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American Morning

Anthrax Scare: Capitol Hill Press Conference

Aired October 16, 2001 - 10:00   ET

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

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

LT. DAN NICHOLS, CAPITOL HILL POLICE SPOKESMAN: ...contained a powdery substance. The police were called to the scene immediately...

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Jason, I apologize, Lieutenant Dan Nichols, Capitol Hill Police, now in Washington.

NICHOLS: ...quick and kind of down and dirty indication of what we're dealing with. The first field test of the substance came back as positive for anthrax. According to our protocols, we did a second field test, that field test also came back positive. It was at that point that we called in the attending physician of the Capitol to help us with the medical situation that we had ongoing.

We also notified the FBI of the situation that we had. We quickly isolated -- we quickly isolated the staff that was on scene and started doing testing of the individuals there. We also sent the sample of the material we had to Fort Deitrich, Maryland, so we'd have a more definitive answer of exactly what we're dealing with. Even though the field test came back positive twice, it is merely a preliminary indication of anthrax.

We had to wait until we had the experts look at it to tell us what we had. The staff was treated on scene. They were all administered to by the attending physician of the Capitol. After doing some tests and given a round of antibiotics, they were sent home for the evening. Late last night, U.S. Capitol Police was notified by Fort Deitrich, that the substance was in fact anthrax. And that changed the situation somewhat.

Now we knew -- now we know that we are dealing with an actual anthrax situation. Our overall concern throughout this has been in the interest of public safety. We were always going to err on the side of caution when it comes to a situation like this. Even though we did extensive testing, field testing last night and yesterday when the situation was developing, we had only had two positive hits, and that was on the substance itself.

There were no more positive hits on individuals. There are no more positive hits in the immediate area. Nonetheless, now that we know that we have an actual anthrax situation, we decided to close part of the Senate office building, the Hart Senate Office Building that is occupied by the Senate staff and the south east corner of the building. And that runs from the first all the way up to the eighth floor and involves the members' offices for 12 different senators and also involves Senate staff.

That area is completely closed off now, so we can do further testing. I need to assure everyone that what we are doing today -- in, in closing down this part of the building is a precautionary measure -- it's a precautionary measure only. We want to do testing of the ventilation systems in that part of the building. The ventilation system was laid out in the Hart Senate Office Building to the extent that it serves that part of the building only. And that's where the offices of Senator Daschle is located. To insure that we don't have spores that have somehow filtered throughout that part of the building through the ventilation system, we're going to conduct extensive testing today. And that part of the building is going to remain closed until we can come to a definitive answer of whether or not there are additional spores in that part of the building.

In addition to that, we have concern for the staff and the visitors that were in that part of the building yesterday. We were working closely overnight with the staff of Dr. Eisold, who is the attending physician of the Capitol. We have set up an area in the Hart Senate Building, and passed out flyers this morning, advising staff they can come to this area and be seen by the staff of the attending physician, undergo treatment, which is actually a swab, and begin their course of antibiotics if they choose to do so. The antibiotic the doctor is administering right now is Cipro.

In addition to having the attending physician's office on staff, there is the Senate Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd Ogelvi is on there -- is over there, to assist with anyone who needs some kind of support. We also have the staff of the Employee Assistance Program of the United States Senate. They are on-scene, as well as the U.S. Capitol Police to answer any concerns that we have.

As far as the mail situation goes, mail delivery in the Capitol complex on both the House and Senate side, is suspended again today. And that's going to remain the case until we have the policies and procedures in place, that we can assure that the safety of the staff that comes into contact with this material is at hand. We have them up to speed on the mail handling procedures we would like to have implemented throughout the Capitol complex and that we can also tweak our screening procedures to insure we're doing all that we can to maintain the adequate level of safety and security to the Congressional community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (OFF-MIKE)

NICHOLS: Dr. Eisold right now is inside at another meeting. I was hoping to have him with me. Hopefully he will be out soon. I will try it answer any questions you may have.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you think that it might have gotten into the ventilation system? Do you have any reason other than the fact the powder spilled out of the envelope.

NICHOLS: No, actually, we don't think -- we don't think it came into the ventilation system. What we want to do though is make sure that it did not. And we're going to err on the side of caution on this. This is a precautionary measure. And your going to find that we're going to take extraordinary -- extraordinary measures to insure the safety and security of the Congressional community during this time. Even though it's an unusual action to close down part of the Senate office building and disrupt the workings of the senators' offices, we feel it is an important measure to take. But I need to stress , this is a precautionary measure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why wasn't that part of the building closed yesterday if you are erring on the side of caution?

NICHOLS: We -- yesterday we had a situation where we had preliminary indications. And I can tell you, we have procedures in place to control -- we have procedures in place to control the air flow if the situation warrants. But we were dealing with what was a preliminary situation. We dealt with the situation according protocols. Now that we have developed further concrete information, we are proceeding in this manner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you tracking down --

NICHOLS: I'm sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you shut down the ventilation system yesterday?

NICHOLS: There are certain procedures and protocols that we have in place, and for security reasons, it is probably not a good idea I get into exactly how we respond to these situations. I can tell you we've looked at this for quite sometime. U.S. Capitol Police has been concern about this type of situation for a period of time. We've worked very closely with the architect, staff and attending physician's office on this and some other assets we have with other agencies. Everything fell into place very well yesterday.

I need to also commend the way that Senator Daschle's staff responded to this. They were confronted with an immediate and an unknown situation. And given what's been going on in other parts of the country, of course they were very concerned. But the response from the senator's staff, specifically, and the congressional community as a whole, is commendable. They are still at their jobs, they're still at their desks, still wanting to do their work everyday. They are cooperating with the doctor's staff to go through the course of treatment they need for their own protection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you going to track down people that visited that area yesterday?

NICHOLS: We need to get the word out. And it's not only the people who work in the area but it's also people who may have walked through the area or visited the building. For those outside the Congressional community, if were in the Hart Senate Office Building yesterday, we're recommending, if you so choose, to see your personal doctor, as a precautionary measure, in order to go through that course of treatment. Again, this is an issue -- it's a precaution for people who may have been in that part of the building.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a particular strain or form of anthrax that's causing you to take such extraordinary precautionary measures?

NICHOLS: I'm sorry, I'm not releasing that type of information, it -- it was confirmed as anthrax, through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hits were on the substance itself, not on any individuals?

NICHOLS: The positive hits were on the substance. It's very...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so far as you know, there's been nobody infected or been exposed?

NICHOLS: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's been no evidence of any spores on the young woman that opened the envelope? You tested her and she has come out negative? Is that what you are saying?

NICHOLS: We've done -- we've done testing on all of the individuals over there. Right now the positive hits we've had were on the substance itself. Nonetheless, we are going ahead and taking precautions in the interest of public safety.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE)

NICHOLS: We looked that issue, we talked to some subject matter experts on that, and we looked at the situation in total. And it was decided, because of the way the ventilation system is within the Hart Senate Office Building that this would be an adequate measure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you fully checked all of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) turned in for an examination, his office said it was suspicious. Have you received it? examined it? What did you find out?

NICHOLS: We have responded to a lot of suspicious envelopes and packages yesterday. That's not unusual. The only positive hit that we had yesterday was on the substance that was in Senator Daschle's office. That was the only positive hit for anthrax we had yesterday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of the envelopes you received yesterday, are some still suspended (ph), waiting to be examined?

NICHOLS: Everything has been reported to us suspicious or suspect, we examined yesterday. We are continuing that effort today. Well, hi Doctor. We continued that effort today. Everything else was negative. The only positive hit was in Senator Daschle's office. With me is Senator -- I'm sorry -- with me is Dr. Eisold, the Attending Physician of the Capitol. And he'll -- he'll explain a little bit more about the course of treatment and the situation we have set up for the Senate staff.

DR. JOHN EISOLD, CAPITOL ATTENDING PHYSICIAN: Thank you. I'll just follow on to what the lieutenant mentioned to you, and hoping not to repeat him. I'm sorry I didn't hear the beginning of the brief. But subsequent to the events of yesterday, we reviewed everything that happened and, particularly in light of the -- the positive findings, we reviewed the ventilation to the Hart building and the office spaces where the episode occurred.

And although it was a very brief time between the onset of the incident and the time that it would be humanly possible to secure the ventilation, we felt that we would err on the cautious side and make a decision to go ahead and secure all of the spaces that would be served by that ventilation system. Having done that, we then made the decision to go ahead and test anybody who had been in those spaces subsequent to the incident yesterday, whether they were working there, passing through there, visiting, whoever they were, including the cleaning crews, the police, the investigators, the medical personnel, and so on.

And at the present time, we've set up a station in the Hart Building to go ahead and do that and have made notification to all -- as widely as we can -- for people to stop by there and be tested. The medical response really is identical to what was initiated yesterday. We will go ahead and swab people and plate those cultures as soon as possible, and in the meantime, go ahead and initiate treatment with ciprofloxacin. Within 24 to 48 hours, we would anticipate the results of the culture, possibly watching them as long as 72 hours.

We will have the patients returning to us at least in 72 hours and make a decision at that time, on further treatment as clinically indicated. At the present time, we simply know that we have a positive substance and there are no results at the present time regarding any specimens, but as soon as those are available, and able to be released, I would discuss them further.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE) Do you have some idea of how many people you think are involved here? And secondly, is it possible, if not now, maybe later to get a list of the offices involved so that people who visited the Capitol might be -- you know -- be able to be made aware of whether they were in one of those offices.

EISOLD: Yeah, I think it will be easy it make it public knowledge what those offices are, because the corner of that building can easily be identified, and those offices can be released by public affairs or whoever. So that certainly should be possible. And I would agree that we need to have the widest dissemination because sometimes people don't know that's where they were. And that's why a forum like this is very helpful to be able to get the word out.

As you can imagine, just counting the numbers of offices in an eight-story -- eight-floor office building and doing the math, there will be several hundred people that will be screened today. I can't say for sure, because it was -- it began early in the morning, relatively speaking, on a Monday and probably not all of the staff was in so, that at the present time, we just have to throw out the net as widely as possible. And as I say, err on the conservative side and test and treat is really our philosophy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doctor, you're putting everyone who goes in for a screening, you're putting them on Cipro?

EISOLD: If we screen them, we treat them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's the screen? Do you put them on Cipro?

EISOLD: We initiate treatment, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In spite of the fact that the drug itself has some side effects?

EISOLD: At the present time and the circumstances for the short period of time that we would anticipate someone to be on that if they had a negative culture, I think the down sides are minimal. If the cultures are positive, it's a moot point.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you take them off the drug at that point? If the cultures are negative?

EISOLD: That will be the expectation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Capitol was closed on September 11th. It was an inviting target. Do you think you're reaching the point now where it is an inviting target? You might give consideration to Congress leaving town? If not, why not?

NICHOLS: No, you know, the fact is the Capitol has always been considered somewhat of a target. If you look at our history, you will see that. The Capitol's been bombed three times -- 1950, 1971, and 1983. We have had two shootings here. 1954 and 1998. So, there is an ongoing concern up here for security within the Capitol complex.

But one of the enduring things we have had is that the fact that no matter what occurs here, the legislative process goes forward. You will find that's the case today. The House and the Senate are going to be in session. It's going to be business as usual, to the extent that we can, within the Capitol complex. The symbolism of this build is very important to everybody in the nation. It's important to the United States Capitol Police. The symbolism of Congress being able to do its work is important also. And that's what we are here to ensure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where are the people going to go, the ones in those offices who are being sent....

HEMMER: Alright, the news from Capitol Hill, that letter received in Senator Tom Daschle's's office Monday has indeed proved positive for anthrax. This after more sophisticated testing was carried out at an Army medical center there in the state of Maryland. However, there is no more evidence of any more anthrax in that immediate area, but as a precaution, about ten different offices have been shut down in the same office building. It's the Hart Senate Office Building, less than a block from Capitol Hill. To be checked out there, further testing to be done, ventilation system to be checked as well, and also at this time, the mail still suspended there on Capitol Hill.

To Capitol Hill and Kate Snow, who is watching this. Kate, curious to know the mood up there. Any time we have heard about these stories, we talked about inducing panic or at least trying to keep people calm. What are people thinking and feeling there in washington?

KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, it is definitely not panic. I'm standing right in front of that building that you just mentioned, the Senate Hart Office Building. It's the building, the white building right here behind me. Inside that building there are people inside. It's not closed completely, just one portion of the building has been shut down at this point. I just came from inside there myself. I can tell you people are nervous. People who work in those 12 offices that you mentioned that have been shut down, are little bit apprehensive this morning. They're being tested. Many of them going in for testing as we speak. But just as a precaution.

Now, as you mentioned, mail service has been shut down to the U.S. Capitol. You heard Lieutenant Nichols say that that would continue to be the case throughout today. We've seen some people delivering or taking back mail that was unopened, because they were told to send any mail that was unopened back to the central mail room. Can you see in some of these pictures, people still entering the Hart Office Building. Passing by security. Security this morning handing out a brief piece of paper, telling folks that they should be cautious. That if they're in some of those offices that have been shut down, they may indeed want to be tested.

HEMMER: Kate, quickly, here, just about a minute left, is there any more information on that letter given out thus far.

SNOW: Well, not a lot. The FBI officials have told us that the letter was postmarked Trenton, New Jersey. That has not been confirmed by Capitol Hill Police. They're simply not commenting on it. We also know that the letter came in on Friday. Senator Daschle says that it was opened around 10:15 yesterday morning. One woman in his office opened it. She was directly exposed. But again, no one showing any signs, including her, or any symptoms of coming down for anthrax. It's just that they are testing people to make sure that everyone is alright.

HEMMER: Yeah, okay, Kate. And a great clarification on the first answer too. Do not want to give people the impression that folks are running scared there in Washington. People back in that office building as of today. Kate, thanks.

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