more readily.

KAGAN: I'm sure you have been watching this anthrax story very carefully. Do you think that what's happening in Boca Raton has any relation to the spotlight we have seen on Steven Hatfill in recent days?

PETERS: No. You know, I don't know what the FBI knows that they're not telling, but the things that we hear publicly indicate to me that he is no more suspicious than I am. Perhaps I shouldn't say that.

KAGAN: Yes, perhaps not. I wouldn't suggest that. But maybe you can explain this to me, one last scientific question here, and that is Steven Hatfill has come forward and said, if you want, I'll give you a blood test. What can authorities learn from a blood test?

PETERS: I don't think they are going to learn a lot, because we don't have enough experience with these sorts of tests to be able to make a definitive conclusion, would be my guess.

KAGAN: All right, Dr. C.J. Peters from the University of Texas, thank you for your insight. And we won't tip authorities your way by what might look like a suspicious resume to them. Thank you so much.

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